Chiranjeevi is a Megastar here...but what about him in Bollywood?
Nagarjuna is the “King” of Telugu Film Industry...but in Hindi?
Venkatesh is a minimum guarantee Hero in Tollywood…but in the North?
These three leading heroes of Telugu Film Industry could not attain success in the Bollywood arena. At the ground where these stalwarts failed, Ram Charan is setting his foot there. Will he taste success? Will he keep the prestige of Telugu Cinema held high?
It is always said that victory should first be witnessed in the home land, and then in other places. But it is not easy to attain success in outside lands as much as in the home ground. This fact is undoubtedly true for our Tollywood heroes. Just like a batsman who scores centuries on Home Ground and turn upside down on foreign pitches, our Telugu Heroes failed at Bollywood miserably despite getting huge success in their home ground i.e. Tollywood. These Heroes had unfaltering image in Tollywood, but they had to face bitter experiences in Bollywood. Chiranjeevi set foot in Bollywood with films like Aaj Ka Goondaraj, Pratibandh and The Gentleman (Three of these were remakes). But these films were bombed at the box office. These films were huge hits in South India and though the Hindi Audience appreciated Chiranjeevi’s dancing skills and acting, it did not offer them the much needed kick. Nagarjuna also desperately tried to make his own mark on Bollywood by acting in nine films. In those, Shiva and Criminal were highly successful in Telugu. But except Khuda Gawah, none of his films were successful at the Box Office. Though he could just say that he ventured into Bollywood, he could not leave a lasting impression in the Hindi Film Industry.
Coming to Venkatesh, he acted in Anari (Chanti in Telugu) and Takdeerwala (Yamaleela in Telugu) which were super hits in Telugu. But they failed in Bollywood. With a series of such failures, these three heroes did not dare to venture out to Bollywood again. Balakrishna didn’t even try out acting in a Hindi film.
When it comes to new age Heroes, Siddharth and Rana entered Bollywood but they could not achieve much by that. Rana’s Department was an utter flop. Siddharth was left with a bitter experience with his film Striker. Though Chashme Baddoor which had Siddharth in it was successful, it did not fetch any mileage for him. Our heroes started believing that after establishing oneself as star hero in Telugu; it is time consuming to venture out to Bollywood as a new Hero and again get confidence there. This is the main reason why Mahesh Babu refused to act in Bollywood, despite numerous offers. Even Ram got an offer but he did not pay much attention to it. Ravi Teja also yearns to act in Bollywood, but he is carefully taking necessary steps to make the right entry there. Bollywood is a beautiful dream for any actor. If one film is successful there, it is equal to ten times the success in the local ground. These attempts have been tried since ages. In fact, compared to our Heroes, Bollywood was fortunate for our Heroines much more. Asin, Trisha, Ileana, Tamannah, Kajal, Taapsee and so on attempted to make a mark in Bollywood and some of them clicked well too. But it is our Heroes who failed big time till now.
Now it is time for Charan to prove himself with his first step in Bollywood through Zanjeer. Chiranjeevi’s son image would help in South India but not in Bollywood. There is no fan base for him to support there. He has to stand on his own feet and prove himself right. Tollywood is desperately hoping that Charan would win in the ground where Chiru, Nag, Venky and Rana failed. Let us hope it happens!