Telugu cinema this weekend: Lakshya and Gamanam to fight it out at the box office

November 2021 wasn't among more promising months for the Telugu industry with most of the films, i.e. small budget releases, right from Pushpaka Vimanam to Anubhavinchu Raja and Raja Vikramarka, turning out to be duds at the box office. December, however, began with a bang, all thanks to the Balakrishna-Boyapati combo Akhanda, which opened to blockbuster responses across the globe and set the ticket registers ringing. The second weekend of December will witness a clash among two films - Lakshya and Gamanam.

Lakshya, featuring Naga Shaurya, Jagapathi Babu, Ketika Sharma, Sachin Khedekar in key roles, is a story that traces the personal, professional highs in the life of an archer. Naga Shaurya has given his heart, blood and soul to get his toned physique right for Lakshya, where he appears in three contrasting avatars. 

The sports drama is written and directed by Santosh Jagarlapudi. Lakshya is loaded with heavy emotions, heart-pounding dialogues, crackling action sequences and has its share of romance too. Kaala Bhairava has scored the music for the film while Sruajanamani has written the dialogues. The film is produced by Narayan Das Narang, Puskur Ram Mohan Rao, and Sharrath Marar.

Gamanam, set amid the backdrop of floods in Hyderabad, brings together several characters from various socio-economic backgrounds that need to stand up for one another in the hour of crisis. Shiva Kandukuri, cast as a cricketer, is paired alongside Priyanka Jawalkar while Shriya Saran, Nithya Menen, Suhas, Charuhaasan, Priya, Indu Anand and Sanjay Swaroop too play key roles. The added attractions to Gamanam are the music by Ilaiyaraaja, the dialogues by Sai Madhav Burra and the unique premise. The film is written and directed by first-timer Sujana Rao.

With Lakshya, Naga Shaurya's ability as a performer is well known and he's a face who could draw crowds provided there's good word-of-mouth talk. Gamanam, a film that relies on the plot more than its cast, is certainly low on buzz but may spring a surprise if audiences take a liking to the one of a kind premise. Either way, Akhanda's victorious march is also expected to continue in the second week as well.