Mixed signals over George Reddy’s success

Conflicting reports are emerging on the box-office fate of much-hyped film George Reddy. Interestingly, although the film released on November 22, not much was known about its collections till now.

While most reports say the film is a flop, the director claims that the producers have retrieved their monies. Despite no big stars in the film, it generated a huge pre-release buzz because it revolved around the life of controversial student leader George Reddy and his murder in the early 70s. The teaser and the trailer were also very impressive, with most Tollywood stars, including Chiranjeevi, promoting it on social media.

However, despite the good pre-release hype and business, it appears that the film did not live up to its expectations, which could be why the makers didn’t announce the box-office figures till now. Of the Rs 5 crore spent on theatrical rights, they have reportedly recovered half. “But they didn’t sell the satellite and digital rights because they expected high revenues after release, which did not happen,” says a source, adding that nearly `10 crore was spent on the making of the film.

Meanwhile, director Jeevan Reddy states, “The film did really well.” Explaining that he used whatever information he was able to gather about the student leader to make the film, he adds, “I simply wanted to narrate the life story of George Reddy and believe that I did a good job. That’s why the film got such a good response and appreciation from everyone.” Further, Reddy says that he put a disclaimer at the beginning of the film that it was purely a work of fiction for fear that the censors would object to it otherwise. “There are many different opinions about George Reddy, but I feel I am successful as everyone is once again talking about him after 50 years,” says the director, who believes that the satellite and digital rights will bring profits to the producers. “Also, we are soon releasing it in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam,” he reveals.

Reacting to the film, filmmaker Thamareddy Bharadwaj, who was one of the people to last see George Reddy at the OU Campus, says, “There is a disclaimer at the beginning which calls the film a work of fiction. What can I say?” However, the senior producer says that it is a good commercial film. “George Reddy’s family members saw the film and liked it,” says Thammareddy, adding, “There were a few real incidents shown in the film, but they were all made in a commercial way.”