Producer Dil Raju: Crowd restrictions in AP theatres, not an issue for Rowdy Boys

The founder of Sri Venkateswara Creations chatted with the media at length about his nephew's launchpad Rowdy Boys and its performance at the box office

Dil Raju

Noted Telugu producer Dil Raju has consistently displayed a distinct taste for stories and has a very grounded understanding of cinema, right from the filmmaking perspective to the business aspects surrounding a film release. He has been in the news recently for the release of Rowdy Boys, which marked the acting debut of his nephew Ashish. The film that had Anupama Parameswaran as the female lead was directed by Hushaaru-fame Sree Harsha Konuganti. In a media interaction, the founder of Sri Venkateswara Creations expressed his happiness about Rowdy Boys' performance at the box office.

"It's quite satisfying to know that Rowdy Boys has turned out to be such a good start to Ashish's career. People have applauded his acting skills, maturity in dealing with emotions and dance moves. The film is performing well in theatres and audiences have had great things to say about its story and treatment. That it resonated with young audiences have ensured it good openings and it is having a steady run at the box office. The word of mouth has been good. Rowdy Boys has grossed over Rs 7 crore till now and several shows in AP are running to packed crowds," he said.

The producer is ecstatic that crowds have patronised a debutant's film to this extent and is confident that its victorious run will continue in the second week as well. "The collections surprisingly haven't dropped even after the Sankranthi. A lot of people had advised me to launch Ashish with a youthful story that would provide a scope to perform than a family entertainer. Keeping his future in mind, we chose Rowdy Boys. I have the responsibility of helping him choose the right scripts in the times to come," Dil Raju shared.

When asked if he ever considered releasing Rowdy Boys in OTT and not theatres, he added that his priority always has been to ensure the big-screen experience for crowds. "Even now, the film will release on OTT only after 50 days. Devi Sri Prasad's songs have received a good response. We will soon conduct a music contest to promote the songs," he stated. Dil Raju further stated that the 50% crowd restrictions in AP theatres wouldn't pose an issue for Rowdy Boys. "I'm in fact confident that audiences will feel more secure while coming to theatres. I'm expecting the collections to even increase."

Rowdy Boys, whose streaming rights are acquired by ZEE5, is performing equally well in Telangana and the crowd turnout is expected to be better starting this Thursday, he mentioned. Ashish will next be teaming up with Kasi, a former associate of Sukumar, for a project to be co-produced by Sri Venkateswara Creations and Sukumar Writings. "Director Sukumar will pen the dialogues for it. This is my second collaboration with Sukumar after Arya and I consider it a responsibility to come up with a promising film," he signed off.

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