It has been a case of real bad timing for Ram Charan Tej’s 'Zanjeer' as ongoing statehood-related agitations seem to have taken a chunk out of the movie’s opening day earnings. Earnings from the Rayalaseema region have been weak, but there’s good news streaming in from other areas. However, for a movie that’s seeking some of the biggest opening numbers in AP and beyond, days ahead do look stormy. Meanwhile, the makers should’ve been a bit more cautious with the release, given the current political climate in the state. Other producers, including 'Dil Raju' and 'Bogavali Prasad' had deferred releases of their films 'Yevadu' and 'Antharintiki Dharedi' respectively. But Reliance Entertainment, the money guys behind 'Zanjeer', chose to push ahead by releasing the movie in over 700 theatres — as there there’s more than Rs 50 crore at stake here. “We were obligated to a worldwide release on September 6 and had made that decision a long time ago... so we can’t defer, unlike others. Even distributors and exhibitors had no objections and had geared up for a big release. We have also sought police protection to help derail plans of miscreants looking to make trouble,” said a top boss from Reliance.

Closer home and from a more viewer perspective, Hyderabad saw mixed reactions to the movie. Unlike most opening days, cinemas here were not really bustling with crowds. Fans also claimed that Priyanka Chopra and Ram Charan failed to make a good on-screen pair. At Devi 70MM in RTC crossroads, where Ram Charan’s fans always flock to watch his movies on the first day, the day was a tad dull. Despite a completely booked show, fans were seen emerging dejected with many saying it was not as great as it was projected to be. But Bhavishya Gupta, the owner of Sensation theatre in the city was a happy man after watching 'Zanjeer/Toofan'. “For me, the movie was very well made and Ram Charan did a very good job. His performance and his dialogue delivery was very strong. I personally loved the movie. And, 'Toofan' has much better response than 'Zanjeer'.” So there, it’s not really dark clouds for 'Zanjeer/Toofan' in the city. Just an unfortunate case of a perfect storm of political unrest that's threatening to affect Ram Charan's  first-ever Bollywood flick.