Vijay, Ravi Teja Pongal Releases Fail In The North

 Telugu superstar  Ravi Tejaa and Tamil  icon Vijay were expected  to  draw in the audiences into theatres where their new films Krack and Master, respectively were released for   Pongal which is considered  the best time to release films in South India. This time Vijay hoped he would also entice  audiences in the North, as the dubbed  Hindi version  was also released.

However  both the Pongal biggies have   opened to abysmal audiences in the North.While Krack a comeback vehicle for Telugu star Ravi Tejaa who has not had a  hit in several years, was not expected  to  crack the  Northern  belt’s  boxoffice as it was released in North with English subtitles  only,  the Tamil Master  was  built up as as a Pan-India blockbuster  , in the style of  Prabhas’s  Baahubali and  Yash’s KGF.

But lightning  did not  strike the same place thrice.

An eminent trade analyst who wishes  to remain anonymous says, “We must understand  that South superstars like  Vijay and Ravi Tejaa have  no market in  the Hindi belt. Dubbed Hindi  films from Tamil and Telugu cinema have never worked  in Hindi. Why would  it work now when 95 percent  of  the moviegoing audience is staying away  from theatres  for fear  of  Covid 19?”

With the South  superstars  working only in their home territory the pan-India boxoffice awaits that big blockbuster that  would bring the  audience back.

The fact that the Akshay Kumar starrer  Bell Bottom which  was to release  in theatres in April has now been pushed to June, proves  that moviegoing  audiences  in  India are not ready to brave it into theatres, at least not right now. And  certainly not in the North.