Two more disappointments for Tollywood in April

HYDERABAD: Last week, Sai Dharam Tej's Virupaksha hit the screens and received a unanimous positive response from the audience. It is having a terrific run at the box office and is set to become the highest-grosser in Sai Dharam Tej's career.

This week, we witnessed two big releases in theatres, Akhil Akkineni's Agent and Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan 2. Both movies were released amidst lukewarm expectations. They depended entirely on word of mouth.

It has been almost eight years since he made his debut but Akhil is yet to score a blockbuster. He pinned a lot of hopes on Agent, directed by Surender Reddy. This action thriller was reportedly made on a budget of more than 80 crores. However, a lack of expectations resulted in poor openings. As per reports, Agent collected only Rs. 8 crores on the first day. On top of that, it is receiving disastrous reports from the audience. So, it may end up as a big flop, opined trade experts.

On the flip side, Ponniyin Selvan 2 also opened on an average note because Telugu people didn't like the first part and thus, they weren't excited about the sequel. However, people who watched the film opined that the second part is more polished and way better than its predecessor. As the mouth talk is decent, the makers are expecting the collections to improve from today. But the overall result may not be exceptional, due to Mani Ratnam's poor market in Telugu states. On the whole, both last week's releases in April proved to be huge disappointments for the Telugu film industry.