13th July 2022
Hyderabad

Except for an odd good opening here and there, the last one month has not been fruitful for the Telugu industry, with both small to medium budget films biting the dust at the turnstiles. A lot was expected of Ante Sundaraniki, Virataparvam and Pakka Commercial but all three of them failed to light up the box-office, while the less we talk about the smaller films the better it is. Godse, Chor Bazaar, 7 Days 6 Nights, Sammathame and Happy Birthday, after being promoted heavily, torpedoed at the box-office, indicating that the time is not ripe for small films yet.

Officially we are in the rainy season, which isn’t considered a good time for movies. But a glance at the line-up indicates that our makers have placed their trust in the season to bring them fortune. Into this scenario, the first big flick that will be testing its luck at the turnstiles is The Warrior, headlined by Ram Pothineni. With the actor chanting the mass mantra after iSmart Shankar, the expectations on The Warrior are pretty high. Even before the trailer was dropped, there was a great deal of buzz surrounding the film—courtesy the rocking Bullet number from the soundtrack. Add to it, Ram’s last release was more than 18 months ago. Once the trailer was released and it ticked all the boxes—promising a full meal of a commercial film— the expectations on the film only doubled. It is also for the first time that Ram will be seen in a fierce cop avatar.

The Warrior also marks Ram teaming up with Tamil filmmaker N Lingusamy for the first time. The latter is a master at crafting commercial action dramas and his rich filmography is a testament to it. While his recent form might be questionable, there’s no doubt that there aren’t many who surprise you with a commercial film like he does. He may not be familiar to the Telugu audiences but his films are. He is a wounded lion who is on a mission to bounce back into form and get back to the area he lorded over.

While the advance bookings so far are pretty decent for a film which is a little pricey in both single screens and in multiplexes, the makers will be praying for the incessant rain in both the states to recede in the coming days. Ram is an actor who enjoys decent clout among the family audience as well. The said demographic have returned in fits and starts ever since the theaters became fully operational late last year and one only hopes that Ram brings them back in droves as they hold the key for the weekdays revenue. Youngsters, after all, are his strong forte and they are bound to give him a strong opening. Fingers crossed!