Festive atmosphere seeps early in T-town

With crores riding on big-budget flicks like ‘Power’, ‘Aagadu’ and ‘Govindudu Andarivadele’, the festive atmosphere has all but begun in T-town. While it won’t be a clash of titans akin to the Sankranthi war, it would definitely be the numbers game that would take the centre stage as the month progresses

It would be a busy four weeks at the Tollywood box-office up next as anticipated releases like ‘Power’, ‘Aagadu’ and ‘Govindudu Andarivadele’ are scheduled to open in cinema halls one after the other in a span of 25 days. Generally the Sankranthi season is associated with big ticket flicks slugging out with each other, but this time around the fight will commence days before Dasara, another auspicious festival for Telugus. Trade experts say that revenue of around Rs 230-250 crore is expected to be generated during the time period.

In fact, Mahesh Babu, who seems confident about his September 19 release ‘Aagadu’, was the first to have sounded the box-office bugle. “We will celebrate Dasara two weeks before it actually takes place,” he stated addressing his fans. He added, “When I look back at my career, some films hold a very important place. ‘Dookudu’ is one such film that became a turning point in my life. Now, I’m certain that ‘Aagadu’ will be another turning point at this crucial juncture of my career.”

However, ‘Aagadu’ would be the second big film to kick off the box-office war; the first being Ravi Teja-starrer ‘Power’. Initially slated to release this Friday, the film will now release next week. Director Bobby says the film is a “big-budget entertainer”. “After ‘Balupu’ many big directors knocked Ravi Teja garu’s doors to sign him, but he kept his word of doing a film with me. I salute his guts. He worked like an assistant director on the sets,” says Bobby. Ravi Teja is playing a tough cop in the film and going by the film’s promos, it looks like he is all set to give Mahesh a run for his money.

The release of ‘Aagadu’ would be followed by Gopichand-starrer ‘Loukyam’. Touted to be an action entertainer, the film is gearing up for a release on September 26. However, that seems unlikely at the moment as producer Ananda Prasad may not get screens in the first place! Sources close to the production house inform that if the producer fails to get screens of his choice, he may push the release to the second half of October by when big films would’ve got their due at the ticket windows. Superstar Nagarjuna, on the other hand, chose to play the waiting game with his production ‘Oka Laila Kosam’, starring his son Naga Chaitanya in the lead role. Initially, the film was to release on Teachers’ Day. “For a hit film to become a super hit, it’s imperative to wait for a right release date these days. In fact I waited for two months before releasing ‘Manam’ in late May,” suggests an astute Nag.

Meanwhile, the unit of Ram Charan-starrer ‘Govindudu Andarivadele’ is racing against time to ensure that the film makes it to the theatres in time for Dasara at any cost. The unit, after completing a song shoot in Jordan flew to London for another number. They are expected to be back in Hyderabad by September 10 after which a grand audio release is planned. “If not on October 1, Bandla Ganesh will release the film the next day,” chips in a little birdie from the unit. Looks like, it will be an eventful four weeks at the T-town BO.