Hyderabad: Right now, Telugu cinema is seeing a big trend—re-releasing old movies. Whether the films were hits or flops before doesn’t matter. Fans are excited to watch them again, and theatres are using this chance to fill seats, especially since no new big films are coming out right now.

Khaleja, starring Mahesh Babu and directed by Trivikram Srinivas, was first released in 2010. At that time, it didn’t do well at the box office and made only Rs. 18 crores. But slowly, the film became popular thanks to TV replays. Fans started enjoying Mahesh Babu’s comedy and the unique story. Over time, Khaleja became a cult classic.

Now, the film is getting re-released on May 30th in 4K quality, as a tribute to Mahesh Babu’s father, superstar Krishna. And the response has been huge!

In just 1 hour, over 13,000–14,000 tickets were sold. Within 24 hours, more than 60,000 tickets were booked—a first in Tollywood re-release history. Earlier, Gabbar Singh held the record with 5.6K tickets per hour. Khaleja has smashed that by a big margin.

Seeing the ticket sales, theatre owners are adding extra shows. If the same speed continues, trade analysts believe Khaleja might cross Rs. 8–10 crores on Day 1 and even Rs. 20 crores over the weekend.

The story of a taxi driver who unknowingly becomes a savior to a remote village touched many hearts. Though the original release failed to connect with the masses, Mahesh’s comic timing and Trivikram’s dialogues found love later, especially through television. The film wasn’t available on OTT or even on DVD for years, which made fans wait eagerly to watch it again on the big screen.

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