Chennakesava Reddy Collects ₹5.3 Cr Gross

To celebrate the 20 years of completion, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Chennakesava Reddy, which was a flop at the time of release, was re-released by producer Bellamkonda Suresh in a big way. Many though that this is a ploy devised by the producer to promote his son Bellamkonda Ganesh’s Oct 5th releasing Swathimuthyam movie. However, the producer released the film to raise funds for Balayya’s Basavataram Cancer Hospital and Trust.

Released on Sept 25th, the film became a good choice for a section of audience and it ran well in some B & C centres on the Dasara holidays too. According to producer Bellamkonda Suresh, the film starring Balayya, Tabu and Shriya in the leads has collected nearly ₹5.3+ crores gross from the Telugu box office. Out of which, even if exhibitng costs and distributor commissons along with taxes are cut out, there will be a share of nearly ₹3 crores. The whole of those proceedings will go to Basavatarakam Hospital and Trust.

Directed by VV Vinayak, Balayya’s Chennakesava Reddy has its moments when the senior Balakrishna role roars on the sivler screen. However, the son role played by Balayya himself hasn’t fared well and received poor reception at the time of release. But Manisharma’s songs and background score have made the film a terrific masala watch.