Despite a long break between the release of the Tamil version and the Telugu one - Vijay’s Jilla is making a killing in the AP and Telangana market. The film release in Telugu last weekend along with three other native Telugu films but has managed to take a very good opening at the box office. Jilla, directed by first-timer R T Neason and produced by stalwart R B Chaudhary, was a pretty big hit for Vijay in both Tamil Nadu and Kerala when it released for Pongam 2014. The film starred Vijay and Mohanlal in roles that went down quite well with the audiences.
Utilising the long break in between, the producers have been smart enough to trim 41 minutes of the film’s original 2.55 hour runtime and include some scenes with Telugu actor Brahmmanandham, besides dubbing the whole film into Telugu. Crisp and aimed at the mass audiences, Jilla has been receiving better reviews in Telugu than it managed to garner in Tamil.
The Telugu market has always been a substantial one for Vijay as his movies tend to do very well there. In fact, the only movies of his that have not been dubbed and released in Telugu simultaneously were the ones that were remakes of Telugu films. Even Kaththi, directed by A R Murugadoss, was released in Telugu and ended up being a massive blockbuster because of the film’s storyline and Vijay’s appeal.