After an experimental detour with the psychological thriller 1-Nenokkadine , Mahesh Babu will return with an intended crowd-pulling venture, Aagadu , directed by Srinu Vaitla, with whom he earlier teamed up for Dookudu . Mahesh’s massive fan base hopes he’ll score a hit this time around but it’s not going to be a cakewalk.
Aagadu , as things stand now, is poised to release on September 19, a week after Ravi Teja’s Power . NTR’s Rabhasa , which elicited mixed reviews, is still in cinema halls, hoping to rake in some more money before making way for other biggies.
Power and Aagadu will be neck and neck in the race, before Krishna Vamsi’s Govindudu Andarivadela starring Ram Charan, Kajal Aggarwal and Kamalini Mukherjee arrives on October 1. Naga Chaitanya and Pooja Hegde’s rom-com Oka Laila Kosam is also waiting in the wings.
The period between Ganesh Chaturthi and Dasara is seeing a flurry of activity, bringing cheer to some and making others in the industry wonder if too much is happening too soon, without giving enough room for each film to capitalise on the audience interest. Producer and distributor Suresh Babu feels the Ganesh Chaturthi to Dasara window is the third best time to pull in the crowds, after summer holidays and Sankranti. “It would be great if there is a planned release and big films get two weeks to earn their revenue. Even otherwise, I think it’s not bad to have a few big releases within a few weeks. We don’t have cinema fatigue. The industry hasn’t had too many hits this year, barring some big films like Race Gurram and small ones like Drushyam and Oohalu Gusagusalade . We need better revenues in the next few months,” he says.
Power , earlier scheduled to release on September 5, was pushed to September 12 citing delay in censor certification. The shuffling of dates has had industry observers observing which of these big films will bag more number of screens and retain them beyond a week.
Bobby, who makes his directorial debut with Power , is confident of holding the audience interest. “Over the years, I’ve learnt to look at a film from the point of view of the audience and Kona Venkat has helped me a great deal. Ravi Teja did a fantastic job in Naa Autograph , but it didn’t succeed commercially. Power keeps his fan base in mind. K. Chakravarthy and Mohanakrishna have written a good screenplay,” he says.
The Hindi films lined up during this period include Finding Fanny , Khoobsurat , Daawat-e-Ishq, Hrithik Roshan’s Bang Bang and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider . But unlike the Hindi industry where the makers decide release dates in advance and largely stick to it, the dates of Telugu films are often subject to change.
Working towards a pre-determined release date is possible since many Hindi films are backed by corporate houses, says Suresh Babu. “Our films rely on financiers and keeping the film idle after completion would mean paying huge interest rates,” he says. Setting a precedent, he has already marked January 13, 2015, as the date for his production, Gopala Gopala , starring Venkatesh and Pawan Kalyan.
Bobby feels it will take a long time for the Telugu industry to take cues from the Hindi industry. “People here don’t sit across the table and talk. One producer doesn’t get along with the other. It will help if people can put aside their differences,” he says.
Unplanned releases and last-minute change in release dates also bring with it lobbying to grab maximum number of cinema halls. As Power, Aagadu and GAV slug it out, collectively, the industry hopes for better revenue.
Coming soon
Telugu
Power, Aagadu, Govindudu Andarivadele and Oka Laila Kosam
Hindi
Finding Fanny, Khoobsurat, Daawat-e-Ishq, Bang Bang and Haider
