Tollywood audiences, who were hoping to catch the much-anticipated big ticket flicks that were slated for release this year, will have to wait a little bit longer. The release dates of Mahesh Babu and Venkatesh-starrer Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (SVSC), Mirchi, starring Prabhas and Ram Charan's Nayak, which were to fall in 2012, have been pushed to the next year. In fact, we can expect to see all of these Tollywood biggies battle it out at the box office during Sankranti 2013.
SVSC, which was all set for a December 21 release, had to be postponed mainly because of the unexpected ailment that struck the movie's leading lady Samantha, keeping her away from the sets for a prolonged period. The actress is now back in action "We will now release the audio in December and the film will hit the screens in January," says Dil Raju, the producer of SVSC. Nayak and Mirchi too couldn't complete the shooting schedules as planned within this year and the filmmakers are planning to release the films only in 2013 now.
When contacted, VV Vinayak told us, "Yes, the movie will release on January 9." Industrywallahs however, believe that the move to postpone these movies are deliberate as most filmmakers aim for a Sankranthi release as it is always considered an auspicious time in Tollywood. It's no surprise then that even Ongole Githa starring Ram that was planning for a December release too, has been pushed to January 2013.
"Sankranti is a big festival for us and every year, almost four to five big films are released during this time. The fact that most locals have extended Sankranti holidays is an added advantage as everyone heads out to watch movies then. It comes as no surprise that most filmmakers are now gunning for a Sankanti release," says Tammareddy Bharadwaj, producer and director.
Tollywood fans however, can still look forward to two big releases — the upcoming Rana and Nayanthara-starrer directed by Krish and Gautham Menon's Yetu Vellipoyindi Manasu, starring Nani and Samantha. Interestingly, these two movies too are finally releasing after several delays. While the release of Rana's film had to be pushed back a couple of times due to the constant delay in release of the latest Nagarjuna-starrer, the shooting of Yetu Vellipoyindi Manasu was put on hold for leading lady Samantha to come back from her break.
"However, despite all this, 2012 still remains one of the best years for Telugu cinema as many films, both big and small, did well at the box office. With the release dates of all these big movies pushed to 2013 now, we are hoping that this lucky streak continues next year too," says Dil Raju.
Sankranti
2013 bonanza
l Nayak (Charan and Kajal)
l SVSC (Mahesh Babu, Venkatesh)
l Mirchi (Prabhas and Anushka)
l Ongole Githa (Ram and Kriti)
