₹60 Crore ‘Bhari’: Big Bet On Varun Tej?

Niharika Konidela is currently busy with the promotions of her production Rakasa, which is set for release on April 3rd. Even before that hits screens, she has already announced her next film with her brother Varun Tej. Titled Bhari, the film is directed by Yadhu Vamsee and is said to be a volleyball-based sports drama.

One key detail is now grabbing attention about Bhari, and it is nothing but the fact that the film is being made on a budget of nearly ₹60 crores, making it the costliest project to be produced by Niharika. But here’s something to notice. Varun Tej’s current market is quite volatile as none of his recent films has crossed the ₹20 crore gross mark comfortably at the box office. Even on the OTT front, his films are said to be fetching around ₹10–15 crores only. Why invest ₹60 crores on a Varun Tej film at this stage, even though the content sounds to be interesting?

If you look at recent Telugu films, mid-range heroes usually work well when the budgets are controlled. Films made within ₹20–25 crores have better chances of recovering investments, especially when the theatrical performance is uncertain. Once the budget goes beyond that, the pressure on recovery increases big time. Even though Bhari is being planned as a pan-India project, and sports dramas do have the potential to connect if the content clicks, the budget is currently ‘baari’ for sure.

Meanwhile, if Niharika scores big with Rakasa, then surely she might pull off a big-budgeted ‘Bhari’ quite effortlessly as she has enough investment strength already.