‘MSVPG’ director Anil Ravipudi says pan-Indian stars should return to ‘smaller films’

Filmmaker Anil Ravipudi, who recently delivered the Chiranjeevi starrer ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu,’ expressed that pan-Indian stars should take the risk of returning to smaller films. While Ravipudi’s Sankranti directorial ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ emerged as a hit at the box office, Prabhas starrer ‘The Raja Saab’ turned out to be a disappointment. ‘The Raja Saab’, reportedly mounted on a massive budget of Rs 450 crore, has only earned Rs 205 crore at the worldwide box office collection, according to Sacnilk. On the other hand, ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’, which is made on a Rs 200 crore budget, minted Rs 257 crore worldwide by the end of the twelfth day at the box office.Ravipudi, who is known for delivering back-to-back blockbuster films, said one has to find a balance. Talking to Great Andhra, Ravipudi said, “Lately, the pan-India market has become extremely wide, with budgets going up to Rs 1,000-2,000 crore. Heroes now have global exposure, and that creates a dilemma when it comes to doing smaller films after appearing in a large pan-India project.”Anil Ravipudi also observed the uncertainty around whether such pan-Indian stars would be willing to do smaller films. “With global films, the budgets are higher, the standards rise, and visuals become grander. With that mindset, people start questioning whether a hero who has worked at that scale will return to making smaller regional films. That uncertainty becomes a problem for everyone involved,” he said. The ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ director, however, thinks such stars have to take the risk of doing smaller films. “If these stars take the risk of returning to smaller films and strike a balance by doing both pan-India and regional cinema, the bubble around pan-India status will burst. The question is, who will burst it first?”He also observed the dry spell that follows the January month, as most big releases are slated during the beginning of the year. “Right now, all top stars release their films in January, followed by a dry spell of nearly six months. This is forcing single-screen theatres to shut down. If stars start signing both kinds of films, one pan-India and one regional film every year, the ecosystem will stabilise. The regional market has immense stamina,” he added. Meanwhile, ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ is running successfully in the cinemas. Starring Chiranjeevi, the film also has Venkatesh and Nayanthara in key roles. The film hit the theatres on January 12.