Ravi Teja’s much-awaited sequel to Kick went through some teething problems at the box office, but is now well on to the road to recovery and success.
Says Ravi, “We made a mistake. Kick 2 was too lengthy. We lost the audience in the second-half on the first day. Luckily, better sense prevailed from the second day. We pruned about 20 minutes and now the film is doing well.”
Ravi admits he erred in not listening to his own judgement. “I’ve always followed my gut feelings about my films. But this time, I listened to the director (Surender Reddy) because he’s a veteran and I thought we must value his opinion. I kept telling him the film was too long. But he wouldn’t listen.”
But Ravi says he has now learnt his lesson. “I’ve a good sense of what works and what doesn’t, and I should exercise that judgement for all my films. Because at the end of the day, it’s my responsibility towards my fans.”
Ravi’s next release is Bengal Tiger, which he says is an out and out masala film. “We did try to be experimental in Kick 2. But in Bengal Tiger, it’s massy entertainment all the way.”
Kick 3 is also on the way. “But this time, we’re going to be very, very careful,” says Ravi.
