An entire village comes together to watch Balakrishna's Akhanda

The touring talkies-era, when an entire hamlet or a village came together to watch a movie, had its own set of charms. Movies in their own little way forged unity among people and eliminated barriers. Could you imagine that happening in the digital era too? Well, that's exactly what has happened with Nandamuri Balakrishna's latest release Akhanda, directed by Boyapati Srinu. 

Post its OTT release on Disney+ Hotstar, an entire village near Guntur has watched the film on a projector screen. Keeping the legalities of the same aside, it's quite rare that OTT, which is essentially meant for viewing in the comfort of our homes, can bring people together in such an unexpected way. Realising that not everyone in the village may have a subscription to the streaming platform, the screening was arranged in an open ground.

One must also not forget that, a few weeks prior to Akhanda's OTT premiere, audiences came in trucks, lorries to watch it in the theatres. The film has broken many records since its release on December 2, going past an unthinkable feat of a 50-day run in over 103 centres in the previous week. Both its theatrical revenues and non-theatrical revenues combined, Akhanda has earned over Rs 200 crore for the producers, making it one of the most profitable ventures in Telugu cinema in the recent past.

Akhanda revolves around the story of two twins in Anantapur, who're separated at birth. While one of them, Murali Krishna, turns out to be a messiah of sorts to the people and is a do-gooder, farmer, the other grows to be an aghori. When Murali Krishna's family and the entire village is in trouble, the aghori rises up to the occasion and teaches the wrongdoers a lesson.