With big cats failing to evoke even a whimper, a dark horse has struck gold. Actor Nikhil of Happy Days fame is having a dream run with his latest movie Karthikeya . The movie, also starring actor Swati, has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.
With reports that the movie is doing well even in overseas segments, the cast and crew of the movie are excitedly awaiting the release of the movie’s Tamil version. Made on a budget of around Rs.5 crore, the movie’s theatrical collections as well as satellite rights have already raked in more than Rs.10 crore.
Even as its makers are laughing all the way to the bank, Nikhil, one of the few successful actors from the Sekhar Kammula stable, had done a similar act with Swamy ra ra… . It was to his credit that the movie, made with Rs.2 crore, raked in three times the moolah. He has also confessed that experimenting has worked wonders for him as Swamy ra ra … was a crime comedy and Karthikeya an adventure film.
“I rejected almost 40 scripts after my last film and signed up for Karthikeya because it was different,” says Nikhil. Well, ‘content is king’, the audience seem to be saying.
Telugu maaya for Bollywood
Other film industries, especially Bollywood, have for long adopted Tollywood’s formula of big budget films with a huge star cast and a crew comprising big names. However, it is director Neelakanta’s psychological thriller Maaya that released earlier this year that has now drawn Bollywood’s attention – that of none other than Mahesh Bhatt.
Starring Harshavardhan Rane, flanked by heroines Avantika and Sushma, Maaya drew critical acclaim, leaving Neelakanta and producers ‘Madhura’ Sreedhar and M.V.K. Reddy pretty satisfied. But the icing on the cake for them came much later, when Mahesh Bhatt, called him up and offered the director the opportunity of directing the Hindi version.
Clearly, this was not a chance to he would let go of. Neelakanta is now busy working, rather re-working, and tweaking the script to suit Bollywood.
“It is a thriller dealing with extra-sensory perception and styled quite differently and that is what apparently appealed to Mahesh Bhatt. I am happy to be directing the Hindi version,” said a modest Neelakanta.
Rahul Devulapalli & Suresh Krishnamoorthy
Mail to hyderabaddesk@thehindu.co.in
