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ATHIDHI has been nagging the Telugu movie buffs since 3 Weeks. So, where does it stand now? Is it a BLOCKBUSTER or HIT or FLOP or DISASTER? What really happened to ATHIDHI that arrived and gave many of us an overbearing HEADACHE? Have the audiences took a decision? The answer is YES. The audiences have shown the door to this ATHIDHI. ATHIDHI is not a DISASTER like ARJUN or SAINIKUDU. ATHIDHI is just a FLOP. Then, why is it not a disaster and just remained a FLOP? The answer is the EVER CHARMING, COOL, SUBTLE AND YET POWERFUL, HANDSOME DUDE… also known as MAHESH BABU. His electrifying persona alone made ATHIDHI a SAFE venture for the PRODUCERS. But the DISTRIBUTORS and most of the EXHIBITORS couldn’t cash in on MAHESH BABUs AURA.

I know that many of you might question me about the FIRST WEEK RECORDS and also the subsequent records that are being OVER PUBLICIZED. I will ATTEMPT to answer at least some of your doubts…

JUST A FEW OF THE MEDIA COMMENTS

ONIONDOSA REVIEW:
PUBLIC TALK: Not bad,watchable for Mahesh babu.
INDUSTRY TALK: Divide talk vachindhi.Openings baguntayi..long run kashtam.
TELUGUCINEMA:
Mahesh Babu’s debonair looks, stylish presentation and superior technical values make up the lack of entertainment and other lacunea. Despite its own share of flaws, on the whole, it is an average movie.
ANDHRA CAFE:
All style, no substance.
NOW RUNNING:
Athidhi will fade away from people’s memories and the theaters soon. That’s what happens to movies devoid of healthy imagination and without a personal touch.
ANDHRA CAFE:
Happy Days beats Athidhi.
BHARATWAVES:
A lot of talk is currently on over the film Athidhi. While a majority of the critics have given an AVERAGE verdict, the makers claim that the film is very good. The divided talk and also lot of negative publicity over too much violence, the collections have dropped to an extent. Coming to the collections, the producer claims that the collection in the first two weeks have exceeded even Pokiri. The trade reports suggest that the film might have made around 12 crores but Ramesh Babu claims that the film has collected over 21 crore. The truth is somewhere in between.
UPDATE: 10/11/2007
GREATANDHRA:
*** Adding to this, the other big Ad is about the collections of ‘Athidhi’. It is claimed that in 3 weeks the film collected Rs 36 Cr. But there are only 50 percent collections in many centers. So how far the figure is convincing? That is different story. So, Mahesh Babu is being projected as the hero who has got the potentiality to collect the hugest in Tollywood.
*** Athidhi is losing its grip on box office and it is suffering in big way at B, C centers. The buyers are now in bewilderment as the audiences are not coming to theaters in B, C centers.

Now that you have got a taste of other media’s views… I must caution you that my views would be as always HARSH, BLUNT, HONEST(IN MY VIEW AT LEAST!). So FANS might get hurt. Please don’t read any of my comments if you feel that I am ANTI-MAHESH. But do read if you feel that I try to honestly express my opinions on movies and stars. I am really fed up of the WEBSITES and PRINT MEDIA that perform VIRTUAL PALABHISHEKAMS and PADASEVA.

BUT REMEMBER THAT ALL THESE FINDINGS MAY BE INACCURATE BUT THE TREND PROJECTION CAN’T BE WRONG.

Anyway, my arguments are:

UPDATE: 09/11/2007
I have seen a lot of cut-outs claiming an array of FAKE records of ATHIDHI. For once, ATHIDHI has beaten CHIRUTHA. I am not talking about collections guys/gals… They both are disasters for the Exhibitors. But ATHIDHI has beaten CHIRUTHA when it comes to the FAKE RECORDS. Otherwise, just consider my latest findings…
ATHIDHI is out of at least 75% of the theaters in C centers.
ATHIDHI is out of at least 65% of the theaters in B centers.
ATHIDHI is currently LIMPING in 10 theaters in HYDERABAD as opposed to 39 at the peak. So calculate how many theaters have dumped ATHIDHI. Yeah, a whopping 75%. So I think you get the picture of A centers.
The records all over the media claim of MULTIPLEX collections. Just consider the fact that ATHIDHI is not even limping and is completely handicapped with just ONE SHOW in PRASADZ before the end of its 3rd week. In stark contrast, HAPPY DAYS is beaming smiles all over PRASADZ with 5 SHOWS even after 5 weeks of release.

