The release of Akhanda 2 ran into a major obstacle when Eros International enforced a ₹28 crore arbitral award against its producers, 14 Reels Plus Banner. This sudden action, taken just before the film’s release, sparked debates over why the company waited until the last minute.
Eros had asked 14 Reels Plus to clear their dues several times in the past, during the releases of other films. However, the production house mostly worked on small and medium-budget projects and claimed losses due to failures. Even for films that performed well, they argued that profits were not significant.
Each time, 14 Reels Plus assured Eros that they were planning a big film with the Boyapati Srinu–Balakrishna combination, and promised to settle the full amount once that project was released.
When Akhanda 2 did strong business, Eros approached the producers in November to settle the dues before release. But the production team did not take the matter seriously, assuming they could convince Eros as they had in the past.
This left Eros frustrated, as the company had been waiting for years on the promise that everything would be cleared with the Balakrishna–Boyapati film. The producers’ failure to honor that commitment has now put the film’s release in serious trouble.
