Thandel earns Rs 100 crore: True or hype?  Industry weighs in

The Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi starrer Thandel was released on February 7. Directed by Chandoo Mondeti, the film is produced by Bunny Vas of Geetha Arts and presented by top producer Allu Aravind. The makers released a poster claiming that Thandel grossed Rs 100 crore, marking the first time an actor from the Akkineni family has entered the Rs 100 crore club. “We promised, we did it,” said Bunny Vas on his social media, sharing the poster celebrating the film’s Rs 100 crore milestone.
However, this has sparked a heated debate within the industry and trade circles. While Thandel is considered a decent hit with good collections in the first three days, its earnings took a significant dip from the fourth day onward, although it is still holding well at the box office. Before the film’s release, Bunny Vas promised to deliver Naga Chaitanya’s first Rs 100 crore film. As promised, he announced that the film had grossed this amount on Sunday, but some trade analysts argue that the collections being reported are inflated. The film has been a major disappointment overseas, yet the makers have claimed it has collected worldwide. “By reporting these inflated figures, the producers are inviting unnecessary risk. These statements posted from the official handles of the producer could attract the attention of IT officials,” said another producer, who wished to remain anonymous. The film didn’t receive rave reviews, with the general consensus being that the talk was average. Some critics felt that the second half of the film dragged on, particularly in the emotional scenes set in the Pakistan jail, where the director failed to deliver the expected emotional depth. The director himself admitted in a latest interview that due to censor issues, he had to remove several scenes, which resulted in less emotional impact.
It has become a common practice for filmmakers to add extra crores to the reported collections to create hype around the film and impress the lead actors, said one producer. The announcement of Rs 100 crore collections on the tenth day is seen by trade analysts as premature, further fueling the debate. Sai Pallavi, who is a huge star with a massive fan base in the Telugu states, also contributed to the film’s audience, as many fans watched Thandel for her.