Jathi Ratnalu, a unanimous winner

On any given day, a Sharwanand starrer is expected to score big over a project featuring Naveen Polishetty in the lead role. This Shivarathri though turned out to be different where three films – Sreekaram, Jathi Ratnalu, Gaali Sampath – competed for audience’s attention. Sharwanand’s Sreekaram didn’t have much buzz going for it and Jathi Ratnalu was always going to have an edge over the other films due to its innovative, witty promotional strategies.

Among today’s releases, Sreekaram and Gaali Sampath have earned decent to mixed reviews, but it’s Jathi Ratnalu that has laughed all the way to the bank, earning critical acclaim and audience appreciation alike. The latter has received bumper openings everywhere and the out-and-out comedy was a rip-roaring tribute to EVV Sathyanarayana’s enjoyable comic fares in the 90s. Sreekaram wasn’t completely dismissed either, but the family drama about community farming reminded many of Maharshi.

Rajendra Prasad’s in prime form in Gaali Sampath, but the Sree Vishnu-starrer is an inconsistent ride. Given the tough competition from Sreekaram and Jathi Ratnalu, it was never going to be easy for the film to bring crowds to theatres. Another love story, Love Life and Pakodi, which has been receiving good pre-release reports, is to hit theatres tomorrow, though it’s not expected to be a competition to any of the releases today. Anyone would bet that Jathi Ratnalu is destined to have good times ahead.