With Dhamaka still performing well in theatres, will the OTT release date be revised?

The film trade never ceases to surprise! In the first half of 2022, Ravi Teja was in the middle of a rough patch, with two of his big releases, Khiladi and Ramarao on Duty biting the dust and many sensing the necessity for the star to reinvent himself. Come December 2022 and this January, the scenario has changed drastically for the star with consecutive hits - Dhamaka and Waltair Veerayya.

Dhamaka, like most Ravi Teja films, didn’t try to do anything out of the box or tell a startlingly different story. It stuck to its job of being an entertainer sans any element of pretension. The Trinadha Rao Nakkina directorial was meant for escapist pleasure and it delivered what it promised. Beyond Ravi Teja’s effortless screen presence, Sreeleela’s enthusiasm, the entertaining screenplay, the foot-tapping music, worked wonders at theatres.

Excepting 18 Pages, the film didn’t face major competition from any releases prior to Sankranthi and enjoyed an impressive three week run in theatres. However, Dhamaka managed to make a mark during the festive season even amidst huge releases like Waltair Veerayya, Veera Simha Reddy, Vaarasudu. The debates around the need for new-age plots in Telugu cinema have suddenly gone for a toss.

Even as Dhamaka continues to make merry at the ticket window, it is gearing up for an OTT premiere this weekend on Netflix. Given, there are no major biggies expected to hit screens till the end of January, there’s every chance that Dhamaka could get an additional push in theatres. However, the OTT release would certainly be limiting its prospects at the box office.

There have been a few instances in the past where OTT deals were revised owing to good theatrical performances of feature films. Doesn’t Dhamaka deserve that chance too? The film also stars Jayaram, Praveen, Tanikella Bharani, Chirag Jani, Shritej and others in key roles too. With music by Bheems Ceciroleo and cinematography by Karthik Gattamneni, Dhamaka was produced by TG Vishwa Prasad under People Media Factory.