1: Nenokkadine was released in January 2014. It was primarily thought to be a cerebral action thriller (cerebral because Sukumar was the director), but nobody expected it to be a psychological action thriller whose male lead (Mahesh Babu as Gautham) suffered from schizophrenia.
The other day, producer Anil Sunkara lamented that the audience were not prepared for this psychological dimension, which is why the movie failed at the box office. "Had we released the trailer showing Mahesh Babu's mental defect, the audience would have watched the movie with a different mindset," Sunkara said, adding that they didn't release the trailer because someone had warned them of a backlash from the audience.
Anil Sunkara's hypothetical situation is debatable. Preparing the audience through promotional material is a time-tested marketing strategy. But nothing is cast in stone. Revealing the secret about Mahesh Babu's character early on might have increased the audience's expectations and resulted in a bigger failure.
1: Nenokkadine was primarily a victim of a tedious screenplay. It had style and great music. It had a solid emotional quotient. But it failed to set the mood right, and maintain it with an eventful narration. If Sukumar were to make that movie today, he would probably opt for a gritty aesthetic, and a less winding screenplay.
