'Boys Hostel', the Telugu-dubbed version of the Kannada film 'Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare', was released last Friday. While the film was a big hit in Kannada, it flopped badly in Telugu.
Annapurna Studios and Chai Bisket Films bought the Telugu release rights with plenty of hope. However, the youthful hostel campus comedy has not clicked with the Telugu audience.
The film's failure should serve as a wake-up call for Telugu producers. Comedies from Kannada don't necessarily work with the Telugu audience. Moreover, black comedy is a genre that people don't embrace with an open mind unless there is a strong cultural context and nativity.
Producer Supriya Yarlagadda of Annapurna Studios (she is Nagarjuna's niece) pinned hopes on 'Boys Hostel' and even got certain scenes shot separately for the Telugu version with Rashmi Gautam and Tharun Bhascker. Those scenes make sense, though.
'Boys Hostel' is not the only brainchild from Sandalwood to have been rejected by the Telugu audience. 'Kirik Party', which was remade with Nikhil Siddhartha as the hero, flopped at the Telugu box office. 'Love Mocktail', remade as 'Gurthunda Seethakalam' with Satyadev Kancharana and Tamannaah Bhatia, also turned out to be a disaster.
