Box office: NTR Kathanayakudu mints Rs21 crore on its first day

NTR Kathanayakudu, the first part of NTR biopic, is off to a solid start at the box office with the first day worldwide gross collection of Rs21 crore, according to trade sources. This is said to be one of the biggest openings for a biopic ever.

Directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, Kathanayakudu chronicles the rise of NTR as one of the doyens of Telugu cinema from a very humble beginning. Nandamuri Balakrishna essayed the role of his late father in this biopic, which was released amid very high expectations and has met them to a certain extent.

NTR Kathanayakudu review: Safe but earnest tribute to a legend

Trade pundits believe Kathanayakudu managed to get a very good opening because it had a solo release on 9 January.

With two more Sankranti releases — Vinaya Vidheya Rama and F2 — joining the race; it’ll be interesting to see if Kathanayakudu can hold its ground at the ticket window. Despite opening to mixed reviews, the film went on to create an impact at the box office.  

The film features a galaxy of stars. While Rana Daggubati plays the role of Andhra Pradesh chief ninister N Chandrababu Naidu, Sumanth Akkineni essayed the role of his late grandfather Akkineni Nageswara Rao. Rakul Preet, Shriya Saran, Shalini Pandey and Prakash Raj among others also play key roles.

The second part of the biopic titled NTR Mahanayakudu, which will track NTR’s journey as a politician and his term as CM of Andhra Pradesh, is slated for release on 7 February.