Director Anil Ravipudi is unpopular with a small chunk of the Telugu audience. In spite of being on a triple hat-trick, he remains one of the most disliked Tollywood directors by this section. His latest film, Sankranthiki Vasthunam, has been described as "cringe comedy" by the cinephile community aka the Medhavi Vargam.
This Medhavi Vargam, to be sure, has more respect for Venkatesh Maha than for someone like Ravipudi who has at least been productive, who is at least not a one-film wonder, and who is at least not into mounting lifeless remakes like Sampoornesh Babu's Martin Luther King. Many Tollywood filmmakers who began their careers alongside Ravipudi have barely delivered a second hit.
The cinephile community, which is vocal online, has no relevance otherwise. If they endorse a filmmaker, it is most likely that the said filmmaker will not last long. Tharun Bhascker and Vivek Athreya are among the very few honourable exceptions in decades.
To be fair to the Medhavi Vargam, some of their criticisms against Anil Ravipudi are valid. His films are watchable only once. You watch them another time and the content comes across as in-your-face and over-the-top. His F3 was not at all likeable. Sankranthiki Vasthunam is watchable but its shelf life is in question. Nevertheless, Anil Ravipudi deserves to be forgiven by the Medhavi Vargam for his sheer ability to make monies for all stakeholders involved.
