Emotional Naga Vamsi calls this film his 1st Sankranthi hit in 6 years despite Guntur Kaaram, Daaku Maharaaj

Producer Naga Vamsi spoke to the press after Sankranthi to talk about his recent release and claim that it was a ‘matter of ego’ now to have a hit.

Producer Naga Vamsi had a rough 2025, with films like Vijay Deverakonda-starrer Kingdom and Ravi Teja-starrer Mass Jathara failing to make a mark at the box office. With the release of the Naveen Polishetty-starrer Anaganaga Oka Raju this year, the filmmaker seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief. Talking to the press, he even called it his first satisfactory Sankranthi in six years, despite Daaku Maharaaj and Guntur Kaaram releasing during the festive season the previous years.

Naga Vamsi released Guntur Kaaram in 2024 and Daaku Maharaaj in 2025 during Sankranthi.

Naga Vamsi on finally having a Sankranthi hit in 6 years

Vamsi spoke to the press and said Anaganaga Oka Raju, which made ₹41.20 crore worldwide in two days, gave him the satisfaction that Allu Arjun’s Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo gave him six years ago for Sankranthi. “This is my first satisfactory Sankranthi in six years. Of course, we had a huge hit last year,” he said, referring to Balakrishna-starrer Daaku Maharaaj and adding, “But distributors weren’t entirely satisfied with the numbers.” The film had grossed ₹126.11 crore worldwide and ₹91.23 crore in India.

Explaining his reasoning, the producer said, “We made a good, technically strong film last year, but it didn’t give us the satisfaction we wanted. I remember how happy Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo made me in 2020. I am grateful to the audience for giving me a Sankranthi like that again.” Incidentally, Vamsi also had a Sankranthi release in 2024 with Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram, which collected ₹180.5 crore worldwide and ₹126.62 crore in India.

Naga Vamsi opens up about his flops

Vamsi also opened up about the flops he faced in 2025 with Kingdom and Mass Jathara. “In the last six months, I have had two films that didn’t perform well,” he said, claiming that even his competitors hoped he would finally have a hit. “It became a matter of ego for me. It satisfies a producer’s ego when a film becomes a hit and earns well for distributors, especially during Sankranthi. It might have misfired twice before, but I am thankful to Naveen for this. To score a hit during this season was very important,” he said emotionally.

Anaganaga Oka Raju was released in theatres on January 14 to mixed reviews. It clashed with Prabhas’ The Raja Saab, Chiranjeevi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, Ravi Teja’s Bhartha Mahasayulaki Wignyapthi, and Sharwanand’s Nari Nari Naduma Murari.