Rangasthalam becomes first Telugu film after Baahubali franchise to enter Rs 200 cr club, crosses $3 mn in US

The coveted Rs 200 crore club is no longer only restricted to Bollywood. After SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2: The Conclusion took the box office by storm and emerged as the highest grossing Indian film, all eyes have turned to Telugu filmdom and what it has to offer next. Ram Charan’s latest outing _Rangasthalam_ , a rural revenge drama set in 1980s, has hogged all the limelight with its terrific run at the ticket window, becoming the first Ram Charan-starrer to gross over Rs 200 crore. The film’s makers made the official announcement on 30 April via a poster. [caption id=“attachment_4409053” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Ram Charan in a still from Rangasthalam. YouTube[/caption] Rangasthalam is, according to trade sources, now the third highest grossing Telugu film after the Baahubali series. “Rangasthalam gave the perfect start to the summer season for Tollywood. After the disastrous start the industry had this year with the debacle of Pawan Kalyan’s _Agnyaathaavasi_ , the trade bet big on Rangasthalam and it paid off richly. Not only did Rangasthalam become the first non-Baahubali film to enter the Rs 200 crore club, it has also set records in many areas across the globe. In the US, it became the first Ram Charan film to enter the $3 million club, earning him never-seen-before kind of reception from audiences,” trade analyst Trinath told Firstpost. In the Sukumar-directed film, Ram Charan played a small-time mechanic with a hearing impairment. His role was widely appreciated by critics and general audiences alike. At the success meet of the film, Ram Charan said the reaction of two people for Rangasthalam meant the world to him. “My mom was at loss of words after she watched the film. She made me sit next to her and cried her heart out. She didn’t say much. She held my hand and said, ‘you did well’. More than any appreciation, her few gentle words were ingrained deeply. The second priceless reaction came from my uncle.” Heaping praise on the film, Pawan Kalyan recently said the film deserved to be sent to the Oscars . “I rarely watch my own films. The last film I watched in theatre was Tholiprema. After so many years, I watched Rangasthalam in theatre because of all the praise it has received from all quarters. One of the main reasons I watched it in theatre is for Ram Charan’s performance. When I learnt that the film is rated higher than The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption on IMDB, I was curious to watch it. As a film, it has made all of us proud, and not just box office-wise but also with respect to the content,” he said, adding, “The film deserves to be shortlisted and sent to the Oscars from India. Rangasthalam is the story of our soil. It needs to be promoted on international level. It deserves the same kind of support that we gave Baahubali.” Ram Charan, meanwhile, has commenced shooting for his next project, dubbed as RC 12, with director Boyapati Sreenu. He is expected to wrap up his portion in RC 12 by August and will join the sets of his next film with SS Rajamouli from October. Both RC 12 and Charan–Rajamouli project are being bankrolled by DVV Danayya. In a recent media interaction, Danayya said that the film will be made on an estimated budget of Rs 300 crore . “The pre-production work has already begun. The art department has commenced work on erecting sets where crucial portion of the film will be shot. The estimated budget of the film will be Rs 300 crore.” The film will also star Jr NTR alongside Ram Charan.