Vakeel Saab Collections: Pawan Kalyan’s comeback film Vakeel Saab had opened with excellent reports and Day 1 collections are ranked at 32.5crs in the Telugu States. With strong WOM and 2 holidays in its 1st-week run, Vakeel Saab collected a share of 76crs worldwide. Theatrical rights valued at 89.85crs it has to hold good in 2nd week run to attain HIT status. Here’s is 1st Week area-wise Vakeelsaab collections breakup.
Disclaimer:The box office figures are compiled from various sources. The figures can be approximate and TrackTollywood does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the film(s).
Allu Arjun is all proud and upbeat about brother Allu Sirish’s success. Sirish’s music video Vilayati Sharaab has garnered over 100 million views on YouTube. The music video which is Allu Sirish’s Hindi debut is sung by Darshan Raval and Neeti Mohan, it features Heli Daruwala opposite the actor.
Vilayati Sharaab, which was released on Youtube in March, has been well received by all for its peppy music and catchy tunes. As the two start dancing, they set the stage on fire with killer expressions and signature steps. Congratulating his brother on the achievement, Allu Arjun took to social media and wrote, “BIG Congratulations to @allusirish on hitting 100M. Super Proud! & Congratulations to @darshanravaldz @neetimohan18 @heli_daruwala the entire team of #vilayatisharaab.”
Allu Sirish is said to have learned the choreography of the song over a period of five days. The actor also posted on social media thanking his fans on this milestone, “A big, big thank you to the music lovers, people all over India for showering so much love on Vilayati Sharaab. 100 million views & topping charts was something I din’t imagine at all. A big shoutout out to the real stars @darshanravaldz, @neetimohan18, Lijo George & DJ Chetas and my producer @naushadepositive for making this song massive. So glad to share screen space with @heli_daruwala and to be directed by @adil_choreographer who presented us so well. This whole experience will always be special to me & close to my heart (sic).”
Producer Dil Raju over the years has carved a niche for himself through a number of successful films. Both as a producer as well as one of the leading distributors in the Nizam area, he’s been a part of some of the biggest blockbusters in the Telugu film industry. However, the recent developments over Vakeel Saab have left Dil Raju disappointed.
It’s being reported that Raju is not happy with the way Vakeel Saab is performing especially in Nizam in its first week. Pawan Kalyan’s fan following and his track record in Nizam are well known to all. His Jalsa, back in those days entered into the top 2 highest grosser in Nizam along with Pokiri. Similarly, his 2012 superhit Gabbar Singh also was the top 2 highest grosser in Nizam along with Magadheera for quite some time. We all know the kind of sensation his Attarintiki Daredi created particularly in Nizam. The movie turned out to be Industry Hit and raked in the highest ever Nizam collections ever. A positive talk on Power Star’s movie is enough to have records tumbling. But, that’s not the case this time.
Coming to Vakeel Saab, it generated great hype even before its release as it was Powerstar’s comeback film. It was expected to be a major success both critically as well as financially. Vakeel Saab proved its hype and turned out to be the biggest opener in Indian cinema post lockdown. The film grossed 32crores + share in Telugu States on an opening day. However, after the initial euphoria, the collections seem to be tumbling down. According to our sources, the movie is expected to have a share of 21-22 crores in the first week for Nizam region The movie has failed to make it even to the Top 5 Nizam grossers in the first week. This has made Dil Raju a worried man who is keeping a close eye on how collections unfold.
If reports are to be believed the much-hyped and awaited NTR- Prashant Neel film has been shelved. The film which was announced earlier amidst much fanfare will not go on floors according to the sources. The reason for this are multiple developments in the recent where some last-minute changes happened in the actors’ schedule.
Neel, who is currently directing Salaar has okayed a movie with Allu Arjun where he reportedly was offered big remuneration. This would have meant a further delay to NTR- Prashant Neel film. This development has not gone down well with NTR who has chosen to let go of the project.
