Telugu Producers Council Targets Dil Raju Over Vijay’s Varisu

Thalapathy Vijay’s upcoming Tamil film Varisu has a big Telugu connection. It has been directed by Vamshi Paidipalli, who works mostly in the Telugu industry and it has been produced by leading Telugu film producer Dil Raju. Hence, it might come naturally to the makers to release the film on a grand scale in both Tamil and Telugu during the Pongal festival. While Varisu will have 500 screens dedicated to it in Tamil Nadu, the Telugu version will also have a lot of screens allotted in the Telugu-speaking states. Producer Dil Raju controls about 40% of theatres in the Andhra-Telangana region and he plans to release the Telugu version of Varisu in these theatres.

However, his decision is being met with staunch opposition from the Telugu Film Chamber as they are protesting against a non-Telugu film receiving so many screens. According to the Telugu Film Chamber secretary Prasanna Kumar, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Veerasimha Reddy and Chiranjeevi’s Waltair Veerayya, which are releasing on Pongal should be prioritized over Varisu.

Dil Raju has become a victim of the statement that he gave to the media three years back when Rajinikanth’s Petta was released during Pongal in 2019. At that time, Prasanna Kumar had released the Telugu version of the film in the Telugu-speaking states and Dil Raju had protested against it, saying that only original Telugu films should get screens during the festival. However, his decision to release Varisu in Telugu during Pongal now contradicts his statement.

Stressed out, the distributors of Varisu are increasing their pressure on Dil Raju to delay Varisu. Dil Raju might have to postpone the Telugu version or make do with fewer screens. Even if he can lock additional screens for Varisu, he might be forced to give it up if Waltair Veerayya and Veera Simha Reddy both get favourable feedback.

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