What is the real situation regarding the release of Akhanda 2? With Saturday and Sunday being court holidays, all eyes are now on Monday.
If the court delivers a favourable order that day, the film has a strong chance of releasing on the 12th. If not, the situation becomes extremely difficult.
A positive court verdict will automatically help resolve the remaining financial hurdles; a negative verdict will complicate everything again.
During the discussions held on the 4th and 5th, most of the financial issues were resolved to some extent; but only verbally. Nothing has moved to the stage of actual signatures, and some dissatisfaction reportedly still remains.
Sources say director Boyapati Sreenu is willing to let go of the pending amount he is yet to receive, but he is not willing to return anything he has already been paid.
For Akhanda 1, Boyapati was paid only Rs 9 crore. But for this sequel, his remuneration is Rs 35 crore, out of which around Rs 25 crore has already been paid, according to industry buzz.
Even if the court gives a favourable judgment, another Rs 20–25 crore will still be needed to clear remaining dues.
Half of this amount may be arranged with the cooperation of various parties, but the rest is difficult to gather.
If the court rules in favour of the producers, financiers may step in to help. Otherwise, they fear getting trapped again in the same cycle.
The biggest threat right now is something else: the film's content has already been sent to several locations. Believing that release was just hours away, the makers distributed the digital content earlier.
Though it is locked, the fear is that if any piracy groups manage to breach it, the consequences could be disastrous.
That is why industry insiders strongly believe the film must be released as quickly as possible.
Everyone is hoping and praying; that Monday’s court order comes in favour of the makers. If it doesn’t, Akhanda 2 could land in very serious trouble.
