The Anil Ravipudi Effect.. Is Comedy the Perfect Fit for Sankranthi? Will 2027 Repeat the Same Story?

Sankranthi begins with Bhogi bonfires for Telugu families. The cold winter mornings, the warmth of the fire, colourful rangolis, gobbemmalu, new clothes and the smell of festive food are all part of the celebration. Grandparents, uncles, aunts and relatives come together, while people living in cities travel back to their hometowns. Villages become busy with visitors, cockfights, traditional games and celebrations.

From welcoming the new son-in-law to families sitting together for a big meal on Kanuma, Sankranthi is much more than just a festival. It is a time when families come together. But somewhere along the way, another celebration quietly became part of Sankranthi — the celebration of cinema.

For Telugu families, Sankranthi gradually became incomplete without a new movie. New clothes, traditional food, relatives coming home and a new film in theatres became part of the same festive routine. That is why Sankranthi is not treated as just another release date in the Telugu film industry. It has become one of the biggest movie seasons of the year.

Those few days at the beginning of the year are extremely important for producers, distributors and theatres. Families have more time to go out, theatres can add extra shows and star heroes get an opportunity to test their market during one of the strongest festive periods of the year.

For decades, Sankranthi also meant a particular kind of competition. From the era of Krishna and other major stars to the later clashes involving Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna, or films starring Venkatesh and Nagarjuna, the festival was often seen as a battle between big stars. Star versus star was the familiar Sankranthi story.

But that story seems to be changing.

Look at the Sankranthi seasons from 2025 to 2027 and an interesting pattern begins to emerge. The question is no longer only, “Which star is bigger?” It is increasingly becoming, “Which movie can bring the entire family to the theatre and make them laugh for two or three hours?”

It may be too much to credit one filmmaker for this change. But it is difficult to ignore the influence of one director who has made family comedy a major part of his commercial identity — Anil Ravipudi.

2025: A Family Comedy Between Two Big Action Films

The 2025 Sankranthi season is a perfect example. On one side was Game Changer, directed by Shankar and starring Ram Charan. It came with a big production scale, political drama and action. On the other side was Balakrishna’s Daaku Maharaaj, a mass action film with a huge star image behind it.

And then came Sankranthiki Vasthunam, the Venkatesh–Anil Ravipudi combination. On paper, it looked smaller compared to the other two films. But Sankranthi box office is not always about how big a movie looks on paper. It is also about who the movie can bring to the theatre.

During Sankranthi, audiences do not always come alone. They come with their families, spouses, children, parents and relatives. A viewer may enjoy action and star power, but during a festival, a film that allows everyone to sit together and laugh has a special advantage.

Sankranthiki Vasthunam proved that in a big way.

Its success was not simply about Venkatesh’s star power, and it was not only about Anil Ravipudi’s comedy. It showed the market the strength of a very simple combination: Family + Comedy + Sankranthi.

That combination can be extremely powerful.

What Did Anil Ravipudi Really Change?

Anil Ravipudi did not invent comedy. Telugu cinema has a long and successful history of family entertainers. But he understood something important: comedy can be more than just comedy.

It can bring the hero closer to the family audience. It can make the story easier to enjoy. It can keep the audience engaged and, most importantly, it can make the theatre experience more enjoyable for different generations sitting together.

During Sankranthi, this becomes even more valuable. A festival audience does not ask only, “Which movie do I want to watch?” They also ask, “Which movie can everyone in my family watch?”

That is where family comedy gets a major advantage.

What Did the Industry Learn After 2025?

When a movie becomes a major success, the industry does not study only its story. It also studies why audiences came to the theatre. What connected with them? What worked with families? What kind of film suited the festive mood?

In 2025, Sankranthiki Vasthunam gave the industry a clear signal: a movie that can make the entire family laugh can also become a major Sankranthi blockbuster.

That is where 2026 becomes interesting. The Sankranthi season saw films such as Chiranjeevi–Anil Ravipudi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, The Raja Saab, Bhartha Mahasayulaku Vignapthi, Nari Nari Naduma Murari and Anaganaga Oka Raju.

