Throwback Thursday: 5 epic box-office clashes between Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna

Despite the cordial relationship between most A-List actors of Telugu cinema, box-office clashes are inevitable in the film industry, irrespective of the region or the language. Especially during festival times, filmmakers try to push in their big-ticket films to cash-in on viewers’ splurge and extract solid collections. The competition at the ticket counters can gradually turn into a frenzy among fans who might go the extra mile to support their demigods.

On the positive side, multiple releases on the D-day will be quite an interesting prospect for the viewers to experience. Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna are the two powerhouses of Tollywood with over four decades of unmatchable stardom in both the Telugu States. The veteran duo has faced off in as many as 16 occasions at the box-office and cinephiles termed it as the clash of the Titans. As we’re mentioning Throwback Thursday, here are the last 5 epic box-office clashes between the Megastar and Nandamuri Natasimham.

After a long hiatus of 13 years, the Konidela hero and the Nandamuri scion chose the auspicious occasion of Sankranthi to battle it out for the most-prestigious flicks in their respective careers. After an unsuccessful tenure in politics, Chiru returned to his forte and joined hands with VV Vinayak for his 150th film ‘Khaidi No. 150’, the remake of the Tamil blockbuster ‘Kaththi’. On the other side, Balakrishna teamed up with maverick filmmaker Krish for the historical drama ‘Gautamiputra Satakarni’ which was his 100th film.

Both the highly-anticipated films managed to strike a right chord with the viewers and raked in big moolah from the ticket counters.

Surprisingly, both the veteran actors’ previous clash was also on Pongal in the year 2004. While Balayya Babu joined hands with Jayanth C. Paranjee for the remake of Tamil blockbuster ‘Saamy’ titled in Telugu as ‘Lakshmi Narasimha’, Chiranjeevi released his fantasy-thriller ‘Anji’ which was in the making for nearly five years.

‘Lakshmi Narasimha’ managed to satisfy the audience with its interesting script and heroic feats by Balakrishna which were well received by the masses. Despite Megastar’s best efforts and much talked about graphics, ‘Anji’ fell flat at the ticket windows as the budget was way high in 2004.

Released on the biggest day of business in Telugu cinema, both ‘Narasimha Naidu’ and ‘Mrugaraju’ succeeded in bringing massive footfalls to theatres. However, Balakrishna emerged as a clear Sankranthi winner with his faction-action drama ‘Narasimha Naidu’ turning out to be an industry hit. All songs composed by Mani Sharma turned out to become chartbusters.

On the other side, Chiranjeevi’s action-adventure ‘Mrugaraju’ directed by ‘Okkadu’ fame Gunasekhar failed to reach the expectations of Mega fans and ended up as a debacle at the box-office. This film is touted as the biggest flop in Chiru’s illustrious career.

Unlike the remaining Sankranthi battles, Chiranjeevi delivered a memorable success in 2000 with the Muthyala Subbaiah directorial ‘Annayya’. The Soundarya starrer opened to a fantastic response from the audience and became one among the highest grossers in Tollywood. All songs from this Mani Sharma musical turned out to become good hits.

Balakrishna couldn’t repeat the festival sentiment this time around as his family-drama ‘Vamshoddharakudu’ managed to acquire an average talk at the box-office. The film starred Ramya Krishna, Sakshi Shivanand, and Krishnam Raju in pivotal roles.

Balakrishna’s trendsetting film ‘Samarasimha Reddy’ opened to a roaring response from the Telugu audience and the action-emotional drama shattered all existing records in the film industry. The cult film brought massive following and immense stardom to the Nandamuri Natasimham, especially in the Rayalaseema region.

‘Sneham Kosam’ is the remake of Tamil superhit film ‘Natpukkaga’. Featuring Chiranjeevi in a dual role, the KS Ravikumar opened to a decent response from moviegoers and turned out to be a fair hit at the ticket counters. With ‘Samarasimha Reddy’ turning out to be an industry hit, this film couldn’t have an extended run in theatres.