UPDATE: 05/11/2007
As far as the collections of ATHIDHI in USA are concerned… HOLD YOUR BREATH… Well, no need of that actually, because FLOP here is also a FLOP there. Yeah, it is true that 23,000 individuals have seen it in the first week in USA shelling out approximately $12 per ticket. But still, the DISTRIBUTORS and EXHIBITORS in USA for ATHIDHI have not recovered their investment and are worried that they won’t be able to do so even after its full run. They have invested Rs 1.65 + Rs. 0.17 Crores. But until now, they have only recovered Rs. 1.3 Crores. Moreover, it is now running with only a paltry number of shows. So, there are no hopes of recovering the investments literally.

*** This might be ridiculous to you all, but it is a valid doubt… ATHIDHI was supposed to release in 712 theaters according to the advertisements. But, in a communique to the press, UTV stated that the movie which was released in 500+ theaters is doing well all over. That leaves a gap of 200. So I surveyed many towns across Andhra Pradesh including Hyderabad. My findings point to a possible BLUFF. In fact, barring a few main theaters, UTV-Pyramid Saimira did not even get decent theaters in Hyderabad in the first place. Most of the theaters were second rung. And even the theater count in almost all of the cities was far less than SIVAJI (A Dubbing Movie). In Hyderabad, SIVAJI got released in 45+ theaters. Whereas, ATHIDHI just peaked at 39 when it released. And the theater count has come down heavily to just 13 4-SHOW theaters. And the movie is also exiting most of the theaters all over A.P. at a very fast pace. Believe it or not… Hyderabad’s fate is still better while other centers are reeling under heavy losses.

*** It is true that ATHIDHI averaged 80%+ for the first 4 days. That is HUGE which I already predicted. The reason for that high occupancy is obviously LONG WEEKEND of 4 HOLIDAYS and of course MAHESH BABU. But the figures released by the Athidhi team are not just RIDICULOUS, but they are LAUGHABLE. The Athidhi team are claiming the record of Rs.32,14,65,000/- in just 2 weeks. WHICH IS ENTIRELY FAKE. A section of media openly ridiculed the figures. I have done enough inquiries and surveys to confirm the trend of declining collections. I am once again repeating that I do not give accurate figures. I just project BALL-PARK figures based on various findings. My own findings are projecting around Rs. 18 CRORES. Which obviously leaves a gap of at least Rs. 14 CRORES. So, can they really be so stupid as to give such figures? YES, they can be. I think you all remember the claim for record of 400 YAMADONGA 50 DAYS centers. Of 400, 116 theaters were stated as OVERSEAS centers. Which is beyond ridiculous. The same might be happening with ATHIDHI too.

*** Then the occupancy rates would come in to the picture. For the GROSS and SHARE figures that they are claiming, ATHIDHI should be supposedly averaging 80%+ even in the third week. BUT, ATHIDHI is averaging around 50-55% in SUDARSHAN 35mm (MAIN THEATER) despite the reduction in ticket prices in just 3rd week. In ONGOLE, it is averaging 45-50% in 3rd week. In NELLORE it is slightly better at 55-60% in 3rd week. In Hyderabad, it is just 50%+ in 3rd week. ATHIDHI did fairly well by recovering part the costs in NIZAM. But the rest of the areas are not so lucky. Anyway, the list goes on… So after all these findings, all I can say is that it is an obvious FLOP. I think many of you might remember, earlier this year, DIL RAJU gave a number of press conferences claiming that “MUNNA, while creating area records… Collected This Here… MUNNA Collected That There…” But what was the end result? The same scene is repeating with ATHIDHI.

