Krack (film)

On 26 October 2019, Ravi Teja announced his 66th film as an actor with the tentative title RT 66, which would be directed by Gopichand Malineni,[7] marking the third collaboration between Teja and Malineni after their previous films Don Seenu (2010) and Balupu (2013).[8][9] Prior to commencement of the shoot, Gopichand Malieni claimed the film was neither inspired by nor a remake of any film. He described it as "an original story based on several true incidents happened in the Telugu states."[10][11] On 14 November 2019, the makers announced the title of the film as Krack.[12][13]

Shruti Haasan was chosen as the lead actress alongside Ravi Teja, making it their second collaboration after Balupu.[14][15] Originally, she took a break from acting in Telugu films, after Pawan Kalyan's Katamarayudu (2017), made her comeback in the Telugu film industry with this film.[16][17] Tamil film actress Varalaxmi Sarathkumar was chosen to play a key role, making it her second Telugu film after Tenali Ramakrishna BA. BL (2019).[18] Samuthirakani similarly joined the cast, collaborating with Ravi Teja after Shambo Shiva Shambo (2010).[lower-alpha 1] Thaman S was roped in to compose the music for the film,[19] while cinematographer G. K. Vishnu, editor Naveen Nooli and action choreographer duo Ram-Lakshman, were also a part of the technical crew.

The film was launched on 14 November 2019 at the Film Nagar Temple.[lower-alpha 2] Producer Allu Aravind attended as the chief guest and did the honours.[20] The principal photography commenced on 21 November 2019 in Ramoji Film City.[21][22] Around late November, the makers filmed a Jatara episode featuring Ravi Teja and hundreds of supporting actors.[23] During the shoot in early January 2020, director A. R. Murugadoss visited the film's sets in Hyderabad.[24] The film's shoot was further interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India.

On 7 October 2020, Ravi Teja announced that he had resumed the shooting of the film at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, after lockdown,[25] adhering to the safety guidelines imposed by the government in order to curb the coronavirus pandemic.[26][27] On 15 October, the makers filmed a song shoot, featuring Anketa Maharana and Teja and the song being choreographed by Jani Master.[28] Varalakshmi Sarathkumar, completed her portions in late October.[29] On 2 December, Ravi Teja tweeted about the final schedule of the film held in Goa, which features a song shoot choreographed by Raju Sundaram.[30] Filming wrapped up on 5 December 2020.[31][32]

123Telugu, on reviewing the music, stated, "On the whole. the album of Krack is made for the target audience. Thaman, though, does not give something special, but plays it to the galleries and brings out his massy side with some foot-tapping numbers. Mass Biryani and Balega Tagilyave Bangaram are our picks and will be big hits. As it has been quite some time since we have seen a mass film on the screen, this album will surely pick once the film releases on the big screen."[41]

Another reviewer from IndiaGlitz rated the album 3 out of 5 stars, and wrote, "The Thaman-Anirudh combination sounds refreshing, with the scales tilting towards the latter. It's as if the singer exerted a heavy influence in determining the flavour of the song rather than allow the musician to do it. The liberal usage of English-language words like 'Family pack' has a Bhaskarabhatla-esque ring to them. Besides the self-referential word 'Balupu' (which was a film of the Gopichand Malineni-Ravi Teja duo), there are too many cliches out there. Sahithi Chaganti's voice trods the beaten path. Rahul Nambiar's voice is energetic. Thaman deploys the drums and percussions in a typical manner."[42]

Despite no copyright issues, the song "Balega Tagilyave Bangaram" composed by Thaman,[43][44] was criticised for allegedly copying the tunes from a Latin song "Selva".[45][46][47][48] Another allegation was raised stating that "Mass Biryani" song has similar tunes from the song "Kajal Chellivaa" of 2013 Telugu film Balupu, which was composed by himself starring same trio, Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan, and Gopichand Malineni.[49]

