Friday saw several films hit theatres, but Fahadh Faasil’s Don’t Trouble the Trouble and Jason Sanjay’s Sigma grabbed attention for the wrong reasons. Both generated curiosity before release, but the audience response has been disastrous, with box-office numbers even worse.
Don’t Trouble the Trouble had strong names backing it. SS Karthikeya produced the film, while SS Rajamouli presented it. Naturally, the association raised expectations. However, negative talk from the premiere shows raised serious questions about Karthikeya’s choice of subject for his production venture.
With the Rajamouli brand behind it, expectations were higher. Given the team’s confidence during the pre-release campaign, the film’s disastrous response looks like a serious misjudgment.
Sigma faced a similar fate. Jason Sanjay’s directorial debut attracted attention because he is Tamil Nadu CM Vijay’s son. However, the film received outright flop talk in Telugu, while collections in Tamil Nadu also turned out to be poor.
Don’t Trouble the Trouble’s box-office failure might not have surprised us if it had come from another banner. But coming from the SS Rajamouli brand, it is a major disappointment. Let’s hope Karthikeya takes the feedback in the right spirit and returns with a project that restores confidence in him as a producer.
Neither setback ends the road for these newcomers. Karthikeya has the industry network to back more projects, while Jason Sanjay will continue to get opportunities because he is Vijay’s son. However, after this disappointing debut, it may be better for Jason to explore other departments. Writing and direction do not appear to be his strong points, at least based on this film.
Rajamouli’s reputation also remains unharmed as he was only presented the film. Interestingly, Vijay has largely stayed away from his son’s Sigma’s promotional campaign, keeping his own brand image safe.
Ultimately, famous surnames and powerful connections can generate attention, but they cannot replace strong content. The next choices made by Karthikeya and Jason Sanjay will show whether they have learned from these setbacks.
