With the Nani starrer, MCA confirmed for December 21, the threat for Akkineni Akhil’s second film Hello is real now. Hello, as we all know releases on December 22.
Nani might have sportingly said that “together” they are facing the Tiger (Tiger Zinda Hai from Salman Khan releases on December 22), but the reality is that it is his MCA that would most likely put a dent into Hello.
The scenario actually reminds us of one such Akkineni clash in the past. It was Chaitanya film clashing with Ram. It was a pretty similar situation, Chaitu’s Dhada was ‘different’ looking action blockbuster kind of movie, fighting with the extremely routine Kandireega. In the end, the regular commercial fare trounced Dhada big time.
The good thing for Chaitanya back then was he was coming off back to back successful films. Akhil here is coming after a massive disaster. If Hello also ends up failing, things will become much more difficult for him.
The problem doesn’t end there. It is not only commercial drubbing, but there will also be performance comparisons and we all know how it is going to end up. To make matters worse would be Okka Kshanam which has potential to be “content” winner.
So, the Christmas season could very well have a commercial winner in MCA and content winner in Okka Kshanam. Akhil must deliver on performance and at the box-office otherwise, it could be much more than a disaster for Akhil. The only ray of hope(s) here is director Vikram Kumar and Nagarjuna’s current judgment. Let us see who emerges victorious.
