If the industry grapevine is anything to go by, both, Rajinikanth’s Petta and Ajith Kumar’s Viswasam, which are gearing up for a Pongal 2019 release, are most likely to not have a simultaneous dubbed release in Telugu.
As three major Telugu releases which include Ram Charan’s Vinaya Vidheya Rama, Venkatesh and Varun Tej’s F2 and the first part of NTR biopic are gearing up for a Sankranti release; it seems very unlikely that Petta and Viswasam might also join the race as they won’t be able to find theatres for a wide release.
The makers of Petta and Viswasam are yet to officially announce if they won’t have a Telugu release; however, going by the buzz in the trade circle, it looks like they won’t make it to the cinemas.
It’s worth mentioning that the Telugu version of Rajinikanth’s 2.0 did exceptional business and it’d be a blow to the makers of Petta if they can’t cash in on the recent success. A deferred release might not have the same impact as a simultaneous one but Sun Pictures, the producers of Petta, will definitely look have a release at the earliest.
Viswasam, on the other hand, marks Ajith’s fourth collaboration with director Siva. Unlike Rajinikanth, Ajith doesn’t have a strong Telugu market and his films so far have done just decent business when dubbed in Telugu. However, thanks to the pre-release hype for Viswasam; the makers would be keen to have a release in Telugu.