The 80s, 90s and early 2000s were dominated by Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Nagarjuna and Venkatesh, who were all in their own league, and one never attempting to make films like the other. While Chiranjeevi had a massive mass appeal among audiences, he also attempted different films, that catered to other sections of the audiences. Nagarjuna and Venkatesh totally stuck to different kind of films, ones that neither Chiranjeevi nor Balakrishna would be suitable for.
Balakrishna always had more appeal in the mass sections, and stuck to the genre and his audience base, never attempting to change it. He continues to stick to the same genre even today. As a result, Balakrishna has made some seriously career-damaging decisions along the way. He was seen in films that had no sense or logic to them, which continue to be trolled even now.
Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna and Venkatesh were always careful about the kind of projects they were involved in, but the tables seemed to have turned right now. Chiranjeevi and Venkatesh are mostly occupied with remakes, while Nagarjuna is trying to find his ground in the current scenario. However, Balakrishna is collaborating with successful directors like Gopichand Malineni and Anil Ravipudi. For the first time in a long time, Balakrishna’s lineup is interesting and highly promising, while his contemporaries are struggling to find their foothold.