With 'Whistle' grossing Rs 10 Cr in its first weekend in the Telugu States, comparisons have been made with the Tamil Nadu box-office collections of 'Saaho' and 'Sye Raa'. Prabhas couldn't capitalize on his 'Baahubali'-given image most recently. Megastar Chiranjeevi himself couldn't ensure footfalls despite 'Sye Raa' having familiar faces like Vijay Sethpathy, Nayanthara and Tamannaah.

What is it that Tollywoodians lack? Does anybody have an answer? If Pawan Kalyan is to be believed, the fault lies within. In an old interview, which he gave probably after the release of the 2012 movie 'Gabbar Singh', Power Star analyzed that the producers here don't have the urge to penetrate new markets. This is not the case with Kollywoodians, he suggested.

Pawan added, "Your marketing has to be aggressive (if your film has to do well in other markets). Producers here wash their hands off a film once rights are sold off. When I was living in Madras, I was witness to how the residents of the city watched films like 'Siva', 'Gitanjali' and 'Ankusam' with great enthusiasm. Our producers lose heart if they face even one setback. We couldn't capitalize on even a film like 'Magadheera'. Had such a film been made by others, they would have tried their best to sell it to the Telugu audience. Let's not blame others for our drawbacks."