Four films released this week, and Telusu Kada was the biggest among them, with a budget of around Rs. 40 crore and the hero commanding a remuneration of Rs. 10 crore.
Despite massive promotions and star power, the movie opened weakly, surprising many.
In fact, the ultimate success of a film at the box office depends on its content and word of mouth, but openings reflect the potential and stardom of the hero.
A hero who commands Rs 10 crore is expected to pull crowds to theaters just with his name associated with the film; but that didn’t happen with this one.
Looking back, Siddhu Jonnalagadda was relatively unknown until DJ Tillu. That film introduced him in a big way to the Telugu audience, and the sequel, Tillu Square, elevated his stardom further. He became a youth icon, with his swag, style, and dialogue delivery attracting a strong following.
However, his next film, Jack, released as a spy thriller, didn’t resonate with the audience. And now, Telusu Kada presents an entirely different perspective.
It is a decent film, a musical hit even before its release, with high production values, well-known heroines, and a love story involving a man and two women.
Despite this tried-and-tested formula, the film failed to pull in audiences; a mystery to many.
Trade pundits have attributed the poor openings to various reasons. Some say that the failure of Jack discouraged people from watching Siddhu’s next film.
Others argue that the trailer failed to generate interest, and films of this type are no longer trending; had it released ten years ago, it might have been more successful.
Some point out that audiences were divided between other releases this season and couldn’t spend much on this film.
Others suggest that, having spent on films like Mirai and OG last month, audiences are not ready to spend again so soon; this is reflected in the collections.
Whatever the postmortem opinions, the fact remains that Siddhu Jonnalagadda’s film, despite being a musical hit, failed to attract audiences; a point worth pondering.
Even after the release, though the talk was decent, audience interest seemed low; possibly due to the hero’s previous flop or lack of excitement. The love-triangle theme, familiar and successful before, failed this time.
Whether the issue lies with the content or the hero’s image remains unclear; Telusu Kada’s poor opening and low collections remain a puzzle.
Moreover, Siddhu Jonnalagadda is well-liked by the US Telugu audience.
With rich production values and a Bollywood-style rom-com vibe featuring two popular heroines, Raashii Khanna and Srinidhi Shetty, Telusu Kada was expected to perform well in the USA.
However, it is now estimated to collect only around USD 500K at the US box office, far below the initially expected USD 1.5 million; this reflects the overrated pull factor of the hero.
In India, Telusu Kada, produced on a Rs. 40 crore budget, has grossed only Rs. 7 crore so far, possibly reaching Rs. 10 crore by the end of its theatrical run.