These are the days of producers losing control of budgets. There are very few production houses that maintain good control of budgets. Vyjayanthi used to be one but a film coming out of their compound also exceeded the initial budget.
Swapna Cinema's next, Anni Manchi Sakunamule started as a small-budget film with Santosh Sobhan but the movie's budget shot up as the production house scaled the scope of the project by having a huge supporting cast and shooting in several exotic locations. Besides, there is a COVID impact as well.
Sources say the budget shot up by around 50% of their initial estimates.
They shot the film in Italy, Dubai, Coonoor, Ooty, etc. The grandeur is clearly visible in the promotional material. Given the form of Santosh in recent times, producers normally downsize their budgets.
But the producers say they are confident about the story.
"The extra budget will be visible on screen and will be completely worth it. It will be a perfect family watch this summer. It will also be a big break in Santosh's career," they say.
It is interesting to note Sita Ramam from the same production house also exceeded its budget but the movie went on to become a blockbuster with no worries about the extra budget.