I was just doing my regular timepass of browsing and thought would do some googling on telugu movies.I searched for “top telugu movies”.The results came out to be sites to download movies and some movie news sites contradicting my expectations of having a list of top tolly movies.So , thought y would i compile one,after all i have more than enough movies till now.
So , here goes my top 25 list and an extra 5 which i like some portions of the movie very much.
Missamma(1955) – Until i saw this movie , i hated watching old movies. But changed my opinion after watching this. Became a fan of savitri. The songs remain extremely popular to this day, casting a magical spell over the listeners. Live wire performances by Savithri, NTR and ANR make this movie a thorough entertainer.
Maya Bazaar(1957) -the ultimate classic..it stands by its own way. The most perfect and impressive work of Cinematography, till date in Tollywood. I wont say much about it as people who have seen the film can understand it and if you have not seen the film then i pity you.
Sagara Sangamam(1983)–the performances of Dr.Kamal and jayaprada makes u stuck to the seat..A master piece from K.Viswanath.
Anveshana (1985)–the best thriller in tollywood till date..bhanupriya at her best..excellent background score by ilayaraja..
Chantabbai(1986)–a jandhyala classic with the the splendid performances of chiranjeevi and suhasini..every character has its own strength..a 200% perfect comedy..
Pushpaka vimanam(1988)-the commendable performance of kamal hasan makes this silent movie a legendary one..kudos to singeetam ..
Swarna Kamalam(1988)-another masterpiece from K.Viswanath.
Geetanjali(1989)–an excellent work of cinematography and a brilliant music from the maestro ilayaraja…best of mani ratnam.
Jagadeka veerudu atiloka sundari(1990)—the best socio fantasy in tollywood ..the best combination ever possible …chiranjeevi with sridevi.produced by aswini dutt and directed by raghavendra rao..
Aditya 369(1991)-the one and only sci-fi movie in telugu film industry till now..a splendid work of singeetam srinivasarao..the only best film of Bala krishna..
Appula apparao(1991)–the superb comedy ..best of rajendra Prasad..watched tens of times..
Kshana kshanam(1991)–the best of RGV in my view.with sridevi in lead role and best role ever.u cant expect better than this in tollywood ..
Aa okkati adakku(1993)–the jandhyala classic..rajendra prasad at best with rambha in lead role..what else..beautiful comedy..
Annamayya(1997)–the best performance from nagarjuna..made a wave in tollywood.made the industry struck to basics of feeling the inner pulse of audience.
Kushi(2000)–The best of the power star and bhoomika..superb concept,screenplay and direction.
Nuvve nuvve(2002)–i still cant forget the laddu-pandu sequence of sunil and ms narayana..an excellent work of trivikram with shriya in the lead..what more do u require..a perfect comedy ….u cant forward even a bit while watching even after 10 times…
Amma nanna oka tamilammayi(2003)–a movie which makes u feel watching atleast once more..
Nuvvu naaku nachav(2003)–powered by trivikram dialogues, performances by venkatesh ,prakash raj,suhasini..and the beauty of arti agarwal. and excellent screenplay…complete entertainer..
Okkadu(2003)–When i heard it has faction elements in movie..i was thumb struck how mahesh can be a factionist.OMG..cant watch..But it turned out to be too good that i watched 2 shows on opening day itself..{bunking all classes..doing adventures. another big story}
Tagore(2003)–Only chiranjeevi could do it..dats it…
Anukokunda oka roju(2005)–One of the best works you can see in Telugu film, with a dark theme and colour used to capture the atmosphere and pulse of the audience…a suspense thriller ..charmi at her best..excellent screenplay by chandrasekhar yeleti…
Athadu(2005)–the perfect blend of trivikram,mahesh,trisha and ofcourse brahmi…one of best movie of recent times…techincally,the best climax of tollywood…
Godavari(2006)–this is the best i had seen in recent years.shekhar kammula rocks..cinematography at its best showcasing the beauty of godavari..
Pokiri(2006)–made a new style of making movies and picturising hero ..it had almost every element required for the tollywood audience to enjoy..
Sri ramadasu(2006)–another best from the raghavendra rao and nagarjuna combo… a musical epic…
the xtra five..
takkari donga(2002)–the scenic locations and lisa ray along side bipasha basu..the second cowboy movie of tollywood….
nuvvu vastanante nenu vaddantana(2005).—trisha rulez..a perfect entertainer..
manmadhudu(2002)–trivikram dialogues and sonali bindre rulez..
malliswari(2004)–superb comedy..
ghajini(2005)–the flashback is the best love story i have ever seen…
Bommarillu(2006)..this is what i call screenplay..reverberating
performances of prakash raj, siddharth, and jenelia makes it a perfect film.
Please add in comments with any new movies you want to be added into the list.
This post is written in 2006 and might be old by now ![]()
PS: next post: top gtalk custom messages from my collexion ..