*** But the most unfortunate repercussion by the debacle of Athidhi is that Mahesh Babu has changed a lot. Generally SHY GUY, Mahesh Babu is known for his STRAIGHT-FORWARDNESS and HONESTY. He was also one of the few stars along with VENKATESH that didn’t encourage FAN clubs. But off-late he too seems to be entwined in the web of stardom. He attended PRESS CONFERENCES. He gave INTERVIEWS to almost all the TV channels. He claimed some BOGUS records. He is visiting theaters all over A.P. He is participating in various contests to lure the audiences. He appeared more for the public and fans in recent times than in his entire life. There was a time when he very often and very openly ridiculed the CUT-OUTS, PALABHISHEKAMS and FAN CLUBS. But life seems to have turned a full circle for Mahesh Babu. Now, he is very oddly claiming that THUMS-UP is providing him the opportunity to meet his FANS. I just have one question here… DOES HE NEED THUMS-UP TO MEET HIS FANS AND ADMIRERS? Not only Mahesh Babu, but also every crew member including MURALI SHARMA(VILLAIN), AMRITA RAO, SURENDER REDDY(DIRECTOR) and also KRISHNA himself are giving interviews relentlessly in a bid to promote Athidhi. Just how many INTERVIEWS have you seen for MURARI, OKKADU, ATHADU, POKIRI?

*** And there was one more serious problem with the publicity. Very obviously, Mahesh Babu is the biggest star of Tollywood when it comes to Box-Office as of today. So, does he need some FAKE publicity VIA some PHONY POLAND GIRLS? I would have believed the craze if it had turned in to some serious Box-Office money. But until then I would be skeptical.

*** Mahesh Babu has said in an interview that he read the script (or listened to narration) of Athidhi for just 10 minutes. I personally feel that instead of spending a whole year in shooting for a would-be FLOP, Mahesh Babu should have read the script for at least 1 more hour. If UTV is really happy as they claim to be with ATHIDHI, then instead of DUBBING it (there were some reports in the media), they would have considered to remake Athidhi in HINDI. Dubbing, if it happens, might just be to recover some costs. Just use your common sense guys… If after all these doubts and mis-haps, one thinks and claims a BLOCKBUSTER out of ATHIDHI… he/she is probably fooling themselves.

*** The Bottom-Line of my frustration is that Mahesh Babu is a Very Good Actor, The Most Handsome Star and Very Honestly Opinionated in the Past to deliver mediocre movies. We need quality movies from him and he is one of the most Qualitative Stars of Indian Cinema and not just Tollywood.

*** My humble request with any FAN (Not just Mahesh Babu’s) is… “PLZ persuade your favorite stars to deliver Quality Films which are also Successful and not necessarily Box-Office Records. Because no one remembers the Box-Office but are always Nostalgic when they look back and find some Master-Pieces of their favorite stars. Those Master-Pieces always make Tollywood proud. —KALCHA

ALSO READ

SURENDER REDDY AND HIS CALCULATOR
KALCHAs ATHIDHI BOX-OFFICE PREDICTION
KALCHAs ATHIDHI MOVIE REVIEW
ATHIDHI MUSIC SOLD FOR RS. 0.75 CRORES

SURENDER REDDY just recently claimed that he is very calculated and statistical when it comes to film making. Surender Reddy says, “I discuss story line with the producer and then explain the depth of each scene and the amount of films that has to be used for that. We go ahead only when the producer says yes”.

This calculated Surender Reddy also says, “I want to make a Hindi film shortly. Actually I was given a chance to direct the Hindi version of Athanokkadey. But due to dates problems I couldn’t do that. I wish to get into Hindi production very soon. There are many ideas for me to produce films”.

I just have one small doubt. If Surender Reddy is as calculated and precise as he says, then… Why the hell did he lose his calculator while filming FLOPBUSTER ATHIDHI? I think U already know that the film is almost an unbearable 3 hours in length and was trimmed by more than 10 minutes of the CRAP… so that the audience’s suffering subsides to an extent. Anyway, as he is done with ruining the parties of NTR and MAHESH BABU with ASHOK and ATHIDHI respectively, he is focusing on BECHARA BOLLYWOOD. —KALCHA

ALSO READ

KALCHAs ATHIDHI BOX-OFFICE UPDATE AND ANALYSIS
KALCHAs ATHIDHI BOX-OFFICE PREDICTION
KALCHAs ATHIDHI MOVIE REVIEW
ATHIDHI MUSIC SOLD FOR RS. 0.75 CRORES

ATHIDHI MOVIE CREDITS:

CAST:
LEAD ACTOR: MAHESH BABU
LEAD ACTRESS: AMRITA RAO
OTHERS: MURALI SHARMA, ASHISH VIDYARTHI, KOTA SRINIVASA RAO, NASSER, AJAY, RAVI PRAKASH, SUNIL, BRAHMANANDAM, VENU MADHAV, RAJEEV KANAKALA, BANERJEE, SUBBARAJU, VAJJA VENKATA GIRIDHAR, MALAIKA ARORA (ITEM SONG) AND OTHERS

