Johnny remains a fan favourite despite its box office status
- IndiaGlitz, [Saturday,April 25 2020]
Pawan Kalyan did not become Power Star overnight and he started his journey with Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi, which ended up an average grosser. Despite it being directed by EVV Satyanarayana, who was at his peak of his abilities and success, the movie couldn't sustain the hype.
It had Chiranjeevi's brother and ANR's granddaughter debuting as leads. So, the expectations from fans were sky-high. The movie ending up as an average made Pawan think about his choices carefully and he decided to do remakes like Gokulam Lo Seetha and Sushwagatham. Both ended up as box office hits.
But his career changed with Tholiprema as it made him a representative of youth on screen. It quickly did Thammudu, Badri and Kushi which ended up making him a youth icon. Kushi got him the name, Power star.
He directed action portions and songs in his films like Thammudu, Badri and Kushi. Fans fell in love with his ideas and producers encouraged him to direct a full film. He announced Satyagrahi in Kushi producer AM Ratnam's production in his own direction but dropped the idea as he was not satisfied with the output after one schedule.
He decided to take up Johnny in Geetha Arts production which is like a home banner to Mega Family. The movie had earth shattering hype and with Pawan directing the film, many expected it to become a trendsetter again. But the movie ended up being a disaster as the sync sound technique and story did not work with audiences.
Still, Pawan Kalyan proved that he is a style filmmaker and has very deep understanding for visuals with the film, as a director. May be that is reason, fans still celebrate it even though it ended being a disaster. Movie completed 17 years of its release on 25th April 2020!