Big Multi-Starrer But No Noise In Tollywood

Summer used to be about big films. This year, it’s just empty space. The box office is dry with major Telugu releases like Ram Charan’s Peddi and Nani’s The Paradise pulled out. Ideally, this is when a big film from outside should step in and take over. At this juncture, one of the biggest multi-starrers coming from Malayalam, “Patriot”, should actually take over. But this May 1st releasing film isn’t making any noise, even 5 days before the release.

Look at the cast of “Patriot”. Mohanlal. Mammootty. Fahadh Faasil. Nayanthara. That itself is enough to stun us, while it also has the likes of Suhasini Maniratnam and Darshana Rajendran as well in key roles. On top of that, Mohanlal and Mammootty are sharing screen space after 18 years in a film. That should be enough to create hype. But in Telugu states, the buzz is almost flat. No strong talk, no excitement, no hunger to catch up this film in theatres. The film is a spy action thriller with political elements. In Malayalam, it has solid expectations. It is being positioned as a pan-India film. But outside Kerala, it has not connected with the audience. While bad-dubbing could be blame, it also could be said that the lack of promotions is worrying “Patriot”.

All these actors have a market here. Fahadh Faasil has a strong recall after Pushpa. Nayanthara is well known to Telugu audiences, and recently she scored big with Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Varaprasad as well. Mohanlal and Mammootty have long-standing respect, while their films like Janata Garage and Yatra, respectively, have made them memorable too. Still, the film Patriot isn’t getting attention. This proves that better promotions are always needed, no matter what the star cast is.

At the same time, small Telugu films that are hitting cinemas on the same day are doing better in terms of visibility. Jetlee and Gayapadda Simham are at least trying to create some buzz with their unique promotions.