Will Khiladi do for Ravi Teja what Pushpa did for Allu Arjun?

By Subhash K. Jha -

February 11, 2022 - 11:44 AM IST

Straightaway, the answer to the question, Will Khiladi do for Ravi Teja what Pushpa did for Allu Arjun? Doubtful. It is unlikely that Ravi Teja can encore Allu Arjun’s spectacular success. In fact every major Telugu A-lister is hoping for the same and planning pan-India projects accordingly. The one likely to crack the pan-India code from Andhra Pradesh after Allu Arjun is Vijay Deverakonda whose Liger is a lavish action drama in Hindi and Telugu. Producer Karan Johar who has taken a shine to Deverakonda is leaving no stone unturned to ensure Deverakonda is the next pan-India superstar from Telugu cinema.

Will Khiladi do for Ravi Teja what Pushpa did for Allu Arjun?

However before Deverekonda, the next two A-listers from Telugu cinema to try their luck in the Hindi belt are NTR Jr and Ramcharan Teja in Rajamouli’s RRR. Rajamouli is confident that the two regional superstars will find all-India acceptance. Incidentally Teja flopped miserably in his Hindi debut, a remake of Amitabh Bachchan’s Zanjeer in 2013.

But Before NTR and Ramcharan there is Ravi Teja whose Khiladi releases on 11 February. Teja is confident he will get across to the Hindi belt with his action thriller where he has a double role. Dubbed the ‘Masala Maharaja’ in Andhra and Telangana, Ravi Teja has long been desirous of crossing over into Hindi cinema. Back in 2013 he met director Samir Karnik (of Heroes and Yamla Pagla Deewana) who flew down to Hyderabad with the proposal to shoot Kaur & Singh , a Hindi-Telugu bi-lingual with Ravi in a double role.The Telugu superstar liked what he heard and has agreed to do Karnik’s film.

Back then in an interview Ravi Teja (who has been off the press ever since a drugs scandal five years ago) said he’s looking forward to his Hindi debut. “I wanted to do a Hindi film for the longest time. But a proper one and a good production. I'm even open to multi-starrers because those work better in Bollywood. But it should be with only Bollywood technicians, not the South Indian team. There's no point to my going to Bollywood if I work with the same artistes and technicians. Hum banjare hain (I am gypsy). I've struggled a lot to get where I am. I initially got rejected by every producer in Andhra. But no complaints. I enjoyed each and every moment of the struggle. My first break came in 1997 from Krishna Vamsi and then Puri Jagannadh who is my closest friend. I owe everything I am to him. Our careers have evolved simultaneously.”

Khiladi has been in trouble for some time now, what with the reports in Andhra that Ravi Teja has been at loggerheads with director Ramesh Varma through the making of the film and had even refused to dub leading to speculation that the film’s release may be postponed.

Also Read: Ravi Teja starrer Khiladi to release in Hindi on February 11, 2022