Venkat Prabhu on The GOAT climax: 'Maybe the CSK connection didn't appeal to Telugu and Hindi audiences'

Filmmaker Venkat Prabhu, a devoted Chennai Super Kings (CSK) loyalist, has blended his love for the game of cricket and the CSK into his latest movie, The Greatest of All Time (The GOAT), starring Thalapathy Vijay. In the film’s climax, the final 30 minutes are set against the backdrop of a CSK match at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium, with Vijay's character racing against time to stop a bomb from exploding.

While Venkat was thrilled about this high-energy, CSK-themed climax, he admitted that this very aspect might have limited the movie's appeal to audiences outside Tamil Nadu, particularly in the Telugu states and other regions of the country.

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"Vijay Anna liked the climax very much," Venkat shared during a live interaction with fans on X. The director revealed that he even considered including a cameo by former CSK captain MS Dhoni, but unfortunately, it didn’t materialize. "Despite the best efforts of CSK, we couldn’t make the Dhoni cameo happen."

Venkat acknowledged that the heavy CSK references may have impacted the film’s reception in non-Tamil regions. "Because of that, fans of Mumbai Indians and RCB troll me," he said with a laugh. "We are all CSK fans—it’s in our blood, and we can’t deny that. Maybe it’s because of the CSK connection that this movie didn’t appeal as much to Telugu and Hindi audiences. I don’t think they can enjoy that moment the way we do."

Describing the climax as a "typical Die Hard at the stadium," Venkat explained that while many movies feature a similar plot—stopping a bomb in a packed stadium—they condensed the action to the last 40 minutes of the movie. "We can say the climax portion itself is a 'genre movie,'" he added, emphasizing that it was designed to be a high-tension, action-packed sequence that would resonate with CSK fans in particular.

While The GOAT is doing very well in Tamil Nadu, it's experiencing a dull run in the Telugu states and Kerala. The film has managed to put up a decent show at the North Indian box office, with its four-day collection exceeding Rs 11 crore. The film's worldwide opening weekend collection is said to be around Rs 300 crore.

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