The year 2019 is ending on a good note for Sandalwood, with Rakshit Shetty-starrer Avane Srimnannarayana seeing houseful boards in all multiplexes and single-screen theatres across Karnataka.
The film started with 32 premier screenings, all of which were sold out, bringing in an element of surprise to the industry folks.
The cop fantasy thriller has got great bookings over the last three days, and holding 1,000 plus multiplex shows per day all over the state, including Tumakuru, Mysuru, Davangere, Belagavi, Mangaluru, and Shivamogga, and is also running in packed houses at single-screen theatres in places like Mandya and Chitradurga. Such a positive response from the audience has boosted the spirits of the producers and the entire team.
Though the makers have not revealed the box office collections, City Express has learnt that the collection from the premier shows and three-day run comes to Rs 24 crore.
If ASN maintains the same tempo for the next fortnight, the Rakshit Shtty-starrer has the potential to reach the Rs 100-crore mark. Pushkar Mallikarjunaiah, who is busy overlooking the box office performance of Avane Srimannarayana, says, “Hearing people saying that the film has all signs of being a massive hit, has brought in a lot of excitement for me and the team. With no backup, I have stood by this film for the last three years, and reason was always the content, Rakshit Shetty, and the team, which I believed in. The houseful shows is just a proof.”
Word of mouth has also created a buzz in the Telugu market for ASN, where it will be released on January 1, followed by Tamil and Malayalam on January 3. The Hindi version will be out on January 16.
Meanwhile, Tamil actor Siddhart had good words to say about the film, and the actor. The actor tweeted, “Hearing exacting things about the stunning looking #Kannada film #AvaneSrimnannarayana.
Congrats to the talented maverick #RakshitShetty and his superb team!. Go watch it in the cinema people! Releasing in several languages soon! (sic).
The film, which marks the directorial debut of Sachin Ravi, has Ajaneesh B Lokanath’s background score and Karm Chawla’s camerawork. Along with Rakshit, the film also stars Shanvi Srivastava, Balaji Manohar, Achyuth Kumar and Pramod Shetty.