Sometimes, it's the fans themselves who end up becoming a curse to a film. They come to theatres with unrealistic expectations, and when the movie doesn’t align with their assumptions, they reject it outright.
This is exactly what happened with Khaleja, according to producer C. Kalyan, who alleges that Mahesh Babu’s own fans were responsible for the film’s failure.
“It was Mahesh Babu’s fans who killed Khaleja on its release day. They expected something else entirely. When Mahesh did comedy in the film, they couldn’t digest it — they didn’t understand it. They abused us without restraint. In Vijayawada, they forced me to arrange a midnight show even when I didn’t want to. After that show, they got drunk and flooded me with phone calls, hurling insults. They abused the director, questioning if he even knew how to make a film. They themselves spread negative word of mouth and destroyed the film,” said C. Kalyan.
Now, 14 years later, those same fans are eagerly awaiting Khaleja’s re-release. They have admitted that the movie wasn’t actually bad and that their earlier reaction was a mistake.
C Kalyan added that Mahesh’s current comic timing in recent films finds its roots in Khaleja.
“Any comedy Mahesh does today was inspired by Khaleja,” he stated.
He also pointed out that while Mahesh is known in real life as a quiet and reserved person, the version of him seen in Khaleja is actually closer to his real character.
“That’s the real Mahesh,” C Kalyan concluded.