STUNTS: SHIVA
EDITING: GOWTHAM RAJU
DIALOGUES: ABBURI RAVI
ART: SRINIVAS RAJU
CHOREOGRAPHY: RAJU SUNDARAM
CINEMATOGRAPHY: SAMEER REDDY
MUSIC: MANI SHARMA
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: SHAKAMURI RAM BABU
SCREENPLAY: VAKKANTHAM VAMSI/G SURENDER REDDY
STORY/DIRECTION: G SURENDER REDDY
PRODUCER: G RAMESH BABU
BANNER: KRISHNA PRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD.
RELEASE DATE: 18th OCTOBER, 2007
CBFC RATING: A

KALCHAs CRITICAL RATING: 3.25/10
[Mahesh Babu=0.5; Amrita Rao=0; Ashish Vidyarthi+Kota Srinivas Rao+Murali Sharma=0.5; Cinematography=0.75; Visual Effects=0.25; Editing=0.75; Art=0.25; Music=0.25; Dialogues+Stunts+Screenplay+Story+Direction=0]
KALCHAs COMMERCIAL RATING: 4.25/10
[Mahesh Babu=1; Amrita Rao=0; Ashish Vidyarthi+Kota Srinivasa Rao+Murali Sharma=0.5; Malaika Arora+Brahmanandam+Sunil=0.25; Cinematography=0.75; Stunts=0.75; Editing=0.25; Music=0.5; Dialogues+Story+Screenplay+Direction+Production=0.25]
VERDICT:
In A Single Phrase, “STYLEish Bolly-Tolly CRAP”.
In A Sentence, “Fancy Hair Styles, Crappy Heroine, Script-Less Story, Mind Numbingly Foolish Stunts, Punch-Less Dialogues, Emotion-Less Characters, Cheap Comedy, Entertaining Songs, Great Cinematography, Aptly Used Visual Effects, Back Breaking Length (2 Hr. 51 Min.) And Last But Not The Least… Direction-Less Director.”

ACTING WISE

MAHESH BABU makes a comeback to the screen with stunning new looks… after about 1 year… And what did he do meanwhile? The answer is… He just became… Undoubtedly, the most Handsome Star of Tollywood. He sports a barrage of fancy hair styles. Then, what exactly is the problem…? Well, the screenplay is so crappy that the intended CHARACTER and CHARACTERIZATION of Mahesh Babu in ATHIDHI is completely Hulla-Gulla… He is an Orphan… He spends best part of his life in a JAIL due to some supposedly serious but inevitably FUNNY circumstances… He constantly beats up goons at random and gets back in jail as a HOBBY. Just think about it… If ever a Mr. ROWDY/GOON/BADDY OF THE WORLD contest is held, then Mahesh Babu would be the undoubted winner… As for his performance, he is left with no real Punch dialogues for an intended MASS entertainer as in POKIRI or ATHADU… And for showing his histrionics, he is left with really crappy screenplay… So, in the end, for no fault of his… Mahesh Babu has given an AVERAGE performance…

UNDOUBTEDLY, THE MOST HANDSOME STAR OF TOLLYWOOD!!!
AMRITA RAO makes her debut in Tollywood with Athidhi. I seriously doubt the intelligence of the Director Surender Reddy for his choice (If at all, it is his choice…) Where shall I start? To begin with, She is not even a minor force to reckon with in Bollywood. Although subjective, she is not even beautiful enough to stand her ground beside Mahesh babu. But gotta admit, Amrita Rao is a great dancer. But when you are attempting to entertain the masses… the heroine should be either Beautiful as Trisha, Sonali Bendre and the like… OR just Sexy as Ileana. If not both, she should be an extraordinary actress. Unfortunately, Amrita Rao is NONE OF THE ABOVE. And moreover, every fault doesn’t lie with Amrita Rao. She is hampered by Cheaply designed costumes, Very poor characterization, Mind numbingly dumb dialougues and every thing else that the Director Surender Reddy did.