I wonder hw Bommarillu culd nt make into the top 25 along with aithe :S
yea ravi..thnx for pointing it out..bommarillu must have been in the list..iam adding it ..(Y)
what did u find in bommarillu ,just tel me one solid reason which made u think it cud make into top 25…. genelia`s over acting made me go mad……….the climax was meaningless and how come u forgot about our old classical movies like, swathi muthyam…………………………………………think wat an art is n decide wat an acting is n wat an art is…………
super!!
Brilliant!
aithe was a superb movie, i guess u can nt miss tat out & than even Anand … tat was an excellent one ..
Nuvve Nuvve
dont remember how many times pilla and me revised it at D 208
a okkati adakku ki director is e.v.v sathyanarayana not jandhyala.
Hey,
u have missed many brilliant movies such as parugu, athidi,murari, arya 2, happy,King and kick!
I Wonder how not even one among these could make an appearance on ur top list!!!
LETS HOPE U RECONSIDER UR TOP LIST….:)
This post was written in 2008.
[...] Related posts: http://vams.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/25-must-watch-telugu-movies/ [...]
more movies are there like
darling includes prabhas and kajal agarwal, magadheera, the biggest movie of telugu, without content added after release manjunatha, and shankardada mbbs [superb comedy by chiru himself and srikant ofcourse], shiva by rgv, aadhi of jnr. ntr, gamyam [could be], gaganam is one
Definitely a very good list. I must say that I agree with almost every pick at the top of the list, but started feeling some of the lower ones may not deserve to be in the top 25 of all-time Telugu movies. My list would have included Bapu’s “Sampoorna Ramayanam” and “Pelli Pustakam”, and RGV’s “Shiva”.
Hi..
This is my Top10 movies list
1.Nayakudu 1987-Kamal Hasan the Great
2.Maaya Bazar
3.Kshana Kshnam
4.Aha Naa Pellanta
5.Rudraveena
6.Athadu
7.Manmadhudu
8.Okkadu
9.Pokiriam
10.Koncham Istam Koncham Kastam
Hello vamsikris21
If you don’t mind can you please tell me some old movies on our old poets, kings and any history movies.
i wonder wy ADAVARI MATALAKU ARDHALE VERULE could’nt make it in top 25.
dis is best tollywood film potraying real life characters.
thats decent list.. but in my opinion… 1. Rudraveena 2. Aha Na Pellanta 3. Swayamkrushi 4. Maro Charitra 5. Shiva 6. Saagara Sangamam 7. Leader 8. Nuvvu Naaku Nacchav 9. Athadu 10. Kushi are the top 10 list..
This is my Top 10 List:
1. Bhairava Dweepam
2. Nayakudu 1987-Kamal Hasan the Great
3. Nuvvu Naaku Nachav
4. Athadu/Pokiri
5. Dookudu
6. Aha naa Pellanta
7. Saagara Samgamam
8. Vetagadu ( NTR Sr.)
9. Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari ( Chiru + Sreedevi)
10.Siva
Good thoughtful list.. thanks
U forget a gd movie that is athadu
Very nice, u forget a gd movie that is athadu
How can you miss great movie like Kaidhi by chiru,Aa Nuluguru by rajendra prasad,
Dhana veera soora karna by legendry NTR,
ya bro ……….i agree wit u for 100% ……dana veera shura karna.. amazing movie …….it spreads the pride of our mother tongue
it simply shows that you dont have any idea of telugu movies made between 1950-70
what abt SHIVA mannnnnnnnnnnnnn
The worst thing about our telugu people is we like any thing other than telugu. we still get confuse about straight telugu movie and tamil -dubbed telugu
movie..very few telugu movies can make a greatest ever list.. I picked 20 films till 1995 with notable ommisions such as sagara sangamam, swathi kiranam, aalapana etc..,
If we counton all mythological movies, we have there are 100′s of movies and telugu people mastered the art of making mythological movies.. So I exempted most of the movies of this genre.
1.Sankarabharanam is an epitome of all great movies about music — Sheer Telugu classic
2.Muthyala muggu shows every inch of telugu tanam –be its about a newly married telugu women or a Sarcastic telugu Villan
3.Mayabazar — Director KV reddy could imagine a laptop 60 years back ???? watch out for priyadarshini and mesmerizing screenplay
4.Nartanasala — A reason to be proud being a telugodu — SV RangaRao was the first indian to ever win an international award for best actor.. It happend in
1961 in canes film festival for this movie
5.Patala bhairavi — amazing photography by Marcus Bartley
6.Missamma — A delightful picture with some light treatment and wonderful performances by savitri and NTR
7.Gundamma katha – A well balanced multi starrer movie and family entrertainer
8.Preminchi choodu – Best romatic comedy and still the same concept is used by many directors
9.Swathi muthyam – there was no better story ever told
10.Avekallu – Aboriginal Suspense movie
11.Mosagallaki mosagadu – A telugu CowBOY classic
12.AHA NA Pellanta- We can regard this movie as best comedy movie ever
13.Premabhishekam – Best telugu romatic movie ever
14.SHIVAA – A movie which changed entire Indian cinema with its technical values(cult classic)
15.Seetha ramaiaih gari manavaralu – Great story with good emotions
16.ANveshana – Suspense thriller
17.YAMAGOLA- First socio fantsy film
18,Geethanjali – Platonic lovestory (cult classic)
19.Gulabi – An embeded social issue in a lovestory
20.Ankusam – Story of a self esteemed police officer
excellent tammudu! manchi movies iechavu!
