Chiranjeevi does a kummudu at box-office

Fans and celebs go gaga over the Megastar’s comeback

Hyderabad: Megastar Chiranjeevi made his comeback with an earth-shattering opening of his ‘Khaidi No 150’ at the box-office. With serpentine queues being reported from theatres all over Telugu states, it is fitting to say that the ‘boss’ is indeed back.

While figures are still being compiled for the first day collections from both the states, trade pundits believe that given the film’s positive word-of-mouth publicity and since it being Chiru’s comeback film after nine years, it is on its way to set a new box-office record.

‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ holds the record for the first day collections as far as figures are concerned. It has collected Rs 22.4 crore share on opening day in the Telugu states, with Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Sardaar Gabbar Singh’ at close second with Rs 20.92 crore.

“There’s every chance for ‘Khaidi No 150’ collections to be around in the Rs 20-crore bracket. Even if it fails to cross the coveted mark, it is still an achievement for Chiru since he has been away from the arc lights for long,” said a distributor who did not wish to be named.

Reports coming in from the US indicate that the film is on course to surpass the record set by ‘Baahubali’ from premiere shows. The magnum opus had collected $1.3 million from premiere shows while ‘Khaidi No 150’ has collected $ 1.2 million, with some areas yet to report.

“The film has earned $1 million only from premieres in the US and this is proof to Chiranjeevi's large fan base around the globe,” trade analyst Trinath pointed out.

“Many trade trackers felt that the film would collect $600k (from premiere shows) at the most but Chiru proved them wrong,” added the excited distributor.

With many Chiru fans catching the 4 am show itself braving the cold weather in the city, the film has carried a positive report even before the morning show began.

The fans are extremely happy with the film. “A perfect Chiranjeevi film in all aspects and a comeback can't be better than this. Liked it more than the original! #KhaidiNo150,” Shreyas, a fan posted on Twitter.

A perfect Chiranjeevi film in all aspects and a comeback can't be better than this. Liked it more than the original! #KhaidiNo150

— Shreyas (@shreyas3hs) January 11, 2017

Read a post from Twitter handle @sriramForU, “Done with #KhaidiNo150... No major complaints, climax could've been better... yet, the First Telugu hit of 2017.. Boss is Back #KhaidiNo150 (sic).”

Done with #KhaidiNo150... No major complaints, climax could've been better... yet, the First Telugu hit of 2017.. Boss is Back #KhaidiNo150

— Sriram Varma (@sriramForU) January 10, 2017

Even celebs too were not far behind praising the film and Chiru in particular. Acclaimed filmmaker SS Rajamouli, who is a big fan of Chiranjeevi, tweeted, “Boss is Back!!!

Producer..Vinay garu..kummesaaranthe..None could have handled this project better than you. Team KN150...Have a blast...👍👍

— rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) January 11, 2017

Boss is Back!!!
Chiranjeevi garu thanks for coming back..missed you for 10 years...Congratulations Charan on a record breaking debut as a

— rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) January 11, 2017

Chiranjeevi garu thanks for coming back..missed you for 10 years.. Congratulations Charan on a record breaking debut as a Producer..

Vinay garu..kummesaaranthe..None could have handled this project better than you. Team KN150...Have a blast... (sic)” Actor Akhil Akkineni posted, “Records have been broken and will keep breaking.”