The Sankranthi festival is not just about celebrating the tradition but also about watching a big fight on the silver screen in Tollywood. Yes, it has always been a ritual of sorts where two big stars collide with each other at the box office. This year, it was the turn of megastar Chiranjeevi and Nandamuri Natasimham Balakrishna.
However, a controversy of sorts seems to have risen when it comes to Balayya’s ‘Veera Simha Reddy’ collections in the USA. It has been reported that certain NRI groups made bulk ticket bookings for Balakrishna's 'Veera Simha Reddy' in an effort to inflate its premiere collections to over $700k.
However, the film's second and third day collections of $39,124 [144 locations] and $68,956 [257 locations] respectively, exposed this manipulation. In contrast, 'Waltair Veerayya' had a legitimate premiere collection of $679,036 [316 locations] and a second day collection of $308,911 [322 locations], indicating its success. Usually the drop is 50% on the second day but it will not be so drastic. So, it appears the fans made bulk buying to compete against Chiru’s movie and on the other hand ‘Waltair Veerayya’ seems to have genuine collections.
