Directed by Hemanth M Rao, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A released on September 1, but had multiple paid premieres the previous evening, which were all sold out
Last Updated: 02.06 PM, Sep 02, 2023
Rakshit Shetty’s next as actor and producer, after last year’s 777 Charlie, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello officially began its box office journey on September 1, with the first of its two parts, Side A. But driven by the confidence in the product, Rakshit gave director Hemanth M Rao’s intense love story, multiple paid premieres the previous evening to drum up positive word-of-mouth publicity. Initial reports of the film were fantastic, with audiences dubbing it a classic and masterpiece and going ga-ga over Rakshit and Rukmni Vasanth’s performances and their onscreen chemistry, Advaitha Gurumurthy’s cinematography, and, of course, Charan Raj’s music.
Read our review: Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A review: Hemanth M Rao's throbbing love story leaves you wanting more
Good start
The paid premieres were a rousing success, which then spilt over to the film’s day 1 bookings also. Trade trackers estimate that the premieres and the day 1 collection would be in the range of Rs 2.3- 2.6 crore gross. With over a 100 fast filling/sold out shows reported for day 2, the estimated collection stands at close to Rs 2 crore. But the question that has now cropped up is whether the film will be able to sustain this momentum. Bookings for Day 3 (Sunday) are yet to pick up, with reports that the film is purely for ‘class’ audience and not those who love mass movies, trickling in.
Read also: Sapta Sagaradaache Ello: Rakshit Shetty's film lands on piracy sites on Day 1, countermeasures taken
Mixed reviews
Ticket aggregator site BookMyShow, for instance, has recorded several negative comments about the film, but it remains highly rated with multiple 10/10 reviews strangely using very similar hashtag keywords to describe Sapta Sagaradaache Ello. The film, according to reports, was made at a budget of Rs 30-35 crore spread across two parts, so, the team has a long away to go to break even. A lot is riding on the success of Side A, as Side B is releasing during Dasara, when other biggies like Shivarajkumar’s Ghost, Vijay’s Leo and Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Bhagavanth Kesari are also lined up. Ravi Teja’s Tiger Nageshwara Rao was also a Dasara release, but has now been advanced to take up the September 28 spot vacated by Salaar.