At the TSR-TV9 National Film Awards held at the Port Stadium in Visakhapatnam, in 2017, Akkineni Nagarjuna took the stage to directly address and dismiss long-standing rumors of a rift between himself and Nandamuri Balakrishna. The Bangarraju and Kuberaa actor stated that the reports suggesting they were not on speaking terms were "baseless." As he uttered those words, the Akhanda 2 actor came forward and gave a side hug. Megastar Chiranjeevi and Mohan Babu were on the stage.
The clarification was notable because the two stars had rarely shared a stage for several years, which had fueled media speculation about a "cold war" or personal dispute.
It's believed that Nag and Balayya had a fallout as a consequence of ANR and NTR not being on good terms for several years. After NTR became the CM of then-united Andhra Pradesh, he allegedly didn't get along well with his fellow thespians like ANR and Krishna. ANR, in an interview in the early 2000s, claimed that he refused to attend a deliberation with the CM because he didn't like his ways.
