It was exactly four years ago that Pawan Kalyan delivered a blockbuster in Jalsa. Subsequently, his next three films – Puli, Teenmaar and Panjaa – were box-office disasters. Leading Telugu producers had become hesitant to work with him. Amid this came the rumour that all was not well between Pawan and his elder brother megastar Chiranjeevi.

Now, Pawan has stunned his detractors and silenced his critics with his biggest blockbuster of his career, Gabbar Singh, which completed 100 days in 54 centres. Hold your breath, the film has raked in Rs 170 crore. In the process, Gabbar Singh is ranked among the all-time hits of Telugu cinema.

The star actor, as usual, has desisted from taking a dig at his detractors. But the actor was heard informing his confidants that several top producers, who were reluctant to work with him following a string of failures, badly wanted to cast him. “But he has not entertained any of them till date. He wants to wait for a few more days and allot dates to producers, who stood by him in the last two years,” a little birdie tells us.

Incidentally, the Telugu cinema industry was skeptical when Gabbar Singh released in 1,600 theatres worldwide because it was a remake of the Hindi blockbuster Dabangg. The fact that Pawan Kalyan’s previous movie Teenmaar, a remake of Hindi super-hit Love Aaj Kal, had failed to make an impact on the box office had cast doubts on the performance of Gabbar Singh.

However, he proved them wrong by making a successful film out of the Dabangg remake. Incidentally, Pawan maintained a low profile during the shooting phase of the movie and preferred against a razmataz. He even stayed away from promoting the movie aggressively.

The superstar has confided in his team that much of the credit for the success of Gabbar Singh goes to the director Harish Shankar. The duo, we heard, is planning another movie. But this time, it may be a original script and not a remake.

Meanwhile, Pawan Kalyan is busy shooting for Puri Jagannath’s next venture Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu, which is produced by DVV Danayya. Tamannah romances Pawan in the flick. Puri Jagannath and Pawan Kalyan had last worked in Badri nearly 12 years ago. The film was a massive hit, running for more than 100 days in 44 centres.

Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu is scheduled for release sometime in September. Trade sources indicate it has the potential to become a superhit. There is a scramble among the distributors to acquire the rights for different centres. Pawan has truly returned in style to the top.