Emraan Hashmi's South Switcheroo: Bollywood Blues Bleeding into Tollywood?

Yo, Emraan Hashmi—Mr. Serial Kisser turned brooding baddie—has been dodging box office bullets like a pro hitman, but his latest Tollywood tango with Pawan Kalyan in They Call Him OG might just be the plot twist nobody saw coming. After a string of Bollywood duds that left fans thirsting for more than just his smolders, Emraan’s venturing south could extend his rough patch... or flip the script entirely. Spoiler: Day 2’s massive drop has trade tongues wagging, but the numbers? Still stacking like a gangster’s safe.Let’s rewind the reel: Emraan’s 2024-2025 Bollywood run? Oof. Selfiee (2023, but the hangover lingered into '24) bombed hard with just ₹32 crore against a ₹100 crore budget—Akshay Kumar’s midlife crisis couldn’t save it. Then Ae Watan Mere Watan (March 2024), his patriotic pivot, fizzled with under ₹10 crore, critics calling it a snooze-fest despite Sara Ali Khan’s fire. Fast-forward to Tiger 3 (2023, but '24 vibes), where he slayed as the slimy villain Aatish Rehman—film raked ₹285 crore worldwide, but Emraan’s arc? Cut short, leaving him more cameo than kingpin. Overall? A lean streak post-Shanghai glory, with fans on X memeing his "curse of the comeback" harder than a bad sequel.Enter They Call Him OG (Sept 25, 2025 release), directed by Sujeeth: Emraan as the ruthless Omi Bhau, locking horns with Power Star Pawan Kalyan’s exiled gangster OG in a Mumbai underworld bloodbath. Hype was nuclear—Rs 98 crore in advances alone, smashing Pawan's own records. Day 1? Epic: ₹85 crore India net (all languages), ₹154 crore worldwide, eclipsing Jawan, Animal, Leo, and Coolie for 2025’s biggest opener. Pawan’s swag, Thaman’s thunderous BGM, and Emraan’s menacing Telugu debut had theaters erupting—fans dubbing it "paisa vasool" with whistles for the boss vs. baddie face-off.But Day 2? Cue the plot drop: A whopping 69-77% plunge to ₹19.25 crore India net, totaling ₹104 crore domestic and ₹171 crore worldwide in two days. Occupancy dipped to 41.75% average, with morning shows at a meh 32%. Mixed reviews didn’t help—praise for Emraan’s “cardboard villain with fire” (India Today) clashed with gripes over “steroid-fueled action over story” and VFX glitches. X is split: Some hail Emraan’s “steal-the-show” intensity (“Emraan as OMI WAS ?? He owned every frame!”), others roast the “hype hangover” (“Day 2 crash? OG’s revenge plot flopped faster than Emraan’s last three flicks”).Is this the south snub extending Emraan’s Bollywood bad run? Nah, not yet—OG’s still eyeing ₹300 crore worldwide if weekend holds, buoyed by Pawan’s die-hards and dubbed versions in Hindi/Tamil/Malayalam. But that Day 2 nosedive screams “word-of-mouth warning”: If the revenge saga can’t sustain the sizzle, Emraan’s pan-India pivot might mirror his Hindi hiccups—big buzz, bigger bust. Trade whispers recovery via mass circuits, but with Pawan's political pull waning post-elections, it’s crunch time. Emraan, the eternal underdog, needs this baddie glow-up to break the curse. Will OG redeem or roast? Weekend warriors, sound the alarm—Emraan’s fate hangs by a hair-trigger. (