Pushing back the release dates might actually be a good business move, considering that all the multiplexes showing Robot are already housefull for the first five days and tickets were sold out within an hour online.
While no where near the mega budget of Robot, Mahesh Babu’s new release after a three-year hiatus was made with a budget of ` 45 crore and Junior NTR’s Brindavanam cost a whopping `30 crore. Thota Kanna Rao, the distributor who bought the Telugu rights of Robot for `27 crore, can’t stop talking about the amount spent on making this movie at every promotional event.
Makers of Mahesh Babu’s Khaleja are, however, not so confident. The producers of this movie Singanamalai Ramesh and C Kalyan, who burnt their fingers with the recent Pawan Kalyan-starrer Komaram Puli, are hoping that Khaleja will save them from further debts. Puli was made with a budget of ` 40 crore and barely managed to collect `15 crore. Industry sources say that the producers have even mortgaged their properties for Khaleja and are praying that it will be a hit that will bail them out. Even the usually reclusive Mahesh Babu is aggressively marketing the film with whirlwind visits to radio stations, chatting with fans and tweeting with a vengeance. And word on the street is, the movie will release in 500 theatres.
Junior NTR’s Brindavanam too is releasing in the second week of October. The actor reportedly charged ` 8 crore for the movie that also stars Kajal Agarwal and Samantha. With a budget of ` 30 crore, most of which went in paying hefty fees to the actors, it will be a wonder if producer Dil Raju manages to break even especially taking into account that the movie’s audio and trailers have failed to evoke much interest. But then rumour has it that Junior NTR will be appearing in the movie in an all new avatar, so die hard fans are sure to flock to the theatres to check him out, if nothing else.
But till Khaleja and Brindavanam releases, it will be Robot, Enthiran and Robo Rajinikanth all the way!