Patriot & Raja Shivaji: Failed Even Before Release?

Like we have discussed multiple times in these columns already, almost five dubbing movies are trying to grab the attention and patronage of the Telugu audience this May Day, which happens to be a Friday as well.

Of them, Sai Pallavi’s Oka Raju is tempting the Gen Z urban audience, while the masses are looking forward to Dhanush’s Kara and Ritesh Deshmukh’s Raja Shivaji. However, those people who love Malayali thrillers are looking forward to Patriot featuring the galaxy of stars, including Mohan Lal and Mammootty. Here’s the twist, though.

Apparently, the Telugu version of Dhanush’s Kara has been released on the 30th itself, and opened to mixed reviews. Meanwhile, the bookings of Sai Pallavi’s Oka Raju are good, and in cities like Hyderabad and Vizag, the Hindi version is also getting more occupancy if the early bookings on BookMyShow are anything to go by. Then comes the film Raja Shivaji, which has a huge scope to connect to the Telugu audience. Sadly, there’s no Telugu version of the film available at the moment, to book tickets, and the makers haven’t promoted the film in Telugu states. With Genelia being the producer, had she come here to promote the film, surely it would have worked wonders for her.

Coming to Patriot movie, with the likes of Mammootty, Mohan Lal, Fahad Faasil, and Nayanthara playing the leads in this film, many are wondering why there is no single interview given in the Telugu states, and the Telugu version is also not available for release. Even on BookMyShow, we cannot see anywhere the Telugu version of these films hitting cinemas. While Mammootty promoted the film aggressively in Mumbai, giving interviews to top Bollywood portals, many are wondering why they avoided the Telugu states this time.

It looks like, with the lack of Telugu versions, these films have failed even before their release. Now the original versions should get terrific word of mouth, and then the Telugu version has to come, to make a difference.