Senior producer Allu Aravind is all geared up for the release of Thandel on February 7. The noted producer who rarely gives interviews, promoted the upcoming film and spoke about many aspects of film industry. In a recent interview with Galatta, he talked about audiences and surprises he got in his career. “We never know how audiences take a subject. We can never take them for granted. Audiences always surprises us. The biggest surprises audiences gave me were with Magadheera and Johnny. Magadheera is an upside example. I spent a lot on that film, and I was prepared for a loss. But it became a superhit. And Johnny was also a huge surprise. People just didn’t accept that film, even in the primetime of Pawan Kalyan,” he shared. Magadheera (2009), directed by SS Rajamouli, became the first 100-crore grosser in Telugu cinema. 

Explaining about why Johnny didn’t work, he elaborated, “Halfway through the film, Pawan Kalyan and I were doubtful, but we went beyond the line of coming back. Once we saw the rushes, we felt it might not work,” Johnny is a 2003 martial arts melodrama written and directed by the film’s star, Pawan Kalyan. The film was unanimously panned. 

Allu Aravind is presenting Thandel, starring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi. The film, directed by Chandoo Mondeti, is based on the real story of Srikakulam fishermen who were caught by the Pakistani army.