Pawan Kalyan’s upcoming film Bheemla Nayak, which was earlier scheduled to release on January 12, has now been postponed to February 25. Bheemla Nayak, which also stars Rana Daggubati and Nithya Menen, was earlier set to be one among the three big Sankranthi releases, along with SS Rajamouli’s RRR and Prabhas starrer Radhe Shyam. However, the Telugu Film Producers' Guild headed by Dil Raju announced on Tuesday, December 21, that the makers of Bheemla Nayak have agreed to postpone the release closer to Shivaratri, to reduce the competition for screens between the three films in the Telugu states in January.
Speaking to the media, Dil Raju said that the Producers’ Guild has been trying to resolve any issues related to releases between producers amicably since the beginning of the pandemic. “RRR, Bheemla Nayak and Radhe Shyam were supposed to release for Sankranthi. RRR and Radhe Shyam began production around three years ago. They’re pan-India films, with solo releases in Hindi too,” Dil Raju said, recalling that the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi starring Alia Bhatt was moved from January 6 to avoid a clash with RRR, releasing on January 7. Radhe Shyam is releasing on January 14.
“DVV Danayya and Vamsi, the producers of RRR and Radhe Shyam, met and convinced Bheemla Nayak’s producers to postpone the release. This is a move meant to take forward Telugu cinema’s growth globally with pan-India releases,” Dil Raju said. “Within the Telugu states, we don’t have enough screens to split between three big films. We expressed this to the producers of Bheemla Nayak and Pawan Kalyan, and they responded positively. We thank them on behalf of the Producers’ Guild,” he said.
As Bheemla Nayak, a remake of the Malayalam film Ayyappanum Koshiyum, is now set to release on February 25, the Venkatesh and Varun Tej starrer F3: Fun and Frustration, made under Dil Raju’s production house, has been postponed to April 29, he said. In the interim, other major films are lined up for release, including Mahesh Babu’s Sarkaru Vaari Paata on April 1, and KGF Chapter 2 on April 14. Noting that the decision was taken amicably considering the situation of screens, Dil Raju asked fans to understand the reasons for postponing the release.