Saaho, touted as one of the biggest releases of 2019, is just a couple of hours away from entering theatres. Since southern superstar Prabhas is returning to grace the silver screen after a gap of two years, there is huge excitement among the audience. Fans are dying to see the actor in a completely different avatar after the Baahubali franchise, which was a period saga of two warring brothers.
Not just fans and film enthusiasts, trade pundits are also awaiting the release of the film with bated breath. There is loads of positive buzz in the trade and several trade analysts are hopeful that Saaho will smash the opening day collection of Hollywood biggie Avengers: Endgame (2019) at the Indian box-office. Avengers: Endgame raked in ₹ 53 crore on its opening day, while Aamir Khan’s Thugs of Hindostan made ₹ 52.25 crore on the day of its release in 2018.
Film trade analyst Girish Johar told a publication, "The buzz is very good. Prabhas and Shraddha are among the top actors and the response to the trailer is outstanding. It is a non-festive but a very wide release in Hindi. A non-holiday opening of ₹ 15-20 crore would be fantastic, considering how some Bollywood actors struggle to deliver an opening of even Rs 10 crore.”
Speaking about the all-India collection of Saaho, he went on to add, "The film should open at roughly ₹ 35 crore in Telugu, ₹ 15 crore in Tamil and ₹ 3-5 crore in Malayalam. The film should open across India at around ₹ 60-70 crore in all languages.”
Another trade analyst Ramesh Bala also echoed the same thoughts. "Baahubali 2 (2017) is the biggest grosser in India. Saaho is Prabhas‘s next movie after Baahubali 2. So the expectations are sky-high. The movie is releasing in several languages. A solo release on Aug 30th. 1,500 screens in Telugu states and 550 screens in Tamil Nadu.”
Directed by Sujeeth, Saaho is set to arrive in theatres in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil on 30th August.
Holding back tears while receiving a standing ovationGetty Images
