'Magadheera' became a blockbuster in 2009 but the pre-release buzz in the media circles was not normal. Many in the media knew from their sources that Allu Aravind was worried that the film's budget was crossing beyond tolerable levels, as SS Rajamouli was not compromising on quality. What if the film flops? That's a worry that might have gripped Aravind at one point.
Aravind has revealed, while on a talk show, that the film's budget got increased by 80%. In other words, if the planned budget was Rs 100, the actual budget turned out to be Rs 180. It was too much to spend on a Ram Charan movie, who was not a star hero by then.
On top of that, Aravind played a big gamble. "After watching the movie with Computer Graphics, I walked out of the studio and called the manager of my distribution office. I asked him if 'Magadheera' had been sold to distributors already. He answered me that deals had been struck for two territories. I asked the manager to stop making fresh deals right away. I told him the film would be an 'own release'. He was stunned. I staked my everything because I knew 'Magadheera' would become a big hit. The film gave me returns thrice the budget," Aravind recalled.
It has to be one of the biggest gambles ever in the history of Telugu cinema!
