Although this time of the year is for Tollywood to shake the Box Office, it seems that like the New Year, Sankranti too is going to be a low-key affair, going by the fact that there are no big star releases this year.
Quite a surprise, given that Sankaranti is considered the most auspicious festival in these parts and the stars have always vied with one another for a release this time of the year. With no star wars, looks like the festival will lack its characteristic zing. What's even more surprising is that this year, of the six films
lined up for a Sankaranti release, only three finally made it. The biggie among them is Maska, starring Ram, Hansika and Sheela. The other two being Allari Naresh's Fitting Master and Anushka's Arundhathi.
"Filmmakers have always cashed in on the festival," says producer council chairman, Tammareddy Bharadwaj.
Yesteryear stars too played a key role in creating this trend, says Tammareddy, as he goes on to explain, "NTR always opted for a December release, while ANR preferred Sankranti. Later, Krishna joined the Sankranti bandwagon. Even I believe there's something auspicious about this festival. My film Pachani Samsaram with Krishna in the lead actor which released on Sankranti was a blockbuster. It was not only a commercial hit but also won accolades for me as a director."
Another sentiment that's attached to this festival is that since it's the first festival in the year, filmmakers want to come up with a blockbuster and hope that the good fortune sustains till the end of the year. MS Raju, who is popularly known as Sankranthi Raju, is ready with Maska this time. "I am confident about my film and I have always had the Sankranti sentiment," he said. Most of his films that were released on this particular day were hits, the most memorable being the Mahesh Babu starrer Okkadu.
Vouching for the Sankranti effect is director EVV Satyanarayana, "I got my first break with Prema Khaidi, which was a Sankranti release, and I firmly believe that there's something auspicious about the festival." No wonder, he is releasing his film Fitting Master at this time, with son Naresh playing the lead role.
The surprise this year is Arundh-athi. And we wonder if this is the beginning of a new trend considering the theme is women-centric. Arundhati took almost two years in the making because of the graphic element and other technical work and also because Anushka, the glam girl of Telugu cinema, dons a new avatar in this period flick, directed by Kodi Rama Krishna.
Coming to the films that were postponed –– Siddharth's Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam, the Nitin and Priyamani starrer Drona and Rajasekhar's Satyameva Jayathe –– we hear that they will be released by the end of the month. Apart from these, according to industry sources, there are some more films lined up for release next month, that's before the exam fever takes a grip in March. An estimated Rs 80 to 100 crore business is expected in the first two months.
Source: timesofindia
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