No doubt, things are changing for the better in Tollywood. Along with distributors in two Telugu states and south, the distributors of North India are keenly waiting for the release of some dubbed Telugu films to make some money in 2024. “This scenario augurs well for Tollywood and Hindi distributors are surely banking on some Telugu films,” says leading producer Ravi Shankar Yellamanchili, who is making ‘Pushpa 2’ which is set to release during summer. . “After the massive success of ‘Pushpa 1’ in north India, distributors are showing keen interest to procure ‘Pushpa 2’. We are aware of raising expectations and we are bound to live up to it without compromising on any aspect. It will be another masterpiece from Allu Arjun and Sukumar and I can’t reveal more at this point of time,” he adds.
Another big ticket film that is being looked forward to is Jr NTR's 'Devara’ which has triggered a lot of hype among Bollywood circles. Apart from reigning star NTR, the action film boasts of Bollywood actors Jhanvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. “Hindi distributors are ready to pay huge sums for ‘Devara’ since NTR’s popularity is at its peak among Hindi film viewers after ‘RRR” and Bollywood actors will be a value addition. It will be widely released across India during April,’ says a Hindi distributor and adds, “Ram Charan’s much-hyped film ‘Game Changer ‘ has also triggered a lot of interest in Bollywood since he has become a pan-India star after 'RRR'. His teaming up with ace director Shankar looks good and the action-packed film will be selling like hotcakes in the days to come in 2024,” he adds.
However, a relatively smaller film ‘Hanu-Man’ riding high on expectations is going to trigger interest around Telugu films in 2024 as it is set to release on January 12. and to be released in over 1200 theatres across India. "Initially, my plan was to make a superhero film in Telugu revolving around Lord Hanuman but after the release of the teaser, the film turned into a pan-India fare. Though many Bollywood distributors approached me to make it into pan-India film, I chose to work with ace Bollywood distributor Anil Thadani for his reputation and network. It will be released in Mumbai, Delhi and UP besides many other cities and towns and the count of theatres will cross 1200 theatres. We are banking on the Lord Hanuman factor to woo Hindi film viewers,” says director Prashanth Varma who admits that Telugu films are gaining traction among Hindi film viewers these days.
After the super success of ‘Salaar’ Prabhas's next Telugu film ‘Raja Deluxe’ is going to be another big movie for North Indian viewers. “Of course, Kalki 2898 AD’ stands tall and the sci-fi adventure is much-awaited film for Hindi film viewers since Prabhas's fan base has extended beyond India,” adds the distributor, who claims that few films like ‘Tiger Nageswar Rao, ‘Skanda’, ‘Virupaksha’ and ‘Das Ka Damki’ failed to impress viewers in Hindi heartland.in 2023. "I think 2024 for Telugu films in Hindi film circuit going to be better and encouraging too," he concludes
