Despite 'Indian 2', Telugu Distributors Bet Rs 50 Crs On Tamil Stars
Hyderabad: Despite the much-hyped ‘Indian 2’ failing to impress Telugu audiences, Telugu distributors are in no mood to give up and are pumping in money on Tamil stars. “More than Rs 50 crores are riding on these big-ticket Tamil films like ‘Kanguva’, ‘Raayan’, ‘G.O.A. T’, ‘Thangalan’ and Rajnikanth’s ‘Vettaiyan’. In fact, Telugu distributors are hoping to recover their investments as they are expecting grand openings since Tamil stars have fans among Telugu audience too,” says a distributor, who adds, “Flops like ‘Indian 2’ and ‘Laal Salaam’ starring big stars like Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth respectively proved that more name of stars, it is the content that is going to draw in crowds.”.
Nonetheless, Tollywood is awaiting the release of Dhanush’s ‘Raayan’, which is slated for release on July 26. “It has triggered a lot of buzz and Dhanush is seen in a new avatar,’ he adds. He also claims that Tamil Suriya’s ‘Kanguva’ is another big-ticket entertainer to enthrall Telugu viewers in October. “Suriya always comes up with unique plots and this time he is playing a dreaded warrior in ‘Kanguva’ and it is set to release in 30-odd languages including Telugu and Telugu viewers are showing interest in this action adventure,” he adds. Another big one is ‘Vettaiyan’ featuring Rajnikanth and Amitabh Bachchan and it exposes fraud in the online education system. “Jailer was a sensational blockbuster in Telugu states and it made more than Rs 30 crores. Now, Telugu audiences are expecting ‘Vettaiyan’ since Rajinikanth is doing another anger-driven role,” he points out.
After tasting success with ‘Leo’, Tamil superstar Vijay is returning with ‘G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time) and it has been sold for over Rs 17 crores in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “Vijay has gained a huge fan following in Telugu states and he also draws good openings. Now, Rajnikanth and Vijay have to draw in crowds to theatres in Telugu states over Telugu stars,” he concludes.