as Kalahasteeshwara (cameo appearance) Soundtrack Music composed by Chirantan Bhatt. Music released on Lahari Music Company. The Audio launch was held at Sri Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Municipal High School Grounds, Tirupati on 26 December 2016. Central Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu attended the function as chief guests, along with hundreds of industry stalwarts. Production The film was officially announced on 8 April 2016, on eve of Ugadi at Andhra Pradesh's proposed capital city Amaravati. The movie opening was held at Hyderabad on 22 April 2016, with eminent personalities like K. Chandrasekhar Rao, T. Harish Rao, Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, K. Raghavendra Rao, Dasari Narayana Rao, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Boyapati Srinu, Sai Korrapati, Sriwass, and Akkineni Ramesh Prasad in attendance. The search for the female lead had been going on for long, as actresses like Anushka Shetty and Nayanthara were on the verge of signing. Finally, actress Shriya Saran was signed on as the lead heroine, after being successful in Telugu with various projects. Veteran Hindi actress Hema Malini is playing Balakrishna's character's mother, Gautami Balasri. Actually Devi Sri Prasad was primarily selected as music director but has quit project because he couldn't adjust the dates, after he left the project top most music directors like Ilaiyaraaja, M. M. Keeravani are taken into consideration but finally Chirantan Bhatt is the music director. Neeta Lulla is designing costumes and jewellery for the film. Nandamuri Balakrishna honoured Hema Malini with a saree as a surprise gift on the sets of the film on 4 September 2016 in Rajasthan. The film's first look teaser was released on 11 October 2016 at 10:15 a.m on the occasion of Vijayadashami and trailer was launched on 16 December 2016 at Tirumala theatre in Karimnagar, Telangana. Release It was released on 12 January 2017 across 1320 screens worldwide. Reception Srivathsan Nadadhur of The Hindu gives it a 4/5 rating saying, "The film talks of Telugu identity, re-emphasises Amaravati’s cultural significance, talks of a borderless society, gives Shriya a role of a lifetime and yet remains a Balakrishna film, an achievement for Krish in only his seventh outing." Murali Krishna of Telangana Today says "Gautamiputra Satakarni perfectly blends with the persona of Balakrishna. It is an achievement to bring the lesser-known details of an unsung hero to spotlight and Krish has succeeded in crafting a gripping narrative right from the word go". 10TV editor Kathi Mahesh