DC Exclusive: Rashmika outshines Samantha with Rs 32 cr business deal?

Without any doubt, reigning star Rashmika Mandanna has replaced ace actress Samantha as the torchbearer of female-centric movies. With her maiden lady-oriented Telugu-Tamil bilingual film ‘Rainbow’ reportedly sold for Rs 32 crores, it has set a new record for pre-release business for an actress-centric movie in south. Billed to be a romantic fantasy, the Chennai-based production house Dream Warrior Pictures have made profits even before completing the shooting. “Rashmika is very popular among Telugu, Kannada and Tamil audiences and she is gaining popularity in Hindi with big films like ‘Animal’ and ‘Mission Majnu’ to expand her market across India. Hence her movie ‘Rainbow’ was traded for Rs 32 crores including digital, theatrical and satellite rights, highest ever for a women-centric movie in south,” say a source.

Actually, pretty actress Samantha was ruling the roost in Tollywood by dishing out back-to-back blockbusters like ‘Oh Baby’ and ‘Yashoda’ to be hailed as numero uno diva for women-centric movies. “Samantha’s films garnered more than Rs 30 crores after releasing in theatres but not before the release itself. Hence, at the moment, Rashmika has surpassed Samantha in pre-release business deals,” he concludes.