Sankranthi films to jostle for space

Businessman, Bodyguard, Nippu and Poola Rangadu.  If the releases galore has pushed some films to the corner, forcing their producers to put off the release for Republic Day, they are going to keep the audience busy all through.  The films on the platter are coming with myriad colours.

Occupying the most number of screens in the State are Businessman (which is the biggest Telugu release in history) and Bodyguard.  With the gargantuan release, mopping up collections is going to be a classic case of ‘been there, done that’ for Mahesh Babu and Venkatesh.

Not that others will have a tough time grabbing the eyeballs.  Nippu, starring Ravi Teja, is a favourite, too.  Though Gunasekhar is not an asset (Sainikudu, Varudu ? we have had enough from him), the Mass Maharaja is the magnate who would pull us to the theaters.

Poola Rangadu, the Sunil-starrer, deserves a mention, if not for anything, for the sheer audacity of its producer, K Atchi Reddy.  The retro title and Sunil?s presence are the talk of the town.  If Sunil manages to get lucky this time, especially at a time when he is clashing with the titans, his stature will see an elevation.  Otherwise..

What is common among the three big releases is that they are all music-directed by SS Thaman.  That apart, while Puri Jagannadh and Gunasekhar are not in the right form (both of them have a string of flops to their credit), Gopichand Malineni (Bodyguard) and one-film old Veerabhadra Chowdhary (Poola Rangadu) are trying their luck with these films.

Never has the industry needed a row of hits.  Let’s hope for the best.