09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Kuberaa producer lashes out at OTT giant for threatening to slash Rs 10 crore from deal if Dhanush film misses release date: ‘They have overtaken everything'
While discussions are rampant about the deplorable condition of Bollywood, the situation is not significantly better for the Telugu and Tamil industries, either. Though we have already entered the second half of the year, both the regional film industries are yet to deliver a proper blockbuster. With the postponement of Pawan Kalyan's Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1, all eyes are now on director Sekhar Kammula's Kuberaa, featuring Dhanush, Nagarjuna and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead roles.
With just days remaining until the movie's worldwide release, certain remarks made by Kuberaa's co-producer Suniel Narang (popularly known as Asian Suniel) have garnered significant attention, as he didn't mince words while calling out an OTT giant for allegedly pressuring the team over the release date. Narang also claimed that the company threatened to reduce their deal by Rs 10 crore if Kuberaa failed to hit screens on the scheduled date of June 20.
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'They have overtaken everything, and it all goes according to their will. I requested them (Amazon Prime Video) to give me a few weeks' time and a July date because there might be a delay in post-production. They said they'll cut Rs 10 crore if I don't release on 20 June as planned,' Suniel shared during a chat with Gulte Pro. He also criticised the industry's habit of relying on external platforms for various services, including ticket bookings and post-theatrical releases.
'And yet people say artistes' remuneration should be reduced. Why should we do that? India has a population of 145 crore; only 50 of them are superstars. They are gods, in my opinion. The issue lies with everything else but them. These other entities are happy irrespective of films being a hit or a flop,' he added.
While Telugu cinema saw major hits last year like Pushpa 2: The Rule (Rs 1,742.1 crore worldwide gross, according to industry tracker Sacnilk), Kalki 2898 AD (Rs 1,042.25 crore) and even Devara: Part 1 (Rs 421.63 crore), the biggest success so far this year has been Sankranthiki Vasthunam (Rs 255.2 crore). Following that is the box office bomb Game Changer (Rs 186.25 crore).
The situation is more or less the same in the Tamil industry, with Good Bad Ugly (Rs 246.15 crore) and Dragon (Rs 150.52 crore) leading the 2025 list, significantly lower compared to 2024's hits like The Greatest of All Time (Rs 457 crore), Amaran (Rs 333.67 crore) and Vettaiyan (Rs 253.6 crore). As a result, the success of Kuberaa is of utmost importance for both industries right now. Besides Telugu and Tamil, the film is set to release in Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam languages as well.
