Legal experts outline only three realistic options for the Akhanda 2 team:

1. Clear the full dues immediately, after which Eros is likely to withdraw the case and the injunction will be vacated.
2. Negotiate a one-time settlement for a lower amount, provided Eros agrees to accept a reduced sum.
3. Challenge the injunction through an appeal, though senior advocates say success is unlikely when a confirmed arbitral award remains unsatisfied.
4. Until one of these routes is pursued successfully, the film stays frozen.

The much-hyped Tollywood sequel Akhanda 2, starring Nandamuri Balakrishna and directed by Boyapati Sreenu, has been stopped in its tracks. On the eve of its planned grand release, the Madras High Court granted an unprecedented injunction that bans theatrical screenings, benefit shows, OTT premieres, satellite telecasts, and even promotional activities for the film. The order stems from a bitter financial dispute between Eros International Media Ltd and the producers, who allegedly owe the Mumbai-based studio close to ₹28 crore.

Fans who had booked tickets for premiere shows across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana woke up to cancellation messages. Theatres pulled down posters, distributors scrambled to recover advances, and the film’s momentum evaporated overnight.

The dispute has nothing to do with the content, casting, or certification of Akhanda 2. Instead, it traces back to a 2011 Mahesh Babu blockbuster, Dookudu.

In 2011, Eros International tied up with 14 Reels Entertainment Pvt Ltd (owned by brothers Ram Achanta, Gopichand Achanta and Anil Sunkara) for the distribution and monetisation of Dookudu. The partnership soured, leading to arbitration proceedings. In 2019, an arbitral tribunal delivered a clear verdict: 14 Reels Entertainment must pay Eros ₹11.23 crore along with 18% annual interest and surrender certain title documents. The producers contested the award at every possible forum, right up to the Supreme Court of India, but lost at each stage. The award became final and binding.

Instead of settling the dues, Eros claims, the same promoters quietly shifted operations to a new entity, 14 Reels Plus LLP (branded as 14 Reels Plus), and began producing big-budget films under the fresh banner. Akhanda 2 is the first major project of this new company. Eros approached the Madras High Court with evidence that the individuals behind both entities are identical, arguing that allowing the film to release would permanently defeat the enforceable arbitral award. The court agreed, observing that releasing the movie through a “sister concern” would frustrate justice and reward deliberate evasion of liability.

Justice Anita Sumanth’s bench issued a sweeping injunction: until the entire outstanding amount—now swollen to roughly ₹27.7–28 crore with accrued interest—is paid, Akhanda 2 cannot be exhibited in any format anywhere in the world. The court also prohibited the makers from exploiting trailers, songs, or any promotional material for commercial gain. The producers released a terse statement: “We respect the Honourable Court’s order and are taking appropriate legal steps. We will update everyone soon.” No timeline for resolution has been shared.

The original Akhanda (2021), produced by Miryala Ravinder Reddy under Dwaraka Creations, grossed over ₹120 crore and turned Balakrishna’s fierce Aghora avatar into a pop-culture phenomenon. Fans have waited three years for the sequel, which was mounted on an even larger scale with Boyapati Sreenu returning to direct. Advance bookings had crossed Rs. 15 crore in Telugu states alone before the court order struck.

A secondary murmur in industry circles questions whether the sequel rights legitimately belong to the original producer (Dwaraka Creations) or the director. Although no formal case has been filed on this count so far, the shift of the project to an entirely different banner has raised eyebrows.

For now, that remains a side issue; the Eros debt is the immediate roadblock.

The Akhanda 2 episode sends a strong message across Tollywood’s producer community: old, unsettled liabilities can return to haunt even the biggest upcoming releases. Courts are no longer hesitant to stall multi-crore films to enforce arbitral awards, and clever corporate re-structuring offers no shield against personal accountability of promoters.

What was poised to be one of the biggest Sankranti winners of 2026 now sits locked in legal limbo, its fate tied to the settlement of a financial disagreement that began fourteen years ago with an entirely different superstar and an entirely different movie. Until the Dookudu debt is closed, Balakrishna’s roaring Aghora must remain silent.