As for Mahesh Babu’s statement saying that Amrita Rao is the best heroine that he worked with till date, I gotta say the only Telugu Proverb that comes to my mind instantly… “Erunu Datina Taruvatha Theppanu Tagaleyya Kudadu” Very obviously, it is a cheap insult to TRISHA, ILEANA, SONALI BENDRE and the like… And moreover it is just a marketing gimmickry to fool the genuine audiences to watch this stylish CRAP…

POOR AMRITA… IN A CRAPPY COSTUME!!!
As for the rest of the actors… Kota Srinivasa Rao just walks on this cake… As we say in Telugu, “Vennatho Pettina Vidya.” Ashish does a great job in his “RASTA HAIR STYLE.” Murali Sharma does give a tremendous performance as the main villain. But, none of these actors would be satisfied with this crude screenplay. Great actor Brahmanandam is completely wasted. Very good actors Nasser, Ajay, Rajeev kanakala, Venu Madhav, Sunil are completely wasted.

Mark my words when I PREDICT… “Beautiful teen girl that played the character of Nasser’s daughter… is definitely a future heroine but only if she wants to…” Reason for this prediction is quite simple… She has a NATURAL EASE ease in acting for her first attempt at least in Telugu. She has a mole above her upper lip… If you don’t understand the significance of that mole… Yesteryear Beautiful damsel Jayaprada has a similar mole… Sensuous Manisha Koirala has a similar mole and there are many more such examples…

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

DIALOGUES:
Dialogues by Abburi Ravi have no real juice or punch in them… Remember the iconic dialogue of Mahesh Babu’s POKIRI… “Evadu Kodithe…” Well, there is not even a single dialogue of that standard. That explains the boredom of the audience that they are subjected to by ATHIDHI.
ART:
Srinivas Raju can be commended here… for the realistic and yet visually good presentation of the locations.
EDITING:
Gowtham Raju does a good job here… The Patterns and Sequential editing that he introduced to Tollywood with Athidhi will be trend setting. These might be an A, B, C for Hollywood… But they are trend setting for Tollywood. To give you an example… Nicholas Cage starer NEXT has the exact same Sequential editing pattern that is used extensively in Athidhi. But at approximately 2 Hr. 51 Min., Athidhi needs a lot of trimming. Because, one can sit through a great movie for such a long time but for Athidhi… it is simply Back-Breaking. Overall it is a PLUS and MINUS performance by Gowtham Raju.

STUNTS:
I know this will be strange for many of you. The popular talk in Tollywood currently is that Stunts are great in Athidhi. But I beg to differ here… Stunts by Shiva have touched the rock bottom of intelligence. While many of them are simply cheap copies from Hollywood… they are executed very poorly. For example, in the climax fight… the villains who are more likely to bring guns with them… bring KING SIZE SWORDS and start fighting in 300ish fashion. How mind numbingly FOOLISH is that? But that is not the most STUPID stunt of Athidhi. The credit goes to the following one… For saving the heroine, Mahesh Babu on his newly acquired SUZUKI HAYABUSA (God only knows from where) comes against the SNIPER carrying SUV. Super man Mahesh Babu comes from the front of the Sniper AND crashes his bike with the SUV AND flies in the air over the sniper AND safely PARKS his pistol in the sniper’s mouth AND then shoots AND then falls to the ground without any scratch. I have just one question… WHAT WAS THE SNIPER DOING ALL THIS WHILE? The only possible explanation would be that he forgot to load any bullets in his powerful sniper gun!!! The best excuse for these brainless stunts could be that they are intended at 5 year old kids… or C center whistling audiences.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Sameer Reddy walks away with the most credits for any technician in this movie… His cinematography is great… He definitely has the brightest future… He highlighted Mahesh Babu with visuals that are stunning to say the least. Sameer Reddy can make Tollywood proud if he works on a great script…
VISUAL EFFECTS:
Visual Effects in the movie are aptly and subtly used to enhance the scenes rather than as ornamental jamboree or rude shocks… This is the way to go to make Tollywood movies more appealing…
MUSIC:
Background score by Mani Sharma is pathetic in Athidhi. Stylized movies such as Athidhi must have unique themes to gel with the movie… Unfortunately, Mani does a very bad job here. As for the DTS mixing is concerned, it is patchy to say the least… As for the songs, all are just about O.K. None of them are spectacularly innovative or entertaining as DOLE DOLE in pokiri…

