[intro] It is not easy to score a hit after the humongous success of “Bahubali” but `Team Srimanthudu” has just done it. Here’s why we think “Srimanthudu” earned the success it deserves. This must be the happiest birthday for Superstar Mahesh Babu. His latest film “Srimanthudu” has been declared a universally-liked blockbuster. The ratings given by the critics were almost unanimous at 3.25 or above. (T360 rated it 3.75/5). While the cast and the crew are basking in sunshine on this moment of glory, it takes a lot more than just luck to earn a super hit these days. Here’s what made “Srimanthudu” click big time. [/intro]
Stick to the basics: Mahesh hasn’t had a proper hit in a while since “Dookudu” and “Businessman”. The films which followed afterwards have been outrightly rejected by the audience either because of an over-complicated plot (“1-Nenokkadine”) or an over-the-top antics film (“Aagadu”). Moreover, a section of family audiences were alienated from Mahesh Babu because of the profanities in “Businessman”. What Mahesh needed again was a good family story with a clean certificate sans vulgarities and profanities. Koratala Siva fitted the bill aptly at this point.
A good story with a wonderful message was chosen and the film was made with utmost honesty and neatness – unheard of. Even though the plot lagged at times with a uni-dimensional treatment, audiences and critics have appreciated the basic plot and the message is far more clearer than what came out in even “Mahesh Khaleja” in which Trivikram Srinivas complicated the plot in a village backdrop.[pullquote position=”left”] Keeping costs under control is what makes “Srimanthudu” a winner with a lesson or two on how to make super profits. Once you count your pennies, as the old proverb says, the pounds will take care of themselves.[/pullquote]
Not as per Formula: In a film of this genre which had action and family drama, it is very easy to go for the temptation of roping in item songs and second and third heroines. It is also easy to pad the story with side-tracks from star comedians who charge a bomb or two, but that would have only diluted the impact of the story and also extended the number of days of shooting – resulting in escalated costs. By shunning the routine-story-formula-based-approach, the makers have taken a gutsy stand that stands out in terms of its freshness. That you can make a hit film without the regular comedians like Brahmanandam, Prakash Raj and item girls and multiple heroines is a good initiative which will pay off better for film-makers who want to make films with novelty.
Director used a commercial format but blended new methods to elevate the heroism of Mahesh. For example, the body language and the voice modulation of Mahesh is minimalistic and low-tone, something that suits the way Billionaires carry themselves. Sticking to only one heroine Shruti Hassan has also helped give depth to the plot. After a long time, we find a full-length romantic track with a heroine who gets equal yet important footage in a Mahesh Babu film, instead of relegating her to songs and comedy scenes.This is what has struck a chord with audiences; when a Superstar lets Shruti Hassan have her moments of glory in steps, dialogues and stylish dressing, you know there’s something different about this film. Everything in the film looked fresh and novel – the dressing of the lead pair, the scenes of confrontation between Mahesh and Sampath, the characterisation of Jagapathi Babu, Shruti Hassan and Rajendra Prasad, the bicycle chosen by the Mahesh and the cycling scene with the body-building goons and the songs. Each frame looked picture-perfect and refreshingly different from the formula fare dished out in most films, even if the story is not that unique.[pullquote position=”right”]Director Siva has used a straight narrative in telling a good story better without resorting to gimmicks or deviations from the main storyline.[/pullquote]
Cost-control and Cost-cutting: The budget of the film as per public domain knowledge is said to be around Rs.40 crores. But the film has already crossed anywhere between Rs.23-30 crores in the first few days after release. The satellite rights of the film have also got sold for a whopping Rs.14 crores to Zee Telugu channel. The music is already a chart-topper and ringing in monies from downloads on even free-playing sites like Raaga and Saavn. So, the producers are already on their way to counting their first rupee of table profits. But what made a real difference to the success of the film is the approach to budgeting and stricter control on costs.
For example, from reliable sources it is learnt that while the three producers who teamed up for Maitri Movies to produce the film were ready to go to any extent to make the film stand out in production values and scale of execution, Superstar Mahesh made it clear from day 1 that he is not in a mood to loosen the purse strings for the sake of budgets. Once he stepped in with a creation of G.Mahesh Babu Entertainment Ltd, the entire approach of the makers changed to being watchful of costing as possible. This is quite clear in the way the money got spent on the film – you could see that every rupee spent on the film showed up and got justified where it mattered.
Another example, in the opening song of “Rama Rama”, the makers wanted to cast someone like Vedika to shake a leg with Mahesh in one bit. But Vedika demanded around Rs.5 – 7 lacs which made the producers approach Poorna. (Avunu Fame). Poorna agreed for a much lower figure because it also let her share limelight with the superstar. Ditto with actors like Rahul Ravindran, Subbaraju etc. By trading off with an opportunity to bask in the charishma of Mahesh, the costs were kept reasonably under check from day 1.
