Sarrainodu Strikes Gold

Actor Allu Arjun's Sarrainodu, slated to release next week, is the most anticipated summer release in Tollywood. This Boyapati Srinivas-directed film's satellite rights in three languages have been fetched for a record price of Rs 16 crore, making it the highest amount ever paid for a Telugu film before release.

Following the back-to-back success of Arjun's films such as Race Gurram and S/O Satyamurty, trade pundits believe the actor's market value has multiplied, and hence, the high demand to grab the rights of his forthcoming outing, which has already garnered positive buzz going by the reaction to the promos. In the process, it has broken the record of Baahubali, which fetched close to Rs 15 crore.

"The Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam satellite rights have been snapped by SUN network for a whopping Rs 16 crore. Since Arjun's films have done well in Kerala when dubbed in Malayalam, the makers of Sarrainodu have decided to dub the film in the language, besides getting it dubbed in Hindi as well. However, it's not sure if the Hindi and Malayalam dubbed versions of the film will make it to theatres because the makers are planning to release the Telugu version in nearly 2,000 screens worldwide. Tipped to be an out-and-out commercial flick, Arjun is rumoured to be playing a bodyguard, appointed to protect an MLA, played by Catherine Tresa. Said to feature some mass-appealing action sequences, besides romance and comedy, the film is believed to have done pre-release business worth over Rs 50 crore.