Megastar Chiranjeevi fans started claiming that Boss will make Rajni's 2.0 and Prabhas's Saaho look minuscule in other languages while Baahubali will be beaten in Telugu states when Sye Raa was announced with so many big names.
The teaser made them even more confident about movies becoming a success in other states but Saaho's debacle did make them think twice before making big statements.
Promotional strategies from Konidela Productions did not live up to their expectations and they decided before release that Sye Raa will only show impact in South Indian languages.
They kept asking for promotions in Hindi and even in Telugu but Konidela Productions did not try to be as aggressive as KGF Chapter-1 and Baahubali.
Today, KGF Chapter-2 may not become another Baahubali-2 but it will be another Saaho kind of a performer if it delivers on the promise like the first one.
So, where did Megastar's bid for a Pan-India hit go wrong? First of all, movie director Surender Reddy is a good technician but not a widely accepted storyteller even in Telugu Cinema. He has been inconsistent throughout his career.
In Sye Raa too, he couldn't find a middle way from trying to keep the story real at the same time give it grandeur like Baahubali. The movie looked more like an extension of Telugu masala movies on a large scale.
Baahubali makers did not let the masala angle dominate the story and they relied on the ensemble of characters to let people know them, like them and feel for them. Sye Raa's team tried hard to keep it Megastar's film and other characters couldn't really get enough time to be loved. They just looked like planets revolving around the sun with no real weight or meaning.
For Telugu audiences, Megastar is such a huge name and hence, they accepted that approach but in other languages, it did not suit. Even Aaj Ka Gundaraj, Prathibandh which Chiranjeevi did in Hindi after Shiva, did fail because of the same approach.
Somehow, Mega heroes - Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, and Ram Charan couldn't find such acceptance outside Telugu even though they showed potential to attract other language film viewers.
Nagarjuna after Shiva could find work in Hindi besides Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar to some success. He did not concentrate much on growing his stature there after getting some recognition.
Allu Arjun today has a good market in Kerala but his plans to try and expand in other languages are not fruitful. Prabhas is the only hero, who has acceptance at a broader level in Hindi and if he chooses his films wisely, hereafter, he will be a big action hero from Indian Cinema, without any doubt.
Ram Charan is hoping to receive good recognition with RRR, as he failed with Zanjeer and Pawan Kalyan is showing the least interest in films these days.
Chiranjeevi may not bid huge again as his age won't permit. So, the questions are still persistent, Are mega heroes finding it difficult to expand their market? Will Mega-dom be limited to Telugu states only?
The teaser made them even more confident about movies becoming a success in other states but Saaho's debacle did make them think twice before making big statements.
Promotional strategies from Konidela Productions did not live up to their expectations and they decided before release that Sye Raa will only show impact in South Indian languages.
They kept asking for promotions in Hindi and even in Telugu but Konidela Productions did not try to be as aggressive as KGF Chapter-1 and Baahubali.
Today, KGF Chapter-2 may not become another Baahubali-2 but it will be another Saaho kind of a performer if it delivers on the promise like the first one.
So, where did Megastar's bid for a Pan-India hit go wrong? First of all, movie director Surender Reddy is a good technician but not a widely accepted storyteller even in Telugu Cinema. He has been inconsistent throughout his career.
In Sye Raa too, he couldn't find a middle way from trying to keep the story real at the same time give it grandeur like Baahubali. The movie looked more like an extension of Telugu masala movies on a large scale.
Baahubali makers did not let the masala angle dominate the story and they relied on the ensemble of characters to let people know them, like them and feel for them. Sye Raa's team tried hard to keep it Megastar's film and other characters couldn't really get enough time to be loved. They just looked like planets revolving around the sun with no real weight or meaning.
For Telugu audiences, Megastar is such a huge name and hence, they accepted that approach but in other languages, it did not suit. Even Aaj Ka Gundaraj, Prathibandh which Chiranjeevi did in Hindi after Shiva, did fail because of the same approach.
Somehow, Mega heroes - Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, and Ram Charan couldn't find such acceptance outside Telugu even though they showed potential to attract other language film viewers.
Nagarjuna after Shiva could find work in Hindi besides Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar to some success. He did not concentrate much on growing his stature there after getting some recognition.
Allu Arjun today has a good market in Kerala but his plans to try and expand in other languages are not fruitful. Prabhas is the only hero, who has acceptance at a broader level in Hindi and if he chooses his films wisely, hereafter, he will be a big action hero from Indian Cinema, without any doubt.
Ram Charan is hoping to receive good recognition with RRR, as he failed with Zanjeer and Pawan Kalyan is showing the least interest in films these days.
Chiranjeevi may not bid huge again as his age won't permit. So, the questions are still persistent, Are mega heroes finding it difficult to expand their market? Will Mega-dom be limited to Telugu states only?