Shaakuntalam producer Dil Raju: 'Mahesh Babu's Spyder, Pawan Kalyan's Agnyaathavaasi were huge disasters, could've ended my career...'

Renowned producer and distributor Dil Raju has opened up about his experiences in the film industry, detailing the highs and lows of his career. Raju, who has produced several super-hit movies, has also faced setbacks as a distributor.

In a recent interview, Raju revealed that he lost a total of Rs 25 crore on two big-budget movies — Mahesh Babu-AR Murugadoss's movie Sypder and Pawan Kaylan-Trivikram Srinivas's Agnyaathavaasi. He bought the films for fancy rates, but unfortunately, both turned out to be disasters at the box office. "If I were only a distributor, the losses would have ended my career," Raju told NTV Entertainment. 

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"In distribution, if a film clicks, the maximum profit is about Rs 5 crore," Raju said. "I remember vividly that the only movie that made me a profit of Rs 10 crore is Baahubali. Back in the day, it made about Rs 42 crore, and its producers gave me a 20 per cent commission along with a bonus. That was my highest income in distribution."

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, directed by SS Rajamouli, was a massive success at the box office, grossing over Rs 1,800 crore worldwide. The film starred Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, and Tamannaah Bhatia in lead roles. 

Fortunately, at the time, Raju had a string of successes as a producer, which allowed him to compensate for the losses he suffered as a distributor. "There are more failures than successes in film distribution," he added.

Raju is now gearing up for the release of his next production venture Shaakuntalam. Starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the lead, the movie is inspired by an Indian mythology. Written and directed by Gunasekhar, the movie stars Samantha in that titular role. Made on a big budget, the movie is due in cinemas on April 14. The movie also stars Dev Mohan, Mohan Babu, Jisshu Sengupta, Madhoo, Gautami, Aditi Balan and Ananya Nagal in the supporting cast.