Nandamuri Balakrishna has reportedly made changes to his upcoming film lineup following the setback of Akhanda 2.
According to industry buzz, Balakrishna has asked director Gopichand Malineni to put aside his high-budget story based on two royal warriors and instead come up with a script that can be made on a more controlled budget. This project is expected to go on floors soon.
At the same time, Balakrishna has reportedly given the green signal to two relatively young directors; Vivek Athreya and Vijay Kanakamedala.
Among the two, Vivek Athreya’s name comes as a bigger surprise. He is known for films like Brochevarevarura and Ante Sundaraniki, both of which belong more to the soft and quirky storytelling space rather than full-fledged mass entertainers.
Even though his recent film Saripodhaa Sanivaaram had some action flavour, it still carried his signature style. Reports suggest that he impressed Balakrishna with a strong and engaging script, which is said to be planned as a two-part film.
On the other hand, Vijay Kanakamedala made a strong impression with Naandi, starring Allari Naresh. Although he could not repeat the same success with his next collaboration with Naresh, Balakrishna has reportedly liked and approved his latest script.
The interesting question now is why Balakrishna is choosing directors who are not usually associated with hardcore mass action cinema.
The answer could be simple; he may be looking to change his direction slightly and experiment with a different style of storytelling, instead of sticking only to his regular mass formula.
If that is the case, it could mark an interesting shift in Balakrishna’s career going forward.
