Film: Bus Stop
Rating: 2.5/5Cast: Prince, Nandita, Sai Kumar P, Rao Ramesh
Music by: J.B.
Cinematography: J Prabhakar Reddy
Editing by: S. B. Uddhav
Direction: Maruthi
Produced: Bellamkonda Suresh
Release date: 11 November 2012
Bus Stop’ is the second film of director Maruthi, who came up after his super hit small film ‘Ee Rojullo’. Many thought that he would have come up with more promising stuff with ‘Bus Stand’ winning the hearts of all sets of audience. Let us see how it went.
Story:
This is the story of present day youth. Sreenu (Prince) loves Shailu (Sri Divya) where the latter is a sincere student. Her father pins lots of hopes and faith on her. But eventually her love towards Sreenu goes strong and then the clash starts with father.
Another guy, whose parents live on running a tiffin stall on road side, flirts with several girls and finally even ignores his parents due to his lust. How things turn from then is another track.
The third one is about a girl Seema (Hasika) who is a flirt. A guy loves her truly but she plays with him. But she gets betrayed by another. How situations change from then is another line.
Performances:
There are no big complaints with respect to the performances of any artiste.
Prince did his part well. But he can groom his dialogue delivery and expressions.
Nanditha is good and decent but still she needs to groom herself with respect to make over to get bigger offers.
Hasika who played Seema is the hot lady on screen. She has magnetic looks and can be promising if planned her career properly.
Sai Kumar is asusual with similar character he played in Ee Rojullo but without stammering.
Rao Ramesh is used for his stereo type message giving character. DMK, the journalist turned actor has got considerably lengthy role where he justified fully. Other two fathers are weak in screen presence but performed well.
Music by JB is good and especially the song in the pre climax, “Rekkalochchina prema…ningiki egirindaa…chukkalantina aasaa nelaki origindaa”. The back ground score for the film added lot of pep which made the film happening till the end without drop in pace.
Director repeated his genre with vulgarity, implying that he is comfortable only with it.
Analysis:
The intention is good. But the packaging marred. When a sweet was cooked, there will be no big complaint if more sugar is added to it. But how it becomes if loads of salt is poured in it? It becomes ‘Bus Stop’. The idea to show that parents are ultimate lovers in the world is impressive, but making that with tons of vulgarity makes the dish bitter.
Have you ever watched Shakeela’s soft porn films? Whatever hasn’t to be shown will be shown and at last gives a color of message orientation. This movie is no less to that genre. This is a store house of soft porn dialogues, incest hints and loads of vulgarity to the core. It is an adult rated movie targeted to lure the youth by satiating their carnal desires verbally. Audiences wonder how the censor board allowed this film to screen. Doubts indeed arise if censor board has gone bias with this film.
Though the film attracts some laughs from vulgarity lovers, the director lost the grip on emotions. No one knows why the father of Shailu objects her love interest Sreenu, who is responsible enough and also in the process of winning a job. DMK’s role (the father of a guy who loses his rings) resembles something like an eccentric character in Vamsi’s films. If there is any originality in this director, that is nothing but ‘vulgarity’. Like Sreenu Vaitla for comedy, VV Vinayak for action, Rajamouli for wonder, we have Maruthi for ‘vulgarity’. That’s proved with this film. If he wishes to continue that image, it’s ok. Otherwise, he needs to change his genre if wishes to correct his image.
This film is abominable. It may collect well at the box office as it plays with the senses of teens. The facts are expressed in this review, and even these facts may attract the youth to drive towards the film. It is no less to any D-grade soft porn film with a coating of regional commercial formula.
January 2026 North America Box Office: Record Total, Few Real Winners
February 1, 2026
The North American box office for Telugu films in January 2026 recorded its highest-ever cumulative figures, but a closer look at individual performances reveals a far less celebratory picture. While the total Telugu gross for the month is set to close at an impressive $8.5 million, most releases failed to live up to expectations when measured against their budgets and pre-release projections.
Several factors worked against January releases this year. Odd-day release strategies, uneven show allocations, and poor planning created challenges for distributors right from the start. The arrival of multiple films within a short span led to intense competition for screens and audiences, diluting potential collections. Adding to the woes, bad weather in key North American markets during the crucial second weekend further impacted footfalls. As a result, despite the strong combined total, very few films truly capitalised on their potential.
The clear winner of the month was Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, which emerged as the biggest success of January 2026 in North America. The film wrapped up its run at $3.34 million, showcasing excellent consistency across weekends and benefiting from strong word of mouth. It stood out as the lone film that fully maximised the festive window.
Another decent performer was Anaganaga Oka Raju, which closed with $1.76 million. Despite modest expectations, the film managed steady audience support and comfortably achieved hit status overseas. On the other hand, Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi ended its run as a clear flop, collecting just $213,000 (approximately ₹1.95 crore), marking yet another underwhelming overseas outing for Ravi Teja.
Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi, released towards the end of the month, failed to gain any momentum. The film collected a mere $35,000 in total, with premieres contributing only $16,000, making it a non-starter at the North American box office.
The biggest disappointment of the month was The Raja Saab, which turned out to be a full-fledged disaster in the region. The film closed at $2.356 million (around ₹21.57 crore), falling well short of its revised breakeven target. The USA contributed $2.168 million, while Canada added $188,000. Language-wise, the Telugu version dominated with $2.295 million, but the Hindi version managed just $58,000 and the Tamil version a negligible $3,000, highlighting the film’s failure to attract audiences beyond its core market.
Overall, January 2026 followed a familiar box office pattern in North America. One major hit significantly boosted the cumulative numbers, a couple of films delivered acceptable results, but several releases struggled badly. Despite record totals on paper, the month once again underscored how crowded release calendars, weak execution, and external factors like weather can severely impact individual film performance.
