Directors Maruthi and Harish Shankar have bitten the dust this year. Both filmmakers have directed two high-profile movies, the budget of one of which was Rs 400 Cr (The Raja Saab). Both of them got to work with superstars - Prabhas and Pawan Kalyan. Both of them got the backing of top-class production houses - People Media Factory and Mythri Movie Makers. Both made movies belonging to highly saleable genres.
And both of them squandered away the once-in-a-lifetime (in the case of Harish Shankar, the second-time-in-a-lifetime) opportunity. Both of them dumbed down the genres they got to work on. Both of them made tall claims before the release of their movie and ended up seeming ridiculous in retrospect.
Both of them wasted years on the projects and yet managed to earn zero viewer sympathy. Both of them almost proved that handing over the reins of superstar vehicles to directors who are not in form is a doomed-to-fail idea.
Both of them either miscast heroines (Sreeleela in Ustaad Bhagat Singh) or cast them unnecessarily (Riddhi Kumar and Malvika Mohanan in The Raja Saab). Both of them thought casting half a dozen comedians is what the new-age audience desperately want. Both of them mistook swag substitutes for substance, and hype for creativity. Both of them left distributors with heavy losses.
The Raja Saab and Ustaad Bhagat Singh have almost decimated the careers of Maruthi and Harish Shankar, respectively. Will life give them a second chance?