Over the last few months, there were multiple speculations over who would NTR chose for his 30th film. While Trivikram was the frontrunner for this, a creative difference between the two led to the movie being shelved for now. Post-Uppena’s success, even newcomer Bucchi Babu Sana was in the news to be directing the NTR 30.
However, it was Koratala Siva who is presently busy with Acharaya, who got finalized for this prestigious project. Koratala took to Twitter to share the update with eager fans. NTR30 will be produced by Nandamuri Kalyan Ram under NTR Arts banner and is scheduled to release on April 29th next year.
Post this film, NTR will be working on Buchi Babu Sana on NTR 31. The actor had multiple discussions with the Uppena director and now it seems the project is finally on track.
Alia Bhat who recently tested positive for Covid has recovered completely and is ready to get back to work soon. She will join RRR soon and resume on her portion for the film. The actress posted the good news of her recovery through a social media post where she wrote the caption, “The only time being negative is a good thing.”
Alia Bhat was shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubhai Kathiavadi when she contracted the virus. She will be back to RRR as well as the Gangubhai Kathiavadi where she’s playing the titular role.
Earlier this month, Alia Bhatt revealed that she tested positive for the coronavirus and issued a statement that read: “Hello all, I have tested positive for COVID-19. I have immediately isolated myself and will be under home quarantine. I am following all safety protocols under the advice of my doctors.”
She has been active on Instagram and posting regular updates ever since she was tested positive. Along with RRR and Gangubhai Kathiavadi, she will also be seen Bollywood action fantasy Brahmastra.
Shankar has strongly hit back to producer Aascar Ravichadran through an open letter. Shankar’s strong response was made through a letter where he trashed Aascar’s claims over having sole right to the story of Anniyan.
The whole controversy started when Shankar on Wednesday through a Twitter post had announced that he will be adapting his 2005 blockbuster Anniyan in Hindi. He further announced that Ranveer Singh will be acting in this movie set to go on floors in mid-2022. This did not go down well with Aascar Ravichandran who wrote a letter and also posted the agreement copy on social media. Aascar also stated that he would be taking a legal route if Shankar did not drop the movie immediately
“I am shocked to receive your mail dated 14.04.2021 stating that you own the storyline of the movie Anniyan. In this context, I submit that the movie was released in the year 2005 and everyone associated with the movie were aware that the script and storyline belongs exclusively to me and in fact the movie was released with the tag: story, screenplay and direction by Shankar. I have not assigned in writing any script or screenplay to any person, and continue to retain the right to exploit the script in any manner I deem fit. As the admitted author of the literary work, my rights cannot be interfered with under any circumstances,” wrote Shankar in his response.
Shankar also expressed surprise at Aascar chosing to involve writer Sujatha into the controversy, “He was engaged by me only to write dialogues for the film and was accordingly credited. He was not involved in the script, screenplay or characterisation in any manner, and there is no scope beyond his engagement as a dialogue writer,” he added.
Shankar added, “Given that the script vests with me, I am absolutely entitled to exploit the same in any manner I deem fit. Infact, you/your entity does not have the right to remake or make any derivative rights for Anniyan, as the said rights have not been granted to you in writing. In the absence of any assignment in writing from me, there can be no basis whatsoever to even assert that the “storyline” vests with you.”
The director also aggressively stated that, “You as the producer have gained substantially from the success of the film Anniyan, and are needlessly trying to unjustly enrich yourself even in my future endeavours which have no correlation to you. Needless to state, I can only hope good sense will prevail upon you after this clarification and you will stop agitating such baseless claims. This reply is issued without prejudice, and to clarify the actual situation of me as a director and writer being subject to such avaricious and illegal claims to needlessly attempt to jeopardise my future projects.”
SS Rajamaouli’s magnum opus RRR is easily the most awaited movie of the year. The expectations on the movie went sky high right from its announcement. And now, with each teaser update and poster release, the buzz around the movie is just skyrocketing like never before. One of the main reasons for this is the explosive combination of Jr NTR and Ram Charan. Both these actors have given superhits and blockbusters individually with Rajamouli. This is why now with them joining hands, both actors’ fans are eagerly waiting to see their idols together. The additional cast of Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhat has also created great curiosity around the film. Everyone is eagerly waiting for an official word on RRR release date.