DIRECTOR SURENDER REDDY: MAIN VILLAIN OF ATHIDHI!!!
STORY/SCREENPLAY/DIRECTION:
Hmmm… How bad the story can be…? THIS BAAADDD… Remember MANASANTHA NUVVE and ATHANOKKADE? Orphan being adopted angle is a straight lift from both these movies… So, is it a complete copy? NO… The difference? For Manasantha Nuvve, it is a COPY… For Athanokkade, it is just a REPEAT performance (Same Director)… AND WE ARE PAYING TO SEE THEM AGAIN… Then, the adopting couple names young Mahesh as ATHIDHI (Of all the names in the world… Isn’t it the most unnatural name?). Then the young kid is sent to jail for allegedly killing the couple… HOW UNIQUELY INSANE IS THAT?

Then on… the overall story and screenplay is a COCKTAIL of MAN ON FIRE, USUAL SUSPECTS, BATMAN BEGINS, MANASANTHA NUVVE, ATHANOKKADE, RAGHAVAN, NEXT and many more… The road side rowdy killing a couple is a straight rip-off from BATMAN BEGINS… Before the interval, the whole scene between Ashish Vidyarthi and Mahesh is lifted from RAGHAVAN. In one of the scenes as soon as Mahesh’s friend informs that the villain has links with a bar… Mahesh Babu starts dancing with “Out Of Age But Not Out Of Shape” Malaika Arora. And as soon as the song ends… he starts chasing a bad guy… (How the hell did he knew that he is a bad guy?) And I have an important question here… One of the kidnapped girls is the daughter of the Home Minister. The other girl is the daughter of Home Minister’s brother… I can understand if they were kidnapped due to the laxity of the Police… BUT WHY THE HELL DID THE ENTIRE POLICE DEPARTMENT SIT SILENT AFTER THAT WHEN OUR SUPERMAN HERO HUNTS AND KILLS THE VILLAIN? This crudest screenplay leaves many good actors like Ajay and Nasser with no character at all… And moreover, there is no real emotional connection between any of the characters… As for the chemistry between Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao, it is more of geometry… I mean to say they are like PARALLEL lines which never meet. Poor Amrita Rao has got to do a bit of CHANDRAMUKHI in the end uttering STUPIDEST dialogues out of context with a seemingly heavy voiced dubbing… As far as Direction is concerned, Surender Reddy is just a headless chicken which wanders DIRECTION-LESS…

FUNNIEST SCENE: In the introduction scene of Mahesh Babu, as soon as he is released from Jail, he grabs a Jail sentry’s CHAIR and carries it all the way to the villain’s den… and all the while walking through the city roads… like a blurry ghost… And finally sits on it in front of the villain. You gotta see it to laugh at it!!!

MY SINCERE ADVICE: Invite ATHIDHI at your own risk. This is an ALL-RISK investment of your hard earned money!!! The Director Surender Reddy questions the Audience’s intelligence… Show him that we are packed with functioning brains…

READERs RATING ON ATHIDHI:

DO NOT MISS KALCHAs ATHIDHI BOX-OFFICE PREDICTION

ALSO READ

KALCHAs ATHIDHI BOX-OFFICE UPDATE AND ANALYSIS
SURENDER REDDY AND HIS CALCULATOR
KALCHAs ATHIDHI BOX-OFFICE PREDICTION
ATHIDHI MUSIC SOLD FOR RS. 0.75 CRORES

I really was of the opinion that it would be extremely hard for me to predict ATHIDHIs fate at the box-office. The reason being that… undoubtedly, MAHESH BABU is the biggest star of Tollywood as of today. Otherwise, nothing explains the fact… “While POKIRI grossed Rs. 55+ Crores in its entire run… the nearest grossers are stuck at Rs. 35+ Crores as of today… (Not taking Inflation in to account…)” So, it is beyond doubt that Mahesh Babu is at least TWICE A STAR when it comes to Box-Office. So, with UTV entering the Tollywood Film Market, Bollywood babe AMRITA RAO making her South Indian debut, MAHESH BABU for being just who he is (Undoubtedly, the most Handsome Star of Tollywood), SURENDER REDDY for being among the highly paid directors AND with a huge budget of Rs.20+ Crores… CAN ATHIDHI GO WRONG? The answer is YESSS… ATHIDHI can not only go wrong but makes me advice you… DO NOT LET THIS ATHIDHI STEAL Rs. 50+ HARD EARNED BUCKS FROM YOUR POCKET…

