Exclusive: This lesser-known Telugu film clocks over 2 million viewing minutes on Amazon Prime Video

Shukra, directed by Suku Purvaj, stars Arvind Krishna and Srijitaa Ghosh,,

The little-known Telugu film Shukra is indeed destiny's favourite child. The film almost didn't get made when the director Suku Purvaj was left in a 'do or die' situation after the producer asked him to make the project on a Rs 15 lakh budget or leave it. At a time when short films have bigger budgets than that, Suku didn't want to make anything mediocre but also was in no mood to let the opportunity slip away. Ultimately, he took a huge leap of faith and made the action thriller under the stipulated budget. Fortune eventually favoured the brave.

Shukra, featuring Arvind Krishna and Srijitaa Ghosh, released in theatres this April 23 when most halls in the Telugu states were getting shut amid the COVID-19 second wave scare and miraculously managed to break even. Its success streak has continued with the digital release on Amazon Prime Video too, having clocked more than 2 million viewing minutes on the OTT platform with the only recognisable face in the film being Arvind Krishna. The story revolves around a couple, Willie and Ria, whose world is turned topsy turvy by a group of thugs who loot houses and murder people.

"We almost wanted to release the film directly on OTT, but it was my elder brother who felt it deserved a big-screen audience and put money from his pocket to distribute it. Single screens were joyous to allocate shows for us when all releases were getting postponed indefinitely. The word-of-mouth spread quickly and crowds in B, C centres thronged to watch the film. The goodwill extended to OTT platforms too and the positive buzz generated during our theatrical release came in very handy. It took two crucial decisions to help us reach where we are today - the move to make the film in the first place and sticking to our original plan of releasing it in theatres," the first-time director Suku Purvaj shared with OTTplay.

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