Akhil Akkineni says he knew Agent would flop; felt pressure to recover money for producer: ‘That era of movies is done’

After the success of his recent film Lenin, Akhil Akkineni spoke about the failure of his previous film, Agent, and said he knew it wouldn't work.

Actor Akhil Akkineni recently tasted success with his recent release, Lenin, which saw him shed his urban boy image for a rustic role. Given that his last film, Agent, received lukewarm reviews and did not perform well at the box office, the success comes as a relief. The actor recently admitted that he knew his last film would flop and had even expressed his misgivings. Nonetheless, he says, he felt pressure to recover the producer’s investment.

Akhil Akkineni in a still from Surender Reddy's spy film Agent.

Akhil Akkineni knew Agent wouldn’t work

Akhil talked about Agent on Raw Talks with VK podcast and stated that he didn’t respect himself as an actor while shooting for the film. “A film might not work for various reasons. 24 crafts have to come together to make a hit film. But if it doesn’t work out, I should at least be able to do my job well. Then I’ll be respected as an actor. And I didn’t respect myself in Agent. Did I not see it wasn’t working by the time I saw the first edit, or scenes? Am I seeing doubts? Yes, that happened,” said the actor.

He then claimed that he understood the film would flop before its release and had shared his misgivings. “I definitely understood the outcome before release. And I shared with my friends that something had gone wrong. But it is not just my profession, it’s my moral responsibility to commit to that film. If I see a problem, I need to commit more. Because it’s not just my life. I have a responsibility to recover my producer’s money. It’s a tough spot to be in. That era of movies is done, brother. It’s done,” said Akhil.

Agent’s failure and Lenin’s success

In 2023, Akhil went through a makeover and built his body to star in Surender Reddy’s spy film Agent. The film was written by Vakkantham Vamsi and produced by Anil Sunkara and Rambrahmam Sunkara under AK Entertainments. Mammootty, Dino Morea, Sakshi Vaidya, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Vikramjeet Virk also starred in the film that was released amid high expectations. However, despite being mounted on a big budget, the film recovered less than ₹15 crore worldwide.

Akhil, who has faced ups and downs in his career since his 2015 debut with Akhil: The Power of Jua, took a three-year break from films. He returned to the screen this year with Lenin, written and directed by Murali Kishor Abburu, and jointly produced by Akkineni Nagarjuna and Suryadevara Naga Vamsi under the banners Manam Enterprises LLP and Sithara Entertainments, presented by Annapurna Studios. The film also stars Bhagyashri Borse, Ramki, Sivaji, Sunil, Brahmaji, and Easwari Rao. After releasing in theatres on July 10, the film has grossed over ₹60 crore worldwide.