Akhil Akkineni turned emotional at the Lenin pre-release event held in Tirupati on Sunday evening. Speaking about director Murali Kishor Abburu, Akhil revealed that he hugged the director immediately after listening to the story nearly two years ago and requested him not to narrate it to anyone else.
The speech clearly showed how much Akhil believes in the film. But after the event, another question started doing the rounds on social media.
Where was director Murali Kishor Abburu?
For many, his absence became one of the biggest talking points of the event. What surprised people even more was that the pre-release event was held in Tirupati, which is the director’s hometown. Yet he was nowhere to be seen. Interestingly, none of the media journalists present at the event asked the team about the director’s absence.
It doesn’t stop there.
Murali Kishor has also stayed away from the film’s promotional interviews. Normally, directors actively promote their films by giving interviews to websites and YouTube channels, especially when the release is just a few days away. But in the case of Lenin, the director has remained completely absent from the promotional campaign.
Naturally, that has led to speculation.
A section of people on social media believes he may not be happy with some of the last-minute changes made to the film. Others feel there is a much simpler explanation. He is still busy with the final stages of post-production, including editing, sound mixing, and overseeing the theatrical prints before release.
As of now, there is nothing official to support either theory. Whatever the reason may be, the absence is difficult to ignore.
This is only Murali Kishor Abburu’s second film as a director. His debut, Vinaro Bhagyamu Vishnu Katha, ended up as an average performer. Lenin is his biggest opportunity yet to establish himself in the industry.
Usually, directors in such a position try to use every promotional event to talk about their vision, explain what makes the film special, and introduce themselves to a wider audience.
Maybe there is a genuine reason behind it. Maybe he is simply focused on delivering the best possible version of the film before release. Or maybe there is another explanation that has not come out yet.
Until the team addresses it, the director’s absence will continue to remain one of the biggest unanswered questions surrounding Lenin’s promotions.
