There was a time when Karthi was touted to be one of the very few Kollywood heroes with a notable set of admirers among the Telugu audience.  'Oopiri', released in 2016, was his big moment.  Since then, the versatile actor has done four movies, out of which two were very creative in terms of content.  If 'Kaashmora' and 'Cheliyaa' were mediocre and their poor BO performance in the Telugu States is understandable, 'Khakee' and 'Chinababu' came with highly impressive content.  'Khakee' made money but 'Chinababu' made losses despite being a big hit in Tamil ('Kadaikutty Singham').  

Cut to 2019, Karthi awaits the release of 'Dev' on February 14.  Surprisingly or otherwise, the buzz for this Valentine's Day special is almost negligible in AP and Telangana.  Online ticket sales are seemingly very low even 24 hours before the theatrical release.  (It's also one of the few dubbed movies to feature two much-familiar artists as supporting characters: Ramya Krishna and Prakash Raj).    

The film is clashing with 'Lovers Day', starring the Internet sensation Priya Prakash Varrier as the female lead.  Like 'Dev', this one too is a dubbed movie.  The Box-Office will decide which of these two movies is going to be the winner.  If the emotional content of 'Dev' clicks with the first-day audience, the film's commercial prospects could look bright over the weekend.