With just a couple of days left for the release of Pan-India Star Prabhas‘ Radhe Shyam, all eyes are on the Hindi version of the movie. Unfortunately, these eyes are of the Telugu people and the booking seen so far suggest a below-par opening. It is leading to the question, will Radhe Shyam put a dent in the prospects of Pan-India movies from the South?
Radhe Shyam would have passed under the radar even if it underperformed under normal circumstances.
However, the recent success of Pushpa -The Raise and the failures of some notable Bollywood movies increased the focus on South Indian dubbed projects. Radhe Shyam coming from Prabhas who delivered unexpected results with Saaho is therefore expected to set cash registers ringing. The advance booking, though, suggests a different picture.
While the bookings are not yet fully open, it looks clear that Radhe Shyam might not open big. It will allow the naysayers to pounce on the Pan-India projects coming up. With RRR and KGF2 coming up, there should be nothing to worry about, but a failure here will sting everyone.
Prabhas himself has a terrific lineup next with Adipurush, Salaar, Spirit and Project K ahead. But, even he has to go through a tough time in case Radhe Shyam doesn’t live up to expectations.
Wherever Radhe Shyam ends up eventually, it should be fine (among the trade, at least) if it opens to a double-digit figure in Hindi (10 Cr or more) on the opening day matching recent Hindi release Alia’s Gangubai opening. Otherwise, it will look very bad on makers for not promoting the film as fans are already complaining from day one.
Radha Krishna Kumar directs Radhe Shyam. Pooja Hegde pairs opposite Prabhas in the love saga. It is all set to open worldwide in a record number of theatres on March 11th.