But, now it turns out that even industry insiders are eagerly waiting for an official release announcement. A lot of films are rescheduling their release dates of late. Love Story, Virata Parvam, Tuck Jagadish, Thalaivi are some movies that have postponed their releases. While the covid second wave is one reason, the other reason is the recent disagreement between the distributors and government. The makers of other movies are now looking towards RRR for its release.
Case in point is Mythri Movie Makers, who are also backing two big-ticket movies ‘Pushpa’ and ‘Sarkaru Vari Paata’. Pushpa is set to release on 13th August, but, the recent incidents might alter the release to a later date. Similarly, Sarkaru Vari Paata, which has a release date of 2022 January, might prepone its release. Both these situations are possible if RRR is looking to push its release from October to a later date.
Overall, one of the Mythri movies- SVP or Pushpa might move to an October release if RRR release is delayed. Only time will reveal which movie makes which slot, but, Tollywood audience are definitely in for a treat.
Venkatesh, who’s on a roll these days has completed the shoot of his upcoming film Drushyam 2 in record time. A remake of the Malayalam film Drishyam 2 that released earlier this year, Venkatesh will be portraying Mohanlal’s role from the original.
Director Jeethu Joseph who also directed the original in Malayalam posted the update on Venkatesh’s end of shoot.
He will be next seen in Narappa which incidentally is also a remake of Tamil film Asuran starring Dhanush. Post Asuran, Venky will be moving on to F3, a sequel of his 2019 superhit F2:Fun and Frustration. The movie will have Meena, Nadiya, and Naresh essaying their roles as from original. Sampath Raj and Poorna will be joining the cast in this movie.
The announcement of a new movie has yet again brought another legal trouble for the ace director Shankar. The director on Wednesday had announced that he will be directing the official adaptation of 2005 blockbuster Aniyan (Aparichitudu). This announcement hasn’t gone down well with the movie’s producer Aascar Ravichandran. Ravichandran’s Aascar Production produced the film and he holds all the rights to the film.
The veteran producer released the copy of the agreement which denoted the communication between him and Shankar over the movie way back in 2003. Aaskar is reportedly planning to take the legal route and he will be sending a notice to Shankar soon over his decision to remake the movie without his permission. He even released a strongly worded letter addressed to Shankar expressing his anguish and shock.
Anniyan is a 2005 Tamil blockbuster that follows the story of Ambi (Vikram). Ambi is a socially conscious and individual and the film explores his tryst with split character personality disorder. Vikram won many accolades and awards for his terrific performance in this hugely successful and critically acclaimed movie. The movie was one of the highest grosser of the year.
This is the second legal trouble for Shankar this year brought forth by his producers. Earlier in March, Lyca Productions, producers of Indian 2 decided to take him to court for not honoring his commitment to the movie even after taking an advance. Reportedly, Shankar had used up Rs 180 crore of the allotted Rs 236 crores budget without any substantial progress.
Producer Suresh Babu has decided to shut down his theatres in Krishna and East Godavari districts from tomorrow. All the theatres owned as well as leased by him will be shot down as a mark of protest against the state government’s recent orders.
Recently a G.O. was issued placing a slab on the ticket prices on theatres in AP. These theatres were divided into Municipal Corporations, Municipality, Nagar Panchayat, and Gram Panchayat. In fact, the ticket prices in Gram Panchayat have been set as low as Rs 20/-.
This is turning out to be the biggest issue for the distributors. If this situation continues for a while and no amicable agreement is done between the government and distributors, there is a chance of no more new releases for quite some time along with theatres shutting down.
This year, Tollywood is going to witness a number of big-ticket films. The producers and distributors are really counting on them to pull them out of the lean patch brought in by lockdown last year. However, with this G.O., a number of Tollywood biggies will have to struggle really hard to recover their investment with the government-established ticket prices.