Nice list.. I don’t see anything in the list due to sheer admiration to one actor. kudos …The tnly near perfect list in this post
super sudhir….gud list….okkadu,pokiri,kushi ki unnantha value nee list ki ledu….adi mana dhourbhagyam!
Dude u missed Arya in ur list
My list goes like this.
1. Geethanjali
2. Kshana Kshanam
3. Missamma (Old)
4. Daana Veera Soora Karna
5. Rajakota rahasyam
6. Maro charithra
7. Nayakudu ( Kamal Hasan )
8. Jagadeika veerudu athiloka sundari
9. Rudra veena
10. Konda veeti Donga
11. Gharshana ( Old )
12. Mouna Raagam ( by Mani Rathnam )
13. Akali Rajyam
14. Sri Ranga Neethulu
15. Govinda Govinda
16. Swayamvaram
17. Dalapathi
18. Premabhishekam
19. Sudigundalu
20. Roja
21. Bombay
22. Sampoorna ramayanam
23. Gharshana ( new )
24. Bhakta Prahlada
25. Veta ( something like Count of Monte cristo )
26. Appula appa rao
27. Justice Choudary
28. Indra
29. Little soldiers
30. Padaharella vayasu
31. Bharateeyudu
32. Pushpaka vimanamu
33. Ninne pelladatha ( Nagarjuna )
32. Ninne pelladatha ( NTR )
33. Athadu
34. Madarasapattinam ( 1947 love story in telugu )
35. Marana Mridangam.
36. Abhilasha
37. Pandava vanavasamu
38. Mayabazaar
39. Narthanasala
40. Gundamma Katha
41. Sri Krishna tulabharam
42. April okati vidudala
43. A okkati adakku
44. Yamaleela
45. Alluri sitarama raju
46. Mosagallaki Mosagadu
47. Sabash Suri
48. Shavukaru
49. Bangaru bhoomi
50. Avida maa avide
Sorry guys, I am bad at giving rankings. But, I bet all these are damn good.
all movies are exceelent i jz love all the telgu movie…..itz best above all the cinema making industry,,,,,,,,,
perfect list….missamma is the best movie i even seen such a type of movie especially “savitri garu” wat a performance……..but u dint consider “Bommarillu” in top movies….it is
better than “Sri Ramadasu”
Aa okkati adakku is directed by EVV Satyanarayana, not by Jandyala..
babu nareshuuuu! anji, shankar dada zindabad, andirivadu, stallin, panja, komaram puli, jhonny ,annavaram, orange, racha, araya 2, varudu…evanni marichipoyava tammudu!
anni kirrak movies ra…hmm gajini (2005) koda ulty movie but dudding kada..!
It’s bad,,, not see ‘SWATIMUTYAM’ in anybody’s list. This movie is still a study material to the new comers. BE SERIOUS while choosing/listing….
Tholiprema, kushi, Balu, Gabbar-Singh……………
I appreciate you (VamS) for posting the finest Telugu movies ever produced! I am one of the biggest fans of Telugu old movies and a great fan of Savithri garu. I request you to add ‘Aha na pellanta’ (1000 times worth watching movie) to put up on your list. I wonder how you missed it. Anyway, for the guys who want a list of the best Telugu movies, this is the best web-site
Hi guys please include Lava Kusa old telugu movie, this is the best forever
where is vikramarkadu its top 5
can i ask u one question? have u all seen anjali…movie i hope it wil be in the top position….
all r wrng many film are left and chatrapathi,varsham ,yamadonga,simhadri dis nt good films
East or west…Telugu movies are the best,hey guys I m not a telugu but after watching telugu movies I wish I ws telugu or atleast understand telugu language,inspite of all I love to see only and only telugu movies.nothing can beat it.
was it intentional to leave all of K.Vishwanath movies above.. Sabash Suri better than Sagara Sangamam???….see where you are coming from….
Love all ……Hey……………Roja should be in top 10 vamshi.
Nice collection…..
Where is happy days ?
Where is Magadheera????
It was a blockbuster…..
I liked Businessman also. Superb Movie
Having read this I believed it was really informative.
I appreciate you finding the time and energy to put
this content together. I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both
reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worth
it!
dude u forget many movies like pasivade pranam,bala ramayanam
half knowledge ppl say only aditya 369 is best in balakrishna movies
wat about bhairava dweepam best graphic on those days and superb difrnt movie in telugu industry
samara simha reddy, mangama gari manavadu, trend setter for faction movies
there are many balakrishna movies which we can say proudly
Where khaidi,chanti abbai,indra,pasivadi pranam nd so many mega star hit movies
Prasthanam is a wonderful movie.
Fucking wanker.. none of those movies are watched in australia