The Nandamuri clan has done it again. Actor-turned-MLA Balakrishna’s movie Legend directed by Boyapati Sreenu touched 400 days of straight run with four shows daily at Mini Shiva theatre in Yemmiganur of Kurnool district on Saturday, an all-time record in the 76-year-old Telugu industry.
It also touched the milestone in Proddatur of Kadapa district. But the variation is that it ran for the first 58 days in one theatre and the rest of the duration on another single screen, which too is a record, considering that films are counted for collections in the first two, three or four weeks.
“I never dreamt that I would be part of such an epoch-making moment. I am speechlessly-grateful to the Nandamuri clan for this. I have always believed that a combination of hard work and passion can give anyone this kind of success,” said the director Boyapati, as he is popular.
Interestingly, the film that comes closest to the 400-day record of Legend is Premabhishekam starring the late Akkineni Nageswara Rao and directed by former Union Minister Dasari Narayana Rao that ran for 365 days in 1981, with three shows every day just in one theatre. Hence, the record was smashed by Legend after 33 years, says Nandakumar Murthy, a diehard fan of the Nandamuri family and a senior executive in an insurance company.
The trend of such long hauls actually started with way back in 1942 with Balanagamma starring Kanchanamala and directed by Chittajalu Pullayya that ran for 100 days, followed by Patala Bhairavi with the legendary NTR and directed by K.V. Reddy that enjoyed a direct run of 200 days.
Adavi Ramudu with NTR again and K. Raghavendra Rao wielding the megaphone set a record of 300 days direct run in 1977.
