Annapurna Studios, along with EPIC Studios, is producing a small film Pallaburusu, set against the backdrop of Telangana’s rural culture. Directed by Uday Chuhan, the film stars Sudhakar Reddy and Muralidhar Goud in the lead roles, along with the young pair Gomathy and Prajwal.
The pre-release event of this film was held at a preview theatre in Hyderabad, and Nagarjuna Akkineni attended the event. He spoke about the film and his thoughts behind getting into distribution. He said that Annapurna Studios, founded by his late father Akkineni Nageswara Rao, has completed more than 50 years. “My father produced so many good films and some of them even won National Awards. Now, we want to produce some good films under the Annapurna Studios banner,” said Nagarjuna. He added that he, along with Supriya and the team, thought about expanding the studio into distribution.
“We have now expanded Annapurna into distribution and there is only one reason for it. The producer is the first to invest and he is the last to make money. We all know that producers get money from somewhere and put it into films, but they don’t get what they are actually supposed to. That’s not correct. We want to go back to the old times when my father and I were young and restore the old system of distribution in a strong way. That’s the reason we started this, and we have already started in Nizam and it is going successfully,” said Nagarjuna.
The actor said that making money through Annapurna Studios is not the only idea behind this move. “We want to make good films again and also introduce new talent. We want to give something back to the industry, so we want to revive it. Recently, we released Lenin and now Pallaburusu. In the coming days, Ramba Oorvasi Menaka, along with two more films, will be followed by my 100th film King100,” said Nagarjuna about the lineup of films. He added that they have become busy this year and will continue to be busy in the coming days. As part of introducing new talent, he started with Pallaburusu.
Talking about the film, the actor said that taking care of parents is a very important part of everyone’s life. “My parents took care of me and then I took care of them. I always tell my wife Amala that ‘you are the lucky person,’ because she is always taking care of her old parents. So, taking care of parents is very important, and when director Uday narrated the story to me, I first thought about parents. He narrated the story in a more entertaining way,” said Nagarjuna.
The actor praised Sudhakar Reddy, who played Shambhu Thatha, along with Muralidhar Goud and the other actors. “It’s complete teamwork, and this film was made honestly, so I believe that it is going to be a good success. Pavan gave good music and I liked it,” said Nagarjuna about the film.
On this occasion, the actor invited new talent to approach Annapurna Studios. “If anyone wants to tell a new story or concept, please come to Annapurna Studios and I welcome them. My team will listen to the story first, and then definitely I will listen. We want to invite new talent and make many more films,” said the actor.
He added another reason behind making Pallaburusu. “Last year, Telangana Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka garu visited our Annapurna School and asked us to make films with a Telangana backdrop. Then I thought about it and now came up with Pallaburusu, which is completely a Telangana backdrop story,” said Nagarjuna.
He added that his mother’s birthday is on August 14 and that this month belongs to her. “We are releasing Pallaburusu on my mother’s birthday, August 14, and I am sure both my parents will give their wishes from heaven,” said Nagarjuna.