IN A NUTSHELL

With 712 theaters, it is not rocket science to predict that ATHIDHI will open HUGE… But the movie is so PATHETIC that the genuine audiences (Who are not fans) will not invite this ATHIDHI anywhere close to them… In C centers, in extremely lucky circumstances, it will run for a WEEK. In B centers, in extremely favoring circumstances, it will run for about 10-15 days. In A centers, with insanely PUBLICIZED Gross Collections and BIASED RATINGS/REVIEWS, it will run for about 25 days… Soon after that, ATHIDHI will start making losses for EXHIBITORS. Producers are already SAFE… In the end, ATHIDHI is yet another DISASTER of the year after CHIRUTHA. But the only factor that can make ATHIDHI at least an average grosser is the FESTIVAL SEASON. But I really doubt that… As far as FANS are concerned, PLEASE BE WISE… IN ORDER TO EARN THEM MONEY… DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY…

ALSO READ

KALCHAs ATHIDHI BOX-OFFICE UPDATE AND ANALYSIS
SURENDER REDDY AND HIS CALCULATOR
KALCHAs ATHIDHI MOVIE REVIEW
ATHIDHI MUSIC SOLD FOR RS. 0.75 CRORES

ATHIDHIs trailer is released recently… Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao are the lead pair in the movie… Athidhi is Mahesh Babu’s only release in the year 2007… So naturally the expectations and emotions among fans are running high… But for now lets enjoy the glimpses…

MAHESH BABU was present all through out the match though in the form of a Cricket Scoreboard size Billboard in the venue of the cricket match IND Vs AUS in Hyderabad. The poster was superb… Mahesh Babu was fantastic in it… Tollywood is slowly but steadily learning to market itself and its icons… All the best…

Image Source: OnionDosa

ATHIDHI, in which Mahesh babu is starring is almost confirmed to release on 18, October, 2007. But there is a serious impediment in the way. Grapevine is that since CHIRUTHAs collections are hit hard in USA by HAPPY DAYS, the production team is anticipating a huge drop in collections from A centers in Andhra Pradesh too… as HAPPY DAYS got released in the state on 2nd October with a thunderous (never before seen… for the SO CALLED LOW BUDGET GENRE) response from the Tollywood audience…

So now, when Mahesh Babu starrer ATHIDHI, Venkatesh starrer THULASI and Vishal starrer BHAYYA are due to release from the first week onwards… obviously the collections of CHIRUTHA would be hit hard even in the B and C centers. So to save its box-office debacle, the CHIRUTHA team are reportedly pressurizing Mahesh Babu to postpone the release date of ATHIDHI by a few weeks. So, CHIRUTHA is sandwiched between HAPPY DAYS, BHAYYA, THULASI and ATHIDHI. So will Mahesh Babu oblige Ram Charan or not? We will have to wait and see…

ATHIDHI, Mahesh Babu’s much anticipated release this year is doing extremely well in the music market. The Athidhi music composed by hit maker Mani Sharma was released recently by Supreme Music. It is being reported that the music rights for the movie were acquired by Supreme Music at an astonishing Rs. 75 Lakhs. To put the matters into perspective, the music rights of Venkatesh starrer THULASI were acquired by Aditya Music for Rs. 45 Lakhs.

Athidhi is due to release on 18, October, 2007 with 300 Prints.

Athidhi is one of the most awaited movies of Tollywood in the second half of the year. It is not yet confirmed officially but the grapevine is that Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao starrer Athidhi’s audio might be launched on 16th or 17th of September. The music is composed by Mani Sharma. It is a well known fact that somehow Mani Sharma always reserves his best score for Mahesh Babu… I hope you all remember Okkadu, Athadu and Pokiri… Producer Ramesh Babu is planning the Audio launch in a grand fashion. As for the movie’s shooting progress is concerned, some patch work of action sequences is being filmed at Shankarapalli village in Hyderabad and also an item song will be shot over the next week.

Mahesh Babu is working damn hard and is packed with schedules until October,2008. To start with, his ATHITHI is slated for release soon… while two other films MIRCHI and HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA are in various stages of shooting. And it is being said he also signed another film with Tamil Director Linguswamy. So it is unlikely that Prince will get to enjoy any parties unless he puts his royal foot down…