New Delhi: Devara, Game Changer & Pushpa 2: The Rule—the big-budget, much-awaited Telugu movies have fans in a frenzy. With the latter two yet to hit the theatres, fans have resorted to comparing which trailer got the most number of views within 24 hours of its release. While Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2 still holds the lead, Ram Charan’s Game Changer has surprised observers by coming a close second.
The teaser dropped on 9 November and in a day the Telugu trailer racked up more than 32.5 million views, as compared to Pushpa 2’s 39.5 million views. It is worth noting that Game Changer’s teaser has been released in Tamil and Hindi as well. The views across languages have crossed 70 million in the same duration.
Incidentally, the Ram Charan film, which is slated for a January 2025 release, released the teaser at an event in Lucknow–a first for a south Indian movie.
The one-minute 30-second teaser is a high-octane montage of scenes featuring Ram Charan in multiple avatars—a student, a politician, a goon and what appears to be a working-class leader. He can do it all. “I am unpredictable,” says Charan at the end of the teaser. It was launched at Lucknow’s Pratibha Theatre on Saturday evening. Fans thronged to the venue to catch a glimpse of Ram Charan and his co-star Kiara Advani.
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Worldwide stars and cult fanbases
Keeping track of teaser and trailer views is a way for fan clubs to prove the might of their favourite actors. And with three of Telugu cinema’s biggest actors—Jr NTR, Ram Charan and Allu Arjun—helming big-budget films, the stakes are high.
Fans were quick to compare Ram Charan’s Game Changer with his RRR co-star Jr NTR’s Devara. Released on 10 September, the latter only clocked 10.4 million views in the first 24 hours.
“Who has Cult Fan base Worldwide ? Lets Settle It #ManOfMassesNTR Vs #GlobalStarRamCharan,” asked one X user.
“Most production houses prefer to highlight the total numbers, across languages. But if a teaser crosses a significant number of views in one language, the makers might also choose to highlight that. No one actually sits and does the math. So, it is easier to build the hype,” said a film producer, who works in the Telugu film industry.
Fans have also compared Charan’s film with Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2: The Rule, touted to be the most anticipated Telugu film of the year. The teaser, which dropped in August, saw Allu Arjun dressed in a saree and ghungroos, and holding a trishul, dancing to the music director DSP’s beats.
But neither film’s teaser views have come close to that of the 2023 movie Salaar: Part 1: The Ceasefire. With 83 million views, it has the highest number of 24-hour views for a teaser in any Indian language.
“A teaser is not the only marker of how much a film will earn. Fans can compete, but finally, it is box office numbers that will show the result. That said, Game Changer’s Lucknow event was a big success and a great marketing move,” said film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh to ThePrint.
Now, Pushpa 2 has also zeroed in on Patna for its trailer launch, instead of opting for the usual Hyderabad, Chennai or Mumbai. The grand event is scheduled for 17 November.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
Each one of them is a joker. None of them actually look like a hero. Worse still, cannot act.