Tamil star Suriya’s film ‘Kanguva’ would have had better openings in the two Telugu states, if it had been released during Dasara on October 10 as planned earlier. Now, it is slated for release on November 14. “Telugu distributors would have minted more money in October riding on Dasara holidays since Telugu audience love to watch movies during this 4-day festival,” says a distributor who adds, “Whereas, in Tamil Nadu, Diwali is a big festival and Tamil audience throng theatres on and after Diwali, so November month suits them,’ he adds.
The makers of the much-hyped film have sold Telugu dubbing rights for a whopping sum.“Tamil makers pocketed Rs 25 crores from the two Telugu states with Nizam area alone fetching them Rs 15 crore and balance Rs 10 crores from Andhra Pradesh,” adds the distributor who claims that it is the highest price for Suriya movie in recent times. “Due to high stakes, Telugu distributors would be hoping to draw big openings and cover a big chunk of their investment in first three days, otherwise it would bit tough, he points out.
Suriya has surpassed his colleague Vijay whose last film ‘GOAT was sold for Rs 17cores in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. ‘Suriya has to prove his crowd-pulling prowess among Telugu viewers and help them to recover their big amounts and also he is donning a new avatar and attracted big attention,” he concludes.