Pawan Kalyan-Venkatesh's "Gopala Gopala" is expected to clash with films of Jr NTR- Puri Jagannadh's "Neno Rakam" and Balakrishna's "Godse" at the box office in January 2015.
"Neno Rakam" is all set to hit the screens on 9 January 2015, during the Sankranti festival period. Venkatesh-Pawan Kalyan's "Gopala Gopala" is expected to release on 14 January, while Balakrishna's film might hit theatres on 15 January.
The two biggies are hitting the screens within a week of the release of NTR starrer. Festival period like Sankranti can accommodate two big films. If a third film joins the race, there might be a big battle to grab enough number of screens. One can also expect a huge clash between the three biggies, not just in AP/Telagnana states, but also in key overseas markets where Telugu films have a huge market.
All three films are among the most-awaited projects of 2015. While NTR starrer is confirmed for 9 January release, the makers of "Gopala Gopala" and "Godse" are yet to officially announce the release dates.
It will be interesting to see if all three films will stick to the Sankranti release or any of them will back out. Nevertheless, it will be a real treat for cinephiles who will get to witness their favourite stars locking horns at the box office.
Gopala Gopala
"Gopala Gopala" is a remake of critically-acclaimed Hindi film, "Oh My God." The satirical comedy entertainer will have Pawan appearing in the role of Lord Krishna, while Venkatesh will be playing the role of a shop owner.
Pawan's last release "Attarintiki Daredi" (2013) is an industry hit and is ranked on top in the list of highest grossing Telugu films of all time. The success of "Attarintiki Daredi" has raised huge expectations on "Gopala Gopala."
Though the satirical comedy film is not a regular commercial entertainer, the presence of two big Telugu stars like Pawan and Venkatesh is expected to boost its business prospects.
Directed by Kishore Kumar Pardasany, "Gopala Gopala" has Shriya Saran, Mithun Chakraborty, Madhu Shalini and Posani Krishna Murali in supporting roles.
Godse
"Godse" will be Balakrishna's 98th film in his career. The actor's last release, "Legend", turned out to be a big hit at the box office. Balakrishna will be hoping to continue his success run with "Godse."
The film is directed by newcomer Satya Deva and Trisha is playing the female lead for the first time opposite Balakrishna. Prakash Raj and Ali are also part of the film's cast. "Godse" is touted to be an action entertainer with all the commercial elements. Buzz is that Balakrishna will be doing dual roles in the film and one of them will be that of a CBI officer.
NTR-Puri Film
The film was launched last month and the shooting has already commenced. The film's second schedule will kick off from 10 September, according to latest reports.
NTR will reportedly play the role of a police officer in the film, while Kajal Aggarwal plays his love interest.
The actor, popularly referred as the young tiger of Telugu cinema, is going through a rough phase with some of his films failing to fare well at the box office.
His recently-released "Rabhasa" took a fantastic opening, but has been witnessing significant drop in its collections since the second day. It has to be seen whether the film will be able to pick up or continue to perform poorly at the box office in the coming days.
Even as "Rabhasa" is still running in theatres, NTR has shifted his focus of Puri's film. Fans of the actor will be hoping that the upcoming film strikes gold at the box office.