Krack was scheduled to release theatrically on 8 May 2020,[50][51] but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[52] The director Gopichand Malineni, clarified that the film will be scheduled for a theatrical release,[53] after rumours regarding the film's release on OTT platforms surfaced.[54] On 26 October 2020, the makers announced that the film will release theatrically during the occasion of Sankranthi.[55]

On 19 December 2020, the makers announced that the film would release on 14 January 2021, coinciding with Sankranthi.[56] However, at the launch event held at AMB Cinemas in Hyderabad on 1 January 2021, where the film's trailer was released,[57][58][59] director Gopichand Malineni announced a new release date of 9 January 2021.[60][61] The pre-release business of the film in the Telugu states considered to be ₹13 crore from the Telugu states alone.[62]

The film's US premiere shows on 8 January, and the morning and afternoon shows in India were cancelled, due to the financial tussles between the exhibitors and its producer B. Madhu.[63] The financiers reportedly took the legal route to stall the release of the film, demanding that producer Madhu, had to clear the dues owed by them, after the failure of his Vishal-starrer Ayogya (2019).[64] After clearing the negotiations, the makers premiered evening shows of the film.[65]

The film was released on OTT platform Aha[66] on 6 February 2021.[67] The satellite rights of the film were acquired by Star Maa, premiered on 14 March 2021 and registered an average TRP rating of 11.7.[68] The Hindi version premiered first on Miniplex TV channel on 4 June 2021 and then on Zee Cinema on 27 June 2021.[69] However the dubbing of the Hindi dub premiered on Miniplex was panned by the viewers, especially that of Ravi Teja's.[70] The second Hindi dub with Amar Babaria's voice for Ravi Teja was premiered on Zee Cinema.[71] The Tamil version of the film was telecast through Zee Tamil on 1 August 2021.[72]

Krack received positive reviews from critics with praise for the performances, writing and screenplay.[73] The Times of India critic Thadhagath Pathi gave 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating, "A wholesome commercial cop drama and mass entertainer from Mass Maharaj himself after a very long time."[74] 123Telugu gave 3.25 out of 5 stating "Krack is a full-on masala entertainer with Ravi Teja in top form."[75] Hemanth Kumar of Firstpost gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 stating "The biggest crack in Krack is evident in its attempt to build a gripping narrative. Each sequence is packed with so many details, some of which just look cool without adding anything to the narrative, that you begin to lose patience."[76] Indiaglitz gave the film 3 out of 5 stating "Krack is targeted at the mass audience and youngsters who pine for hero-can-do-it-all stories. While being formulaic, it also offers several exciting stretches."[77]

Karthik Keramalu of Film Companion stated, "It’s fun to watch the Mass Maharaja in Gopichand Malineni’s crowd-pleaser that’s tailor-made for his energetic presence." He also noted that a magnanimous chunk of the narrative device from the 2018 Kannada movie Tagaru to be the main source of inspiration for the template of the tweaked screenplay of this film.[78] Janani K of India Today gave 3 out of 5 stars "Krack is a decent masala entertainer with a neat blend of commercial elements, brilliant stunt sequences, and interesting storyline. The film could have been so much more if they had done away with too much detailing. Yet, Krack holds the audience’s attention for the most part and entertains us."[79]

The morning and noon shows for Krack were cancelled, and the film opened with evening shows.[80] The film grossed ₹10 crore in its first two days, with a distributor share of over ₹6 crore.[81] At the third day, the film grossed more than ₹2.81 crore, taking its total opening weekend collections to ₹23 crore.[82] The film collected a gross of ₹31 crore after five days,[83] and ₹40.8 crore in the first week.[84] In 15 days, Krack grossed ₹55.2 crore, becoming the highest-grossing film of Teja's career [85] until it was surpassed by Dhamaka. The film earned distributors a share of ₹36.23 crore. As of February 2021, the film had grossed approximately ₹70.6 crore.[1]