In his 19 year old career, Powerstar Pawan Kalyan had only three films which were released during the Sankranthi season. His 3rd film Suswagatham was released on 1st January 1998 and encashed the following Sankranthi advantage and stood as a decent earner. Then came Balu on 6th 2005 and this time the film ended up as an average grosser.

Finally after around 9 years, Pawan's has one more Sankranthi release with his last outing Gopala Gopala whih hit the screens on 10th January 2014. The film did earn decent money at the box office but ended up as a loss venture in most areas for the distributors. And the latest we hear now is that Pawan's next film, Gabbar Singh 2, will be released during the Sankranthi season.

Even though this could be coincidental, Pawan seems to be moving away from his comfort zone of summer holidays in which he gave numerous blockbusters, and embracing the Sankranthi euphoria. Sankranthi season is touted to be the most flourishing season for the film trade and looks like Pawan wants to strike big this time. With two back-to-back Sankranthi releases, Pawan can now be called the new Sankranthi hero.