The much-anticipated Pawan Kalyan starrer period drama Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1 - Sword vs Spirit hits theatres today with a lot of fanfare. Earlier on Thursday, the film registered staggering collections for its paid premiere shows.

As per early estimates, the Pawan Kalyan starrer is likely to earn over 8 crore on Friday in Hyderabad alone. Directed by Jyothi Krisna and Krish Jagarlamudi, the period action drama also stars Niddhi Agerwal and Bobby Deol in prominent parts. The film also marks Pawan Kalyan’s first theatrical release in 2 years, since Bro.

Note: This tracker is constantly updated as new stories come in

Surprising most film-lovers, Pawan Kalyan has been actively taking part in the film’s promotions for the past couple of years. In some of the interviews, the actor candidly spoke about why he felt the dire need to go the extra mile to support his producer AM Rathnam, and help him get a wider reach for the film.

For a few days, it wasn’t clear whether the Hari Hara Veera Mallu makers would be keeping a hike on the ticket prices. However, on July 18, the team confirmed having a substantial hike on the ticket prices for the first 10 days of release. 

Before Jyothi Krisna took over the direction, Krish Jagarlamudi was initially on board the project as the director. In a recent social media post, the director took to his X page to express his sentiments about the film’s release, congratulating the team on their endeavour.

Billed as a historical drama, the film is set in the period of Mughal Empire, telling the story of a fictional rebel who takes on the empire, Aurangzeb in particular, to reclaim what belongs to his country. 

After a controversy began brewing about the film’s historical claims, the makers had to clarify that Pawan Kalyan’s character was fictional, and not based on a folk figure.

MM Keeravani is composing the songs and background score for the film. At a recent event, director Jyothi Krisna spoke about Keeravani’s dedication towards the project.

In another interview, Jyothi Krisna also spoke about the inspirations for designing the characters played by Pawan Kalyan and Bobby Deol.

The film, which has been in the making for nearly 5 years, has had its release date postponed several times earlier this year.

However, the team completed their entire shoot only in April this year. A few weeks later, Pawan Kalyan finished dubbing for the film in one single sitting. 

Besides starring Pawan Kalyan and Bobby Deol, the film also features Anupam Kher in a significant role.