After ToliPrema Pawan Kalyan became “darling of youngsters”. People loved Pawan in ToliPrema (1998) but were not sure what exactly they liked in him. The confusion got cleared when Thammudu (1999) released in the next year. His energetic acting, dances, comedy timing – especially in “the shakuntala akkayya scene”, his style – not just dress or hair style but even the small mannerisms like getting off the bike differently over its handle etc., caught every youngster’s attention and thus made him the uncrowned “Youth Icon of Andhra”. Even Anti-Megastar fans, especially youth thronged the theaters and watched this movie several times to witness Pawan’s magic and thus the first vibes started to show up that this  “Thammudu can give a tug of war to even the mighty Annayya !!