New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan’s They Call Him OG has emerged as the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2025. The film, released on 25 September, has already crossed the Rs 300-crore mark worldwide. Directed by Sujeeth, it is a gangster film which also stars Emraan Hashmi and Priyanka Mohan in lead roles.
“The director is a true Pawan Kalyan fanboy and he has crafted every frame with admiration, and Kalyan has been shown in a completely new way,” said film critic GV Ramana.
Sujeeth, who earlier directed Prabhas in Saaho (2019), has created a film that has references to Kalyan’s 2003 film Johnny and the track Travelling Soldier from Thammudu (1999).
“The film is not fan service in the way Ajith’s Good Bad Ugly (2025) was. This film does not have vintage Pawan Kalyan, but a reinvented one,” said Ramana.
They Call Him OG tells the story of a samurai-turned-gangster named Ojas Gambheera (Pawan Kalyan) who returns to the violent world he left behind for love and an idyllic life with Kanmani (Priyanka Mohan). When his worlds threaten to collide, he returns to Mumbai to help his father-figure Satya dada (Prakash Raj) beat Omi Bhau (Emraan Hashmi) and his men. The film also marks the Telugu debut of Hashmi, who was earlier seen in a viral cameo in Aryan Khan’s The Bads of Bollywood.
The end of They Call Him OG also hints at the possibility of a sequel.
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Box office performance
They Call Him OG has beaten Anil Ravipudi’s Sankranthiki Vasthunam at the box office, which was earlier the highest-grossing film in Telugu this year with a worldwide collection of Rs 255.2 crore. It is now inching closer to Pushpa: The Rise, which earned Rs 350 crore.
Sankranthiki Vasthunam, starring Venkatesh, Aishwarya Rajesh, and Meenakshi Chaudhary, was a family entertainer and enjoyed good business during the festive season in January. But They Call Him OG has an ‘A’ certificate. The last Kalyan film to receive an A certificate was Panjaa (2011).
“Those who love mafia and action movies will definitely love this one. That’s why the audiences have turned out in big numbers despite the ‘A’ certificate,” said Ramana.
Kalyan’s other big release, period-action film Hari Hara Veera Mallu which hit theatres in July, was a box office disaster. Against its massive budget of Rs 300 crore, it only managed to earn Rs 117.16 crore. They Call Him OG has, however, reversed Kalyan’s box office fortunes.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)