Telugu stars Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, and NTR Jr make Akshay Kumar’s 2024 comeback an uphill task, here’s why

If the past Christmas box office clash between Prabhas’ Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire and Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki, which was his potential third entry to the Rs 1000 crore club in 2023, had proved anything, it was that South films won’t budge anymore. In fact, the South Juggernauts can even go on to win while clashing with films featuring the country’s biggest superstars.

In the course of 2024, there are several mouth-watering contests looming, including the much-talked-about Pushpa 2: The Rule and Singham Again. While the Telugu film features Allu Arjun and Fahadh Faasil, the latter is an all-star action entertainer with Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, and Ranveer Singh. A film that truly proved that there’s a market for South films not just in India but across the world is SS Rajamouli’s RRR, with Ram Charan and NTR Jr.

The two actors are all set to come with their latest ventures this year and will take on Akshay Kumar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Sky Force, as per the latest reports. The Bollywood superstar is badly in need of a hit, especially with his recent theatrical films such as Samrat Prithviraj and Selfiee tanking at the box office and his direct-to-OTT ventures like Cuttputlli also receiving negative reviews too.

Akshay’s first litmus test for his comeback will be when his film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan—an action entertainer that also has Tiger Shroff and Prithviraj Sukumaran—clashes with NTR Jr’s Devera: Part 1, the latter’s next release after RRR. Even his die-hard critics would say that Bade Miyan Chote Miyan could become a hit, considering it’s an action film, a genre that defined Akshay’s career and also gave Bollywood the much-needed boost of the past year.

Also read: Bade Miyan Chote Miyan teaser to be out soon! Know what is in store for Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff fans 

However, with South films like KGF, Kantara, and Salaar raking in the moolah in the Bollywood belts as well, the producers would be nervous about the challenge that NTR Jr’s action-drama poses. Even though the releases are a week apart, it becomes even more challenging considering the April 10 festive weekend is packed with movies in South, making it hard for Akshay’s action vehicle to make any inroads in the territory.

Also read: Salaar, Pushpa 2, Devara, and more – Upcoming Telugu releases to watch on Netflix 

There’s some relief for Akshay with Singham 3 because it comes with stars, all guns blazing, literally. But this too could be short-lived, with Allu Arjun’s hugely anticipated Pushpa 2 releasing on the Independence Day 2024 weekend. Considering that the first instalment enjoyed massive success in Bollywood’s strongholds, expect Pushpa to create another box office record that will be hard for the Hindi film—even one with the vaunted star power of Singham Again —to keep up.

This year, Akshay will once again try and stir the patriotic fervour with Sky Force, which revolves around “India’s first and deadliest airstrike”. It’s a genre that has given Akshay mixed results in the past; for every Airlift and Mission Mangal, there has also been a Samrat Prithviraj and Mission Raniganj. Given that similar films like Fighter, Operation Valentine, Yodha, and Chandu Champion are also releasing this year, could Sky Force’s biggest threat be patriotic fatigue (if such a thing does exist)?

It’s a promising project nonetheless, given the team that has assembled to produce it. Except that it will clash with Ram Charan and Shankar’s Game Changer. Needless to say, it’s an ambitious project; every Shankar movie is. Ask Akshay; he would tell you about playing the feathered nemesis of Chitti the Robot in 2.0 . While his wings were clipped in the film, it remains to be seen if Sky Force has the strength to soar above Game Changer, especially with Ram Charan in the lead.

Although it’s the South films that stand in the way of Akshay’s comeback, it’s also the remake of the National Award-winning Soorarai Pottru that could be the wind beneath his wings this year. The film, inspired by GR Gopinath’s inspiring journey of launching a low-cost airline in India, has all the ingredients, sans action, that people have come to expect from an Akshay-starrer. That’s why, amid all the big-budget gambles, this could be the one that pays off big for the superstar.

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