Krishna Ajai Rao: Yuddhakaanda is an organic hit, but when compared to Telugu's Court...

Krishna Ajai Rao, better known for doing romantic dramas like Krishnan Love Story, Krishnan Marriage Story, among others, decided to back a film that had him in an entirely different avatar. A courtroom drama, this would be his second production venture after Krishna Leela, and was bor n out of his desire to be a part of films that would give his career a boost in the right direction. Called Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2, given that there is a Ravichandran courtroom drama called Yuddhakaanda, this one, directed by Pavan Bhat, is a story that appealed not only to Ajai Rao the actor, but Ajai Rao the father too.

Ajai Rao declares Yuddhakaanda an organic hit

Released in theatres on April 18 at a time when Kannada films have been struggling with declining footfalls, Yuddhakaanda had a slow and steady growth at the box office. While official figures are not available, what has been a positive sign is that the film, which began with, say, 1-2 shows at multiplexes in a day, saw an increase in shows by the day, with Ajai then able to declare Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2 an “organic hit”.

The film is being hailed as Ajai’s comeback vehicle and has been garnering positive word-of-mouth from audiences, who gave it a chance, even though it is not a standard commercial film. As happy as Ajai is about the response to his film, and grateful to audiences for giving it a heartwarming opening, the actor-producer feels that the Yuddhakaanda should have done a lot better at the box office.

“I have waited 25 years for an organic hit like Yuddhakaanda. But if you look at box office figures from Karnataka, the Telugu courtroom drama Court was far more successful than Yuddhakaanda has been to date. Same is the case with the Malayalam film Manjummel Boys. Why are people not turning up in the same numbers for our films? That’s a question we need to ask ourselves?” said Ajai at the film’s success meet on April 22.

The actor-filmmaker says that it all boils down to audience confidence in the industry and right now, that trust has been lost. “We make one great film and that gives audiences hope that more such movies will be made. But then we don’t live up to it,” says Ajai, adding that he’s not looking at making crores in a day. He’d rather see his film get to 100-days at the box office, with slow and steady organic growth.