Nagarjuna outwits Venkatesh at box office?

It was a clash of titans at the box office this Sankranthi festival. Nonetheless, seasoned star Nagarjuna surpassed the collections of his rival and colleague Venkatesh at the box office this festival. “Naa Saami Ranga garnered Rs 15 crores till Tuesday, while ‘Saindhav’ has made Rs 12 crores. Hence, Nagarjuna has superseded his rival,” says a distributor and adds, “Venkatesh’s movie was action-centric without any relief for the audience in terms of comedy and songs, while Nagarjuna has its share of light-hearted moments and also it was a celebration of friendship and so has an edge,” he adds.

However, both the movies have to surpass Rs 20 crores each to leave some profits in the hands of buyers. “There is a big drop in collections and they have to attract more audiences to reach a safe zone, but it looks difficult since holidays have to come to an end. While people are busy returning to Hyderabad from other towns in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states,” he points out.

No doubt, both Nagarjuna and Venkatesh went in for a makeover and turned action heroes in their respective films to woo masses in big numbers. “Their action roles succeeded to some extent and they also benefited from the holiday crowds and recovered some good chunk of money. They have to try such different roles amidst their usual soft and lover boy roles to expand their base, he concludes.