The first talkie film of Telugu 'Bhaktha Prahlada' hit the screens in 1932. Thereby, Tollywood witnessed many stars and big stars winning the hearts of people. But then, only a few heroes occupied the 'NUMBER ONE' throne. Following is the list of number one heroes and their tenures on 'TELUGU GADDA' (Telugu land).
CHITTOOR V NAGAIAH: Chittoor V Nagaiah, who made his film debut with Gruhalakshmi (1938), emerged as a number one hero with the sensational industry hit 'Bhaktha Pothana' released in 1943. He stood as a number one hero for five years until ANR occupied the number one throne in 1948.
AKKINENI NAGESWARA RAO: Akkineni Nageswara Rao was seen as a child artist in Dharmapatni released in 1941. Later, he appeared as lord Srirama in Seetharamajananam released in 1944. As he kept on delivering consistent hits and finally scored an earth shattering industry hit 'Balaraju' in 1948, he grabbed the 'Number one' throne from Nagaiah. ANR stood as a solo number one hero upto 1956 with many blockbusters and super hits into his kitty such as Devadasu (industry hit), Arthangi, Rojulu Marayi (huge blockbuster), Donga Ramudu, Tenali Ramakrishna and Bhale Ramudu.
NANDAMURI TARAKA RAMARAO: NTR made his debut with Manadesham released in 1949. He emerged as a star hero with Pathala Bhairavi (industry hit) released in 1951. However, NTR couldn't deliver any resounding hit until Mayabazar hit the screens in 1957. Missamma, and Tenali Ramakrishna were the super hit multi-starrers during this period. Moreover, ANR played a dominating role in Tenali Ramakrishna. However, NTR mesmerized the audience as lord Sri Krishna in Mayabazar which made him an official number one of Tollywood. Thereafter NTR ruled the film industry as a number one hero upto 1982. Though NTR and ANR were treated as 'Two Eyes' of the film industry those days, NTR always had an edge during his tenure between 1957 and 1982 due to mass following.
KRISHNA: Krishna, who made his film debut with Tene Manasulu in 1965, assumed the number one status for a very short period between 1983 and 1986. As the film weekly magazine Jyothi Chitra declared him the superstar, Krishna was treated as the official number one hero in this period. Though there was a controversy that surfaced with the Jyothi Chitra survey, it's not fair to discuss it here.
CHIRANJEEVI: Chiranjeevi, who entered Tollywood with Pranam Khareedu (1978), played multiple roles such as hero, supporting hero and villain during the beginning days of his career. Gradually, he emerged as a star hero by 1982 with a couple of mass entertainers. However, it was industry hit Khaidi (1983) that changed not only the fate of Chiranjeevi but also the face of Telugu cinema. Although people would treat Chiranjeevi the number one hero from Khaidi, the media didn't take their views into consideration. As Chiranjeevi delivered many hits and blockbusters between 1983 and 1986 and scored another industry hit Pasivadi Pranam in 1987, all popular media houses unanimously accepted him as the number one hero of Tollywood. Surprisingly, no hero of Tollywood has taken over Chiranjeevi's number one throne so far. Chiranjeevi's latest offings Khaidi Number 150 and Sye Raa Narasimhareddy proved to be the highest grossing films (non BB) in 'Telugu Land' at the time of their releases.
PAWAN KALYAN; UNOFFICIAL NUMBER ONE: Pawan Kalyan has a different track in Tollywood which is followed by no one. Admit that he has the highest number of die hard fans at the moment and the openings stamina for his films is phenomenal. Considering these factors, Pawan Kalyan can be said an unofficial number one hero of Tollywood at the moment.
BOTTOM-LINE: Chiranjeevi ruled the Tollywood as a number one hero for a maximum period (34 years, officially) and is followed by NTR, ANR, Nagaiah and Krishna.