Films starring south Indian superstars Vijay, Ravi Teja fail to make impact in north India

Telugu superstar Ravi Teja and Tamil icon Vijay were expected to draw in the audiences into theatres where their new films Krack and Master, respectively, were released on Pongal which is considered the best time to release films in south India. This time Vijay was hoping 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 north India. While Krack, a comeback vehicle for Telugu star Ravi Teja, who has not had a hit in several years, was not expected to crack the northern belt’s box office as it was released with English subtitles only, Master was built up 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 wished to remain anonymous said, “We must understand that south Indian superstars like Vijay and Ravi Teja have no market in the Hindi belt. Dubbed films from Tamil and Telugu cinema have never worked in Hindi. Why would it work now when 95 percent of the movie-going audience is staying away from theatres due to the COVID-19 pandemic?”

With the south Indian superstars working only in their home territory, the pan-India box office 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 movie-going audiences in India are not ready to enter theatres, at least not right now. And certainly not in north India.