Balakrishna: Sankranthi began a month earlier with the success of Akhanda

There are certain actor-director combinations in Telugu cinema that have always proved to be successful at the box office and with audiences. When Boyapati Srinu and Balakrishna collaborated for the third time for Akhanda, the expectations were naturally high, but they gave audiences a lot more than what they foresaw from their combo. At the success meet organised to celebrate the glorious run of Akhanda across the globe, Balakrishna dedicated the film's blockbuster response to the contributions of the team.

"Many were sceptical about releasing their film in a non-festive season after two waves of a pandemic and were waiting for one another to take a step forward. A film like Akhanda proved that Sankranthi could begin a month before for audiences when you have a good product in hand. We took a bold step and people came with families in trucks and patronised our efforts. This isn't only a pan-Indian film but a pan-global film. I had come across a forward that says people in Pakistan are also full of praise for Akhanda," Balakrishna spoke of Akhanda's impact in the Telugu film industry.

"When I and Boyapati come together for a film, we only look at what audiences expect from us and never go back to discuss our previous films (Simha and Legend). We never discuss work after the shoot and I don't interfere with his vision. We trust each other so well. From the music to the casting to the production values, every aspect of Akhanda was handled with a lot of care. Srikanth, Jagapathi Babu reinvented themselves for their roles, be it their body language or dialogue delivery. Many audiences were moved to tears with the scenes between me and Viji Chandrasekhar (garu)," he further added.

Thanking the crew, the Akhanda star mentioned,"I want to take this moment to thank technicians who have done a fantastic job. Thaman literally broke several sound systems with his music and a part of that credit goes to the story revolving around Lord Shiva. Any music associated with Lord Shiva is meant to be larger than life and monumental. The contributions of art director, cinematographer, stunt directors and the entire crew from various parts of the country. Boyapati knew how to extract the best out of everyone in the team. The producer Miryala Ravinder Reddy left no stone unturned to make a quality film."

He felt the audiences too were worthy of praise for thronging theatres in huge numbers. "Telugu audiences have yet again proved that they have great taste in accepting new experiments. The success of Akhanda has worked like a tonic to the industry. This gives me, Boyapati and the industry immense courage to explore uncharted terrains for the times ahead. It's important that the Telugu industry is benefited from many such blockbusters of this scale. There are no small or big films, it's the audiences who decide it," he called it a day. 

Akhanda is all set to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on January 21.