Prithviraj’s Telugu-dubbed movies that didn’t work well – hopes pinned on Rajamouli’s Varanasi

Prithviraj Sukumaran, who became familiar to the Telugu audience through ‘Salaar’, is now playing the antagonist in SS Rajamouli and Mahesh Babu’s upcoming film ‘Varanasi’. Although he has been trying to establish a strong foothold in the Telugu market for years, his dubbed films haven’t been successful. His new film ‘Vilayath Buddha’, released worldwide with decent expectations, has opened to largely negative reviews, with many drawing comparisons to ‘Pushpa’.

While the low-budget forest-backdrop film ‘Echo’ is performing well in Mollywood, ‘Vilayath Buddha’, made with a budget of nearly ₹40 crore, is struggling to reach even an average mark. Trade reports suggest that the film crossing ₹10 crore worldwide would itself be an achievement. Its lengthy runtime, slow-paced narrative, and routine content have collectively worked against the film. For Prithviraj, who delivered an industry hit like ‘L2 Empuraan’ as a director, this outcome is quite disappointing.

Though the movie has been dubbed into Telugu, its weak performance in the original version makes success in the Telugu states unlikely. The story revolves around an ego clash between a retired teacher and his former student-turned-smuggler, with elements like forest backdrops and red sandalwood smuggling that resemble ‘Pushpa’. However, the director fails to present it with the same engaging treatment as Sukumar. Nevertheless, Prithviraj is placing strong hopes on ‘Varanasi’, expecting it to become a major step toward global recognition.