Telugu cinema is currently the most ambitious film industry in India. 'Roudram Ranam Rudhiram' has been made at a cost of Rs 500 Cr. 'Project K', 'Salaar', Ram Charan's 15th movie (produced by Dil Raju), Mythri Movie Makers' upcoming pan-India movies have all been made at huge costs.
The filmmakers have been betting big on the basis of the success of three South Indian movies in Hindi: 'Baahubali: The Beginning', 'Baahubali: The Conclusion' and 'KGF'. The stupendous success of 'Pushpa: The Rise' will influence new projects' scale, not the ones which went on the floors before its release.
The litmus test will begin on March 25, the release date of 'RRR'. If this film does well after a failure like 'Radhe Shyam', there will be no stopping Tollywood's surging ambitions. Jr NTR and Ram Charan will create history if the film collects even something like Rs 200 Cr. Their pan-India mission will be kicked off in style.
'RRR' has three big advantages: Rajamouli brand, genre, patriotic flavour. In contrast, 'Radhe Shyam' had a major weakness: Genre. So, 'RRR' has to collect multiple times what 'Radhe Shyam' did in Hindi. If not, Tollywood's expectations will turn muted and the pan-India adventures will be reassessed. Tollywood will go back to the drawing room for sure.
If 'RRR' becomes a massive hit, Telugu producers like Dil Raju and banners like Mythri Movie Makers, UV Creations and Vyjayanthi Movies will roll out bigger plans to make bigger movies in the coming years. March 25 is unarguably the biggest date!
