Maharshi digital and satellite rights sold: Did it fail to beat Mahesh Babu's BAN record?

Director Vamsi Paidipally's Maharshi starring Mahesh Babu and Pooja Hegde has fetched Rs 27.80 crore from the sale of its digital and satellite rights but failed to beat the record of Bharat Ane Nenu (BAN).

Maharshi is Mahesh Babu's landmark 25^th movie, which has doubled the curiosity and expectations about the film. Mahesh Babu's popularity and hype generated by its promos have created a lot of demand for various rights of the movie. Several business houses are in the race to acquire its rights.

Maharshi is scheduled for its worldwide release on May 9. The latest we hear is that the makers have already sold its digital and TV rights a month ahead of its release. Amazon Prime Video has bagged its digital rights for a whopping price of Rs 11 crore. Gemini TV has acquired its satellite rights for Rs 16.8 crore. The movie has fetched a total of Rs 27.80 crore for its makers from the sale of these rights.

According to the latest reports, Mahesh Babu's previous release Bharat Ane Nenu fetched a whopping amount of Rs 38 crore from the sale of its non-theatrical rights. It was reported that its satellite and digital and Hindi dubbing rights have received Rs 22 crore, Rs 11 crore and Rs 5 crore, respectively.

Considering the huge hype, Maharshi was expected to beat the record of Bharat Ane Nenu. The prices its digital rights are equal to the other film and the details of its Hindi dubbing rights are not available. But the price of its satellite rights is much lower than that of 2018 hit movie. The people in the industry are wondering over whether the makers really sold its TV rights for a lower price.

Maharshi is produced by C Ashwini Dutt, Dil Raju and Prasad V Potluri, under the banners of Vyjayanthi Movies, Sri Venkateswara Creations and PVP Cinema. The makers have shelled out Rs 65 crore on its production and it has already recovered them nearly 50 per cent of their investments. The movie is expected to fetch them over Rs 100 crore from the sale of its theatrical rights and Hindi dubbing rights.