Director Chandoo Mondeti made an impressive debut with Karthikeya in 2014. In 2022, he made a sequel to the same film, titled Karthikeya 2. Starring Nikhil in the lead role, Karthikeya 2 went on to become a pan-India success, collecting more than Rs. 100 crores at the box office. The film did very well in the Hindi circuit as well.
He is now coming up with his new film Thandel, featuring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles. Apart from Telugu, the movie is also getting released in Hindi on February 7. But the question is whether Chandoo Mondeti can create the same impact with Thandel too.
Karthikeya 2’s story deals with the mythology, powers of Lord Krishna and the greatness of Hindu Dharma. All these factors connected well with the North Indian audiences.
Thandel is a romantic drama which belongs to a completely different genre. But it has the Indo-Pak angle where the lead hero, who is a fisherman, gets arrested in Pakistan. North audiences may connect well with this point. However, it all depends on the execution and the appeal of the film. If it has a universal appeal, it has a good chance of clicking in North India.
