Mythological action-adventure Nagabandham, directed by Abhishek Nama and produced by Kishore Annapureddy and Nishitha Nagireddy, released in theatres on July 3. Starring Virat Karrna, Nabha Natesh, Rishabh Sawhney, and Jagapathi Babu in key roles, the film opened to mixed reviews.
Speaking at the film's success meet held in Hyderabad on Monday, director Abhishek Nama revealed that the makers had trimmed nearly 20 minutes from the film following audience feedback. The original theatrical version had a runtime of over three hours.
“I respect criticism and reviews, but the audience's review is the most important. We identified a few issues pointed out by viewers, so we removed a song from the first half and shortened the climax in the second half,” said Abhishek Nama.
He also expressed disappointment over what he called premature reviews. “I was shocked to see reviews appearing on July 2, even though the film released only on July 3. This film is the result of two-and-a-half years of hard work. The producers are first-timers and deserve encouragement. Please give genuine feedback and don't rely on paid reviews,” he said.
Abhishek Nama also defended the historical backdrop of the film, clarifying that the incidents depicted are based on historical accounts rather than fiction.
“The story is not fictional. It is based on history, and the references can be found in historical books. In 1747, Afghan invaders attacked India and destroyed temples, including the Madurai temple. It was during that period that Adi Shankaracharya established the Naga Sadhus to protect Hindu temples. These are historical facts, not fiction. I have shown only 10 per cent of those events in the film,” he said.
According to Sacnilk, Nagabandham collected around Rs 13 crore gross worldwide in its first three days. The film witnessed better collections on Sunday compared to Friday and Saturday. In India, it earned Rs 3.65 crore net on its third day across approximately 3,030 shows. However, the overseas performance remained below expectations, with the film collecting around Rs 1.25 crore gross in three days.
The makers had earlier stated that Nagabandham was mounted on a budget of over Rs 100 crore, with a significant portion spent on visual effects and CGI.