Sarangapani Jathakam, Chaurya Paatam—Zero Buzz for Tomorrow's Telugu Movie Releases!
Just like every Friday, there are two Telugu movies releasing this week. However, there seems to be little anticipation or excitement surrounding these releases. Sarangapani Jaatakam, a critically acclaimed comedy entertainer starring Priyadarshi, Roopa Koduvayur, Vennela Kishore, and others, is the next project from critically acclaimed director Indraganti Mohanakrishna.
Indraganti's movies always attracted a certain section of the audience, and whenever he managed to impress them, the movie emerged profitable for all parties involved. Gentleman and Sammohanam are two successful examples of this trend. His films have also flopped at the box office. Aa Ammayi Gurinchi Meeku Cheppali, V, and a few others tanked at the cinemas because of the lack of connection with the audiences.
His latest outing, Sarangapani Jathakam, was due to be released last December. However, the Pushpa wave forced a postponement. Since then, the makers have been trying to find a sweet spot for the film's release, and with the summer holidays going on in both the Telugu states, there couldn't have been a better time than the present for the makers to release the film.
Priyadarshi, Roopa, Vennela Kishore, and Mohanakrishna himself did a whole swarm of promotions so that the movie could reach a wider audience, but based on the early booking trends, Sarangapani's fate does not look ideal. The advanced booking trends are not good, and the film has to rely heavily on word of mouth from fans for it to emerge as a blockbuster.
There have been times when Indraganti's films have become hits days after release owing to strong word of mouth. Sarangapani Jathakam has to repeat that magic for people to start flocking to the screens again. The trailer releases promised a fun ride, and if that translates well on-screen, it can be a perfect festive release for Telugu audiences.
Sarangapani Jathakam will face stiff competition from Nani's HIT 3 and Suriya's Retro in the Telugu states from May 1st. Therefore, Sarangapani Jathakam has a week to establish its presence in theaters before Nani and Suriya take over.
On the other hand, there is another small film that's hitting the screens, and that is Chaurya Patam. Even though the movie doesn't boast a star cast as prolific as Sarangapani Jathakam, it's being produced by filmmaker Trinadha Rao Nakkina, and the visuals are by the widely acclaimed Karthik Gattmaneni.
It remains to be seen if these two big names and an intriguing premise are enough for Chaurya Patam to drive audiences to the big screens. With the advent of tentpole films and the pan-Indian craze, it's the small- to medium-budget movies that end up suffering, and from the early booking trends, it seems that Sarangapani Jathakam and Chaurya Patam might struggle at the box office.
If the word-of-mouth and early reviews are positive, there will be no stopping these two films.