But where it mattered, for instance, settings were primed up in the three songs, especially “Dimma Tirige” which required lavish settings that made life look larger. Because there was no other mass elements in the film, and the song came in the climax scene of the Mango grove (Mamidi Thota), the makers didn’t flinch when it came to spending for that song which included huge Kondapalli toys, Lepakshi toys and even corn field huts. (You could see the settings extending to the other side of the lake shown in the song too).
Yet another example is that when the makers were scouting for an apt bungalow which looked like a Billionaire’s mansion, the team flew to different parts of the globe to hunt for the place to shoot the scenes with Jagapathi Babu and family. Finally, they zeroed in on France, but later the director changed his mind and selected a place in Malaysia (which is what we see in the movie). His reason was that it will cost a fortune to fly the crew and the cast acting in the scenes in that palatial bungalow in and out of France. Malaysia is closer to India and cheaper. So, the entire team worked vigilantly to keep the bucks down for every frame. This approach of keeping costs under control is what makes “Srimanthudu” a winner with a lesson or two on how to make super profits. Once you count your pennies, as the old proverb says, the pounds will take care of themselves.
Marketing post-Bahubali: When a big star’s film is releasing after the stupendous success of “Bahubali”, it takes a different kind of guts and planning to ensure that expectations don’t fall flat. “Bahubali” has collected Rs.500 crores already but the team of “Srimanthudu” were casual in not letting expectations go hyper about their movie. Mahesh was the first to mention in all interviews (Read T360 interview with the Superstar here). He said that every movie cannot be like “Bahubali”. Then he said that the advantage of having “Bahubali” precede his film’s release is that the overall lift is going to cascade for his film also, so he said if normally his film goes on to collect Rs.70 crores, with “Bahubali” effect, it will collect Rs.77 crores or more. Then, he got into more combat mode. He himself chose to be on TV channel interviews to promote the film, something he has never done before. Usually, he gives interviews after the film releases but this time fans of Mahesh Babu were pleasantly surprised to find the star giving interviews galore in all Telugu channels and newspapers much ahead of the release.
Not just him, he let the stars like Jagapathi Babu, Rajendra Prasad, Shruti Hassan and the technical team from director to cinematographer to lyricist give elaborate interviews on the film. This approach helped generate eyeballs about the film and built up expectations of a cool family entertainer. When the audiences were going for the film, they exactly knew that the fare is going to be very different from “Bahubali” and didn’t compare with it. They marketed the film as completely different. This was an important lesson. It was easy to get swayed by the superstar status and market it as another blockbuster which will collect as many crores as BB. But the makers spared no effort in ensuring the film released with as many prints as “Bahubali”. For example, in Bengaluru, if “Bahubali” got released in 110 theatres, “Srimanthudu” got released in 100 theatres. Similarly, for the Tamil version of “Selvanathan”, Mahesh went to Tamil Nadu a week before the simultaneous release to ensure the film got good publicity.
Straight narrative and Focus on Mahesh: Director Siva has used a straight narrative in telling a good story better without resorting to gimmicks or deviate from the main storyline. For this, he roped in established actors like Dr.Rajendra Prasad and Jagapathi Babu to hold the balance of emotions well at different ends of the plot. Because of a plot like this which may not have the mass elements that can connect well, director Siva has over-invested in the production values with a boot-strapping approach and also concentrated on Mahesh and Shruti well. If Mahesh looked good on college campus scenes, the credit must go to all the three of them – Mahesh, Madhie (cinematography) and director Siva.
Not since the film “Arjun” which came around 2002 did the audience see Mahesh in college campus scenes. That itself speaks high of the fitness levels maintained by the superstar. He looked atleast ten years younger in this film and passes off as a college-going youth easily than most contemporary heroes now – this was the general public talk now. Can’t believe this lad just turned forty and looks so good on screen, besides sharing a wonderful screen chemistry with Shruti Hassan. The director has placed good bets on both Mahesh and Shruti’s styling and looks because that created a good draw with the youth. He also let the story and script dominate the treatment – which is another rarity. Unlike Trivikram Srinivas, he didn’t let Rajendra Prasad loose with funny lines here and there,(though that would have given some lighter moments), he made him every inch serious and dignified as a Village leader. Similarly, Jagapathi Babu looked good as a super-rich dad who never gave up on his son till the very last. All these have helped make an ordinary story into something moving and extra-ordinary with a good resonance.
The result: “Srimanthudu” has created a new case-study in marketing a compact film into a roaring success.
