VDK at Crossroads: Big Bets, Bigger Risks Ahead?

Despite suffering back-to-back debacles with no unanimous box office hits in recent years, Tollywood heartthrob Vijay Devarakonda is going great guns because he has a strong line-up of projects on the horizon. What is more surprising is that producers are not blinking an eyelid in spending huge money bags for his upcoming projects despite the fact that Tollywood is witnessing a massive slash in budgets due to the changing trade dynamics.

Vijay is currently busy shooting for two big-budget films at a time. Both Rana Bali and Rowdy Janardhan are progressing at a brisk pace as they are slated for release in the second half of this year. Interestingly, he has green signalled another crazy project in the direction of Hi Nanna fame Shouryuv. The announcement has sparked a strong buzz due to the solid combination and the quirky concept poster. 

Even though none of his recent films emerged as fully profitable ventures, Vijay is on a signing spree and giving chance to new generation directors. While period drama Rana Bali is helmed by Rahul Sankritiyan, Rowdy Janardhan has Ravi Kiran Kola calling the shots. Both these projects have been making a positive noise due to the strong buzz on the genre and the backdrop. 

His new project with Shouryuv is also billed as an action saga with a novel setup. The makers are going to spend a fortune for this untitled project which will go on floors once Vijay wraps up his current commitments. The technical team and production values are going to be cost a bomb for the team as per reports. 

While Vijay’s aggressive approach in finalizing happening directors is a good sign, he should be wary of the risk because the result of one film will have a direct impact on the hype of the next projects due to the current scenario in Tollywood as box office performance is playing a key role rather than stardom. 

Vijay’s market took a huge beating with duds like Liger and Family Man. Even though Kushi and Kingdom initially secured decent word of mouth, both films did not sustain in the long run and ended as flops.

So, Vijay should be cautious in signing films. He should make sure that every film has solid script and has elements that connect with the audiences to emerge as hits irrespective of the ongoing trends. Even if one films tanks at the box office, it will impact the future projects.