Mr Bachchan reviews are mixed, but Bhagyashri Borse, Harish Shankar celebrate success

The latest Telugu movie, Mr Bachchan, opened in cinemas on Thursday, coinciding with the Independence Day holiday. The movie has garnered mixed reactions from critics and audiences, making its journey to commercial success more challenging.

Social media is flooded with troll videos criticizing director Harish Shankar and his storytelling approach. Meanwhile, critical reviews have also been unfavourable, with many calling the film "boring" or "tolerable to some extent."

However, the mixed reactions don't seem to have bothered the cast and crew. Harish and the film's leading lady, Bhagyashri Borse, visited a theatre on Thursday and celebrated the film's release by bursting crackers and cutting a celebratory cake.

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While the reception to Mr. Bachchan, starring Telugu star Ravi Teja, has been underwhelming in most places, some pockets in the Telugu states have shown enthusiasm. A few morning shows went houseful, and there seems to be a slight uptick in ticket sales on booking platforms for evening shows.

By tomorrow, a clearer picture will emerge regarding the film's theatrical revenue.

The mixed reviews for Mr. Bachchan come amid already dull advance bookings. "Underwhelming advances for August 15th Tollywood releases in Hyderabad, with 3 films together only around ₹2 Cr sales online so far, including paid premieres. Disappointing, considering it's a national holiday," tweeted Andhraboxoffice.com earlier.

It's not just Mr. Bachchan facing challenges; another new Telugu release, Double iSmart, is also not faring well on its opening day. The sequel to the 2019 action drama, written and directed by Puri Jagannadh, stars Ram Pothineni in the lead role and marks Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt's debut in Telugu cinema.

The audience's response to both Mr. Bachchan and Double iSmart so far hasn't been encouraging. Judging by the trends, it's going to be a tough opening weekend for both movies.

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