Baththa: Low Bookings, Great Reviews, Audience Confused?

Vijay Sethupathi in Baththa

Following the terrible failure of Gandhi Talks, Vijay Sethupathi has returned with the film Baththa, directed by Balaji Tharaneetharan, which was finally released in theatres today.

Since the Vijay Sethupathi and Balaji Tharaneetharan duo has already delivered the cult classic film Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom and also because this film was produced by Atlee, Baththa had high expectations among cinephiles.

In this scenario, the press show for Baththa was screened yesterday in Chennai, following which Kollywood trackers and members of the press shared extremely positive responses for the film.

They claimed that Baththa is a unique attempt with a good blend of humour and emotions, and suggested that it is one of the best films released in Kollywood in recent times. They also appreciated Vijay Sethupathi‘s performance in the movie and Sai Abhyankkar’s background score.

Furthermore, they predicted that Baththa has a strong possibility to emerge as a massive blockbuster at the box office and believe that this film will emerge as Vijay Sethupathi’s highest-grossing film, surpassing Maharaja.

Meanwhile, even though early reports for Baththa were super positive, the film has started its theatrical run with a below-par opening. Many people were not even aware of its release.

According to reports, Day 1 Tamil Nadu advance sales for Baththa were less than 50 lakhs, which is quite poor by Vijay Sethupathi’s standards. Furthermore, reports indicate that the Tamil Nadu distribution rights for Baththa were sold for a whopping 12 crores.

Additionally, while extraordinary reviews for Baththa are pouring in from people who watched it at the press show on one side, many trade experts on the other side are claiming that the advance sales for the film are very low. Consequently, because of these two contrasting reports, the Kollywood audience is in a state of confusion regarding Baththa.

Therefore, despite positive responses from the press and trackers, Baththa needs to satisfy the expectations of general audiences to emerge as a commercial hit at the box office. Since the distribution rights of Baththa are very high compared to previous Vijay Sethupathi films, if Baththa fails to land well with general audiences, it runs a huge risk of ending up as a terrible financial loss.

Ultimately, within a few hours, we will get the verdict from general audiences and it remains to be seen whether Baththa will satisfy their expectations as well and emerge as a blockbuster success.