War 2 Then, Akhanda 2 Now: VFX Killing Tollywood?

Since the emergence of Bahubali and KGF as the highest grossers in Indian cinema history, filmmakers have attempted to replicate their success by producing large-scale action films; however, most of these attempts have resulted in more failures than successes. Whenever a filmmaker's vision exceeds the budget, they rely on VFX to fulfill their dream, and the same can end up shoddy occasionally.

This has been the case for multiple films, and recently, Jr. NTR and Hrithik Roshan starrer War 2 faced intense flak for the same. In the glimpse that was released on NTR's birthday, the film's action sequences relied heavily on visual effects; the Tollywood star was shown badly in those graphics.

Pointing this out, fans expressed frustration and declared that if the makers didn't correct these by the time the trailer releases, War 2 will be an outright disaster. Yash Raj Films, who faced such flak with Shah Rukh Khan's comeback film Pathaan, managed to resolve the issue by the time the movie was released in the theaters and scored a giant hit.

War 2, helmed by Ayan Mukherji, is one of the most anticipated films of the year, and the main reason is the expected faceoff between Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR. It is clashing with Rajinikanth's Coolie, and after the glimpse was released, the buzz and demand for Coolie skyrocketed.

On the occasion of Nandamuri Balakrishna's birthday, the filmmakers of Akhanda-2 unveiled a preview, but despite its fierce appearance, the visual effects were lacking. It's tough to expect logical action sequences in a Balakrishna movie, but the visual effects in just this one-minute glimpse looked sloppy overall.

Of course, Balakrishna will do superhuman stunts, and just like Akhanda, there is the devotional aspect that's clearly reflected in the sequel, but if Boyapati Sreenu and his team don't work on the VFX, it might end up as a giant failure. With the sequel, the stakes tend to go high as the hero needs fresh and heightened challenges, and it looks like the same is set to happen to Akhanda 2.

Both the films, set to release in August and September, have a fresh task at their hands by putting in sincere efforts to amp up the visual effects. If that's not the case, then it's surely bad news for fans of both the heroes.