When NTR locked Koratala Siva for his immediate next film after RRR, there were murmurs in the industry circles that the decision might backfire because of the fact that the director’s previous outing Acharya tanked heavily at the box office. Later, when it was further revealed that the film will be VFX heavy and Koratala will delve into a new genre, many felt that NTR was taking too much risk in trusting Koratala Siva who has no experience in handling larger-than-life scripts.
Overcoming all inhibitions, Devara : Part 1 has emerged as a clean box office hit in all major territories. In North America, Nizam, Ceeded and other areas, the buyers of Devara pocketed solid profits. The commercial success of Devara has come as a big relief for both NTR and Koratala Siva. While NTR broke the long standing myth that heroes who work with Rajamouli fail to score hit after his films, Koratala Siva redeemed his fame which took a huge beating after Acharya.
Despite securing mixed reviews and so-so mouth talk on the first, Devara triumphed at the box office, thanks to the solo release and the ticket hikes in Telugu States. Also, NTR stardom helped the film eke out into profit zone in many territories. Holidays like Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra came in handy for Devara and set the cash registers ringing after the opening weekend and helped the cause.
Nandamuri Kalyan Ram, who produced the film, is also a happy man. Devara is the costliest film for NTR Arts and the strong box office success came as a big relief for Kalyan Ram because he will now have more courage to spend extravagantly for the second part which will generate immense buzz. Moreover, he will join the production of ‘NTR 31’ with more confidence.
The second part of Devara is likely to go on floors next year after NTR wraps up his remaining commitments.
Trade circles and industry circles feel that NTR’s brave decision to opt for Koratala Siva despite so many negative aspects paid off well and yielded fruitful results at the box office.