Chiru aura breaks ‘Baahubali’ record

When ‘Khaidi No 150’ went on to floors seven months ago, little did one imagine that Chiranjeevi, after missing the arc lights for nine long years, would announce his return with a bang.

Indeed he did, as his film, which opened on a gigantic note on Wednesday, has just done the unthinkable: break the opening day collections record of showpiece ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’.

The SS Rajamouli directorial, released in 2015, had minted Rs 28.5 crore gross on opening day in TS and AP, while ‘Khaidi No 150’ beat it by recording Rs 30 crore gross, thereby setting a new benchmark for other films.

Admittedly, Chiru’s brother-in-law and producer Allu Aravind is over the moon. He said the film amassed Rs 47 crore gross on opening day from all territories, which is a record for a Telugu film. “It has collected Rs 30 crore gross from the Telugu States alone,” he declared.
In share terms, ‘Khaidi No 150’ stands at Rs 23.24 crore while ‘Baahubali’ at Rs 22.4 crore on opening day from both the Telugu States.

The latter also set new ‘day one’ records in places like Visakhapatnam, East and West. However, it failed to better ‘Baahubali’s figures in Nizam and Ceded.

Aravind further said that he wanted to produce Chiru’s 150th flick under Geetha Arts to begin with. However, “Ram Charan has been toying with the idea of starting his own production house for the past five years.

There was a point where he even thought of producing and starring in a film but he dropped the idea. And once Chiranjeevi decided on his comeback, the family thought it would be fitting if he makes his comeback in a venture by Surekha and Charan.”

On why he would be producing Chiru’s 152nd instead of 151st, Aravind noted, “I was to produce the 151st film with Boyapati Sreenu in the director’s chair but as the director got busy with his next, we thought Chiranjeevi can complete another film in the interim. Charan has a script with him and he is looking to produce it.”