Except for The Raja Saab, most of these films were strongly driven by comedy and family entertainment. Several of them also found success. So what started as the success of one film in 2025 began to look more like a wider trend in 2026.

The industry was clearly noticing something: Sankranthi audiences were willing to choose entertainment and comedy over just scale and star power.

2027: Has Comedy Become a Battlefield?

Now look at Sankranthi 2027. This is where things become even more interesting.

On January 13, the Venkatesh–Anil Ravipudi film is scheduled to arrive. The combination itself says a lot. Venkatesh, Anil Ravipudi and Sankranthi together naturally create an expectation of family entertainment.

Then, on January 14, comes Sharwanand and Sreenu Vaitla’s George Krish. Sreenu Vaitla is another filmmaker whose name has been closely associated with comedy in Telugu cinema.

There is also the Karthi–Kalyan Shankar film, with Kalyan Shankar already known for his comic style through films such as MAD and MAD Square.

These three films cannot simply be called the same kind of movie. But there is a common thread connecting them: they are all promising entertainment.

And that is important. The audience is not necessarily asking for another giant action spectacle. The message is much simpler:

“Entertain us.”

Another Big Change: The Senior Stars Are Missing

There is another interesting part to this story. Chiranjeevi’s planned Sankranthi 2027 film has been delayed and is expected to move to summer 2027. There is currently no clear release plan for Balakrishna’s film, while Nagarjuna’s planned Sankranthi project has also moved out of the race.

So the expected “Senior Star Sankranthi” lineup has largely disappeared.

And what is filling that space?

Entertainment-driven films.

It may be a coincidence. But when we look at the last three Sankranthi seasons together, the pattern becomes difficult to ignore.

Now Comes the Real Test for the Formula

In 2025, Anil Ravipudi gave family entertainment a major commercial victory during Sankranthi. In 2027, he is returning to the same festival window. But this time, the situation is different.

His territory is no longer empty. There is another comedy filmmaker in the same season and another entertainment-driven film competing for the same audience. In other words, Anil Ravipudi is now competing in a market that he helped make more attractive.

That makes 2027 a particularly interesting test for him.

Creating a successful formula is one thing. Repeating it while making the audience feel that it is fresh is much harder. The audience already knows what to expect from an Anil Ravipudi film. So simply giving them comedy may not be enough this time.

They may want a fresh story, fresh characters, fresh situations and, most importantly, fresh laughs.

That is the real challenge.

Has Sankranthi Really Changed?

There is one important point to remember. Family entertainers succeeding during Sankranthi is not new. Telugu cinema has a long history of family films becoming major festival hits. So it would be unfair to say that Anil Ravipudi alone changed Sankranthi cinema.

But he has certainly reminded the industry of something important: Sankranthi does not always need a massive action film or a giant star battle.

Sometimes, a good family story and a few genuinely funny moments can create the same festive excitement. That may be the biggest lesson from the last few years.

So What Will 2027 Tell Us?

In 2025, one family comedy delivered a huge success. In 2026, the same kind of entertainment became more visible during the festival season. In 2027, several films are now entering the same space.

That makes the coming Sankranthi more than just another movie season. It is almost a test for the formula.

Has the Sankranthi audience really changed? Or did the industry simply see one big success and start following the same path?

2027 may provide the answer.

If one film dominates, it could mean that execution matters more than the genre. If several films succeed, it could show that family entertainment has found a stronger place in the Sankranthi market. And if all of them struggle, the industry may have to ask whether it read the 2025 success correctly.

The Bigger Picture

Cinema has been part of Telugu Sankranthi for decades. What is changing now is perhaps not the place of cinema in the festival, but the kind of cinema audiences want during the festival.

Once, the big question was: “Which star is coming for Sankranthi?”

Now another question is becoming equally important: “Which movie will make the whole family laugh?”

Anil Ravipudi gave one strong answer to that question in 2025. 2026 strengthened the trend. And 2027 will put it to the real test.

Because this time, the competition is not simply between heroes.

It is a competition for the Sankranthi audience’s laughter.

And the biggest question of all is:

Will the audience once again choose Anil Ravipudi’s brand of comedy — or will Sankranthi 2027 create a new winner?

— Surya Prakash Josyula