28 September 2023
Hyderabad
In the run up to the release of Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty (MSMP), Naveen Polishetty was on a whirlwind promotional blitzkrieg (he once ran into evangelist Dr Ka Paul) across the two Telugu states, doing his bit to help spread a word or two about his film which was slotted for a September 7 release. The fact that he was handicapped–as leading lady Anushka Shetty decided to skip physical promotions–meant that he had to do the heavy lifting of promoting the film on his own shoulders. With director P Mahesh Babu being a relatively new face and UV producers Vamsi and Pramod, despite their standing, known to maintain their safe distance from the media, Naveen’s task was cut out.
And boy he did a stupendous job. While the rock-solid trailer managed to grab eyeballs, promising a laugh riot with a touch of emotions, Naveen’s promotional events too did the film a world of good. Early on, the makers understood that despite the film’s starry presence, Shah Rukh Khan-headlined Jawan will pose a stiff competition to it at the ticket windows and resultantly ensured that Naveen pulled out all stops to ensure that Jawan threat was nullified to a certain extent. The efforts that he had put in, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that no Telugu actor, of late, has promoted his film like the way Naveen did.
He wasn’t done yet. Days before the release, realizing the importance of exploiting the US market to the hilt, Naveen jetted off to the second most important market for Telugu cinema outside the Telugu states. While any production house would ideally want their hero to stay put in Hyderabad for the release day, as post release promotions kick off immediately after the film debuts in cinemas, UV thought otherwise, dispatching their hero to the US. During this time, the promotional burden was on Anushka as she gave a spate of audio interviews for various media outlets, keeping the buzz afloat. As she was speaking to the media after a long while, there was significant interest in what she had to say. There was no stopping Naveen, however, in the US. He travelled wherever the Indian diaspora was in numbers, mingled with everyone, while promoting the film. He hardly showed the fatigue of a promotional overdrive in the Telugu states as he pushed and encouraged the audience to catch the film as it opens on September 7. Overall, he travelled to 75 places in 25 days for promotions.
By the time the film neared the release, the solo promotional efforts that Naveen had put in for the film had registered in the minds of the people who follow Telugu cinema closely. He was a one-man show. Armed with an entertaining trailer meant the film opened decently all across with brisk on-the-spot ticket sales. With positive word-of-mouth trickling in from the morning show itself, it was evident that the film, despite pace issues, was destined for superlative success. The film’s collections continued to remain steady even in the second week after a good first week as the show count increased in countries like the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Naveen undeniably formed the spine of this rib-tickling entertainer with his comic timing and on-screen magnetism, fetching him lashings of laurels. On the other hand, all the naysayers who whined for months on how Anushka can be paired opposite such a young actor were eating crow as their chemistry elicited commendable praise from all corners.
Overall, the film while battling the present hot political climate in Andhra Pradesh and Jawan onslaught managed to gross more than Rs 50 crores until now. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it would’ve grossed more than Rs 75 crore had it managed to release without competition (Even Naveen in a recent interaction with the media admitted that it would have been better had they got a solo release). The professional he is, he has once again embarked on a US tour to push the revenue to the coveted $ 2 million club there, while the figure now stands at $ 1.8 million and counting.
With three super hits on the bounce and the visible efforts that he puts in during and after production, Naveen has become a hot property and is swamped with a torrent of offers from multiple production houses. There’s sizable buzz that he has commitments for Mythri Movie Makers, Sithara Entertainments and 14 Reels Plus up next and one glance at the reputation of these banners, we can safely say that his success juggernaut is here to continue.
-NAGARAJ GOUD
