Telugu Directors Ahead In ₹1000 Crore Movies, says Lagadapati Sridhar

With Rajinikanth’s much-hyped film Coolie witnessing a steep fall in collections after its sensational ₹400 crore opening weekend, trade circles feel it may struggle to touch the coveted ₹1000 crore mark worldwide. “No doubt, the film opened big riding on Rajinikanth’s charisma, but it is clearly losing steam. To reach ₹1000 crore, it has to make another ₹600 crore, which looks unlikely at this stage. But we still hope it happens,” says producer Lagadapati Sridhar

According to him, Coolie faltered on several counts. “The friendship between Rajinikanth and Sathyaraj was not properly established by director Lokesh Kanagaraj, the dated port backdrop reminded us of films like Deewar, and the ‘electric chair’ concept didn’t connect with audiences. Above all, it lacked emotional depth,” Sridhar observed and added, 'Even directors like Shankar and Mani Rathman couldn't taste pan-India success with 'Indian 2 and 'Thug Life' respectively,"

Interestingly, Rajinikanth himself recently spoke about director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s pan-India dream and the idea of bringing together stars like Aamir Khan, Nagarjuna, Upendra and Soubin Shahir. But Sridhar believes pan-Indian success depends on more than multi-starrer casting. “Pan-India is not about just roping in stars from different languages, but about building an emotion-driven plot which is refreshing and unseen before,” he explained.

He hailed Telugu filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli for redefining pan-India cinema with Baahubali and RRR. “Rajamouli beautifully blends emotion with action and delivers a visual spectacle. For example, in RRR, the opening action block where NTR and Ram Charan risk their lives to save a child works only because of the strong emotional connection. Without that, it would have been just another action sequence,” Sridhar said.

The producer contrasted Rajamouli’s world-building with Tamil filmmakers, who he feels rely too much on forced action. “Rajamouli created a new folklore drama with kings and queens in Baahubali, while RRR was rooted in the British Raj. Similarly, Sukumar built a gritty world of red sanders smugglers in Pushpa: The Rise, and Nag Ashwin crafted a futuristic dystopia in Kalki 2898 AD. Telugu directors are ahead of others in creating unique cinematic worlds that resonate globally and each one crossed the magic Rs 1000 crore collections ,” he added.

Sridhar also pointed out that Tamil directors excel in stories rooted in Tamil Nadu, much like Malayalam filmmakers who focus on local issues and characters. “Such films do very well on OTT and in their respective states, but theatrical audiences expect visual grandeur infused with emotion. Folklores like Baahubali, socio-fantasies like Kantara, and mythological spectacle like Mahavir Narasimha and underworld story KGF have pan-India appeal, while local stories find their space on streaming platforms,” he concluded.