Sankranthi festival is one of the four major festivals that South Indian households celebrate with great interest. Every Telugu household, especially, make big arrangements to invite son-in-laws to their house during the festival and spend time as a one happy huge family, united.
Over the years, rural areas started evaporating into cities and outskirts of metropolitan areas. Now, people prefer silent free and alone time with their immediate family members inside the city, itself and hence, movie theaters have become the biggest get-together places during the festival period.
Telugu Film producers have been making use of the three day holiday and usually five day long weekend during the festival, to release big hero films. We have been witnessing Nandamuri Balakrishna, Megastar Chiranjeevi, Victory Venkatesh films releasing during the festival regularly over past three decades.
With Mahesh Babu, Pawan Kalyan, Prabhas, Jr. NTR, Ram Charan and Allu Arjun taking over the reins of the Industry from the Big 4, Sankranthi battle has become even more interesting as the stakes of each film by these star heroes has increased ten folds from the previous big star vehicles.
Each hero is looking to hit jackpot like Baahubali or go and improve their market strength Pan-India. Due to global pandemic, many big films had to wait for a proper date and now, Sankranthi 2022 has become the hot battle ground.
Pawan Kalyan – Rana Daggubati’s Bheemlanayak, Prabhas’s RadheShyam and Jr. NTR – Ram Charan’s RRR are eyeing big Sankranthi box office. Lastly, both Allu Arjun’s Ala Vaikuntapurramuloo and Mahesh Babu’s Sarileru Neekevvaru became huge blockbusters with each collecting highest returns at the box office for the respective heroes.
Mahesh wanted his Sarkaru Vaari Paata to release during the season again but he had to postpone to 1st April for SS Rajamouli and Trivikram Srinivas his next films’ directors and stake holders in both Bheemlanayak, RRR.
Many thought Pawan Kalyan will take a back seat to accommodate RRR like Gangubai Kathiavadi movie but Pawan Kalyan’s producers don’t want to release their film solo, fearing Vakeel Saab kind of treatment by Government.
Pawan Kalyan did project Andhra Pradesh Government’s ticket price slashing steps as torture aimed at him and his remarks could attract some backlash for his next biggie. If there are two or three big films coming with his film then government will go lenient on his film as well. At least, producers of his film, think that way, say sources.
Now, Telugu Producers Guild headed by exhibitor and distributor turned producer Asian Suniel Narang has met with all the producers of the films releasing to come up with an amicable solution to the crisis of theater allocation if all three big films release during the season.
Each film wants free one week or at least 2 day run while RadheShyam and RRR are hoping for two week free run to recover Rs. 300 crores costs each. RadheShyam will have difficulty in sharing screens with other two biggies and hence RRR makers are asking Bheemlanayak to go for 26th date.
But Pawan Kalyan team doesn’t want to lose the date as they have faced huge humiliation and losses three years ago with Agnyathavasi and they look at this opportunity as the great leveller. Bheemlanayak will be the biggest comeback blockbuster for Pawan Kalyan post disasters and average box office fares, believe producers.
Hence they don’t want to lose the date and RRR team wants to ensure that they have proper theatres during the festival to make sure big returns during the festival time. Can Telugu states accommodate three biggies during Sankranthi season? Will anyone bow out to make it only SankRRRanti?
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