Akhanda 2 Actors’ Remuneration Leaks: Budget Soars, Balayya Shoulders Pressure

`Akhanda 2` is the fourth movie in the combination of Nandamuri Balakrishna and Boyapati Srinu. It’s known that their previous films `Simha`, `Legend`, and `Akhanda` were big hits. It must be said that Boyapati Srinu is the director who gave Balayya three hits in ten years. That’s why there are huge expectations for their fourth film, `Akhanda 2 Thaandavam`. Aadhi Pinisetty plays the villain, and Samyuktha is the heroine. The movie, also starring Poorna and Harshali in key roles, is set to release on the 5th of this month. It’s produced by Ram Achanta and Gopi Achanta under the 14 Reels Plus banner, with Tejaswini as the presenter. Notably, this is Balayya’s first pan-India movie. Since it’s based on a theme related to Shiva’s philosophy, it’s getting a massive release.

`Akhanda 2` has already completed its censor and received a U/A certificate. The runtime is said to be 2 hours and 44 minutes. With recent big hero movies crossing the three-hour mark, this film’s runtime is considered quite decent. There’s positive talk from the censor board and also from the team. They say some episodes will be highlights and the backbone of the movie. The hero’s entry scenes, action episodes, interval bang, family emotion scenes, climax, and especially a scene where Hanuman appears in the sky are said to be amazing. There’s also information that NTR will make an appearance. All these factors have raised expectations for the movie.

The remuneration details of the artists in `Akhanda 2` have become a topic of interest. It’s said that Balayya received the highest remuneration of his career for this film, a whopping Rs. 40 crores. This is reportedly double his pay compared to previous films. Similarly, director Boyapati is said to have been paid up to Rs. 35 crores. Additionally, heroine Samyuktha was reportedly paid around two crores, while Harshali and Poorna, who played key roles, received about fifty lakhs. 

Aadhi Pinisetty was apparently paid one crore. Thaman’s remuneration is rumored to be between Rs. 15-20 crores. Meanwhile, another shocking remuneration figure is circulating. Some online media outlets claim Balayya took Rs. 72 crores and Boyapati took Rs. 45 crores, but this seems far from reality.

Looking at the budget details of `Akhanda 2`, the movie was reportedly made with a budget of two hundred crores. However, the business is said to have been solid. Disney+ Hotstar has apparently acquired the OTT rights for Rs. 85 crores. The satellite rights for all languages are rumored to be Rs. 60 crores. Theatrical rights are reported to be Rs. 115 crores. This includes Rs. 88 crores in the Telugu states, Rs. 15 crores overseas, and Rs. 11 crores for the rest of India. According to trade sources, the breakdown is: Nizam Rs. 23.50 crores, Ceded Rs. 22 crores, Uttarandhra Rs. 11.50 crores, East Godavari Rs. 7.50 crores, West Godavari Rs. 5.50 crores, Guntur Rs. 8.50 crores, Krishna Rs. 5.75 crores, and Nellore Rs. 4 crores.

By these calculations, `Akhanda 2` is already in the safe zone before its release. The film has earned around Rs. 260 crores from theatrical and non-theatrical rights combined. The production cost was approximately Rs. 200 crores, so the producers are safe even before the release. But the big question is whether such a massive recovery is possible for a Balayya movie. None of his previous films have crossed the 200 crore collection mark. Now, for `Akhanda 2` to break even, it needs to collect over 250 crores. This raises doubts about its feasibility. It’s said to be a big risk for Balakrishna. However, the team is confident in the content. Recently, films with divine-related content have been performing well. They believe `Akhanda 2` will also create a storm. Let’s wait and see what happens.