'Baahubali' & the two challengers
- IndiaGlitz, [Saturday,September 17 2016]
Come April 2017, Tollywood will be in for a tricky situation when 'Baahubali-The Conclusion' will arrive even as at least two big-ticket movies will likely vie for market share.
Mahesh Babu's AR Murugadoss outing will be ready for release by April. The movie's shoot will be wrapped up by the end of January and post-production works will be taken up at a break-neck speed so as to make the film ready for April. Much as this one is a behemoth, will the makers think it prudent to lock horns with Rajamouli's magnum opus in a space of less than 15-20 days or so? Although a bi-lingual, the film will have to mop up a huge opening if it's to confidently attain a break-even for the distributors, especially because it's a Rs. 100 cr budgeted monster.
On the other hand, Allu Arjun's 'DJ-Duvvada Jagannadham' is said to be gearing up for a grand April release. The movie's shoot is expected to be wrapped up by the end of March. Could it be that Dil Raju is eyeing to release the Harish Shankar directorial in the month of April itself so as to make the most out of the summer movie-going audience? After all, it's in April that Allu Arjun delivered an industry hit in the form of 'Sarrainodu' this year. Moreover, Dil Raju is not someone who would feel intimidated by competition. He has decided to field 'Shathamanam Bhavathi' for Sankranthi despite the onslaught by biggies.
Whatever it is, the summer of 2017 is going to be an uncertain period for Tollywood's stakeholders, especially distributors - unarguably the most vulnerable ones.