Balayya's "Akhanda 2" to hail temples, religious practices
Seasoned star Nandamuri Balakrishna will breathe life into a semi-divine character in his upcoming film ‘Akhanda 2’, a sequel to his earlier blockbuster. “In real life, he is a true god-believer who practices all Hindu rituals. Now, he is essaying the role of Aghora on the big screen and is going to breathe life into the character since it is a yogic avatar who fights for Hinduism and its relevance in the new world,” says a source.
He claims that Balakrishna plays the devotee of ‘Lord Shiva’ in the movie and will punish evil-doers since Shiva is also hailed as a ‘destroyer of evil’. "Apart from punishing a few evil-doers, he is going to preach the relevance of temples and their sanctity and also about some sacred Hindu religious practices with no-hold-barred dialogues handled by director Boyapati Srinu," he said.
“Besides warning people who try to meddle with Hindu scriptures which were written with a foresight and for the holistic well-being of human beings," he adds.
When asked about the film set to be loaded with Hinduism rhetoric, will the big-budget movie be released in Hindi? “No doubt, the pro- Hinduism mood is on the upswing, and religious activities are back in the spotlight across India. Thanks to the PM Modi-led government, our film will expand its fan base and will be released in UP and other Hindi-speaking states since they like such path-breaking movies. In Indian cinema, films on revered Aghoras are rarely made,” he answered.
Akhanda was a sensational blockbuster in 2021 and collected Rs 75 crore plus share and it has broken many records. “It was the first film for Balakrishna Garu to touch one million collections in the USA and it has set a few other records too,’.
Understanding the rising expectations, production house 14 Reels Entertainment is reportedly pumping in more than Rs 150 crore into this magnum opus. “It would be the costliest film for Balayya since it is a perfect sequel and would have few characters from the original, yet it would have its own identity and larger-than-life elements to enthrall Nandamuri fans the world over. It would be two or three times more powerful and entertaining than the prequel,” he informs.
Akhanda is one of few Telugu films that did well even in Tamil Nadu, “We got positive feedback from Tamil Nadu and would like to explore the market with the sequel as well,” he concludes.