Pradeep Ranganathan is one of the most wanted actors in Kollywood right now. With hat-trick blockbusters in Comali, Love Today and Dragon, he is now seen as a minimum-guarantee star at the box office. Pradeep's latest release Dude is set for Diwali release (October 17).
Latest reports suggest that Dude is already a profitable venture for the producers even before release. The total budget of the film, allegedly in the Rs 25-30 crore territory, has been recovered by the huge OTT deal received by Mythri Movie Makers from streaming giant Netflix.
Sources close to the film and Netflix suggest that the OTT rights have gone for approximately Rs 25 crore, comfortably the highest for a Pradeep Ranganathan film. While no official announcements have been made on this regard, the trade believes that the amount is considerably high, thereby justifying the hype around the project.
Dude marks the Kollywood debut of popular Mollywood actress Mamitha Baiju who shot to national film with the rom-com Premalu. Apart from her, the presence of veteran star Sarath Kumar also adds signficant mileage to the film which is touted to be another well-packaged entertainer.
Director Keerthiswaran, a long-time associate director for Sudha Kongara, is making his debut with Dude. Mythri Movie Makers, primarily a Tollywood production house, made their Kollywood debut with Good Bad Ugly earlier this year. Dude, therefore, is their second production venture in Tamil cinema and with such value for OTT rights, they are in the safe zone already.
Theatrical rights, audio rights, satellite rights and dubbing rights will now be total profits for the producers. Dude has music by Sai Abhyankkar and the tracks have already become smash hits, notably Oorum Blood, which became an instant chartbuster.