Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava

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Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTrivikram Srinivas
Written byTrivikram Srinivas
Screenplay byTrivikram Srinivas
Story byTrivikram Srinivas
Produced byS. Radha Krishna
Starring
CinematographyP. S. Vinod
Edited byNaveen Nooli
Music byS. Thaman
Production
company
Release date
  • 11 October 2018 (2018-10-11)[1]
Running time
162 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget40 crore[3]
Box officeest. 158.6 crore (US$20 million)[4]

Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava (transl. Veera Raghava along with Aravinda) is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language action drama film[2][5] written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Pooja Hegde, and Jagapathi Babu. It revolves around Veera Raghava, a young man who engages in a violent fight with henchmen from rival village. He escapes to Hyderabad and decides to stay away from violence in order to bring peace between the two villages whose people have been constantly affected by the feud for 30 years. S. Thaman composed the soundtrack, in his official 100th musical composition.

Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava was released theatrically on 11 October 2018 to positive reviews praising performances (especially N. T. Rama Rao Jr, Pooja Hegde and Jagapathi Babu), emotional weight of the story, action choreography, Trivikram's writing and direction, Thaman's soundtrack and background score. The film was a commercial success grossing 158.6 crore (US$20 million) worldwide, becoming the 2nd highest-grossing Telugu film of 2018.[6] Jagapathi Babu won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance.

Plot

There prevails a 30-year-long feud in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh between two factions of villages Kommaddi and Nallagudi, which are respectively headed by Narappa Reddy and Basi Reddy. The dispute has been devastating the families of people involved in the brawls between two families which is a matter of great concern. Narappa Reddy prepares to safely receive his son Veera Raghava Reddy, who was in London for the past 12 years but while they are on their way home from railway station, Basi Reddy and his men orchestrate an attack on them and successfully manage to assassinate Narappa Reddy and his brother-in-law. Surviving the attack, Raghava unleashes his wrath and undergoes a violent transformation, killing all the henchmen of Basi Reddy and stabbing the latter in his neck and everyone presumes him to be dead. Raghava carries his father and uncle's corpses home shattering his family. Raghava's grandmother (fondly addressed as Jeji) and his henchman's wife Nagamani help Raghava realize that violence might not be the ultimate solution. So Raghava heads to Hyderabad, hoping that his absence might reduce the clashes between the factions.

He befriends a mechanic Neelambari and rescues Adv. Saradhi's eldest daughter Aravinda from a bunch of goons who holds a grudge against her father for duping them with false assurances about getting them acquitted of murder charges filed against them. When Neelambari gets apprehended by the Police for unknowingly carrying a gun that actually belongs to Raghava, the latter approaches Saradhi and Aravinda narrates the events pertaining to her encounter with Raghava to her father. As the bunch of goons are still after his family, Saradhi deploys Raghava to protect his daughter and vows to have Neelambari released from prison which he succeeds in doing. Raghava befriends Aravinda's younger sister Sunanda but Aravinda is revealed to be arrogant and keeps her distance from him but continues to influence his philosophies regarding violence. Disclosed to have survived the stabbing, Basi Reddy persuades his son Bala Reddy to hunt Raghava and murder him. Meanwhile, Raghava narrates a story inspired by his life to Aravinda's younger brother Prateek for his school's periodical publication that gets published; Basi Reddy happens to read the periodical and discerning that Prateek might be related to Raghava, asks his henchmen to abduct Prateek to reach Raghava.

The henchmen try to kidnap him in his school but Raghava prevents them from doing so and thrashes them badly, making sure that no one is killed and finds out that Basi Reddy survived. Later, Bala Reddy and his men abduct Aravinda and Prateek but Raghava talks to him over the phone, threatening to kill his son followed by him and his men and causing them to release Aravinda and Prateek. Troubled by the incident, Saradhi asks Raghava to leave and he does, not before narrating his past to Aravinda and her family. An intrigued Aravinda decides to film a documentary about the factions in Kommaddi and Nallagudi as a part of her project and heads there, accompanied by Neelambari. She meets Nagamani and talks to Raghava over phone, confessing her feelings for him. Raghava attends a conference with Bala Reddy and ministers Krishna Reddy and Sudarshan Reddy and attempts to convince Bala Reddy to get into a peace treaty. Bala Reddy refuses to comply and unleashes his goons on Raghava but he fights them back and ultimately convinces Bala Reddy. After their car breaks down, Aravinda and Neelambari are sheltered by Basi Reddy's wife but are unaware of her identity. When Basi Reddy gets to know of the peace treaty, he furiously murders Bala Reddy, distressing his wife while one of his men identifies Aravinda as Raghava's love interest causing Basi Reddy to take her and Neelambari as hostages. Basi Reddy commands Raghava to meet him in a field and he complies.

Basi Reddy slits Aravinda's arm, stabs Neelambari and persuades Raghava to fight him but Raghava hesitates, unwilling to get into another fight. Basi Reddy divulges to Raghava that he was the one who killed Bala Reddy but created a rumour that Raghava murdered him causing a clash once again between the two factions. Basi Reddy's henchmen Marappa and Subba Reddy have a change of heart upon listening to Raghava and realizing that Basi Reddy will even kill them if there is a necessity for him to continue the feud between the factions. They take Neelambari and Aravinda to hospital while Raghava is disappointed with Bala Reddy's murder and concludes that Basi Reddy's death will end the violence haunting the villages. He kills Basi Reddy and burns him along with the field, making sure that no one learns about his death. He confesses to Basi Reddy's wife about his murder and she agrees to end the violence and does so by revealing to the factions that Basi Reddy murdered his own son and fled the village. She files a Police complaint stating the same while Raghava nominates her as the MLA, which she becomes unanimously.

Cast

Production

The discussion for this film began with NTR, when Rao was shooting Nannaku Prematho in 2015 and finally materialised in 2018.[7] Pooja Hegde was selected to collaborate with Rao for the first time.[8] Anirudh Ravichander, who was initially signed on composing the music was replaced by S. Thaman after the failure of Agnyaathavaasi.[9]

The shooting for the film began on 6 April 2018 with an action sequence in Ramoji Film City of Hyderabad.[10] Filming also took place in Pollachi in June.[11] The shoot was completed in September 2018. Pooja Hegde dubbed her voice in Telugu for the first time in this film.[12]

Themes

Aravinda Sametha is based on the factionalism present in the region of Rayalaseema, a theme which was dominant in Telugu cinema during late 1990s and early 2000s.[13]

"In most of the films based on Rayalaseema factionalism, only the act of violence was glorified; however, none of those films focused on the aftermath of a war. Both Jr NTR and I became interested in starting our story with a bloody act of war to give the film a context and then explore how the protagonist shuns that path to bring peace. Later, when I came up with the idea of focusing on the lives of women and how families are torn apart due to such violence, it gave us a lot more depth to explore."

— Trivikram Srinivas, on why he chose such genre.[13]

Music

Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava
Soundtrack album by
Released20 September 2018
18 October 2018
(Extended soundtrack)
Recorded2018
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length23:18
LanguageTelugu
LabelZee Music Company
ProducerS. Thaman
S. Thaman chronology
Chal Mohan Ranga
(2018)
Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava
(2018)
Amar Akbar Anthony
(2018)
Singles from Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava
  1. "Anaganaganaga"
    Released: 15 September 2018
  2. "Peniviti"
    Released: 18 September 2018

The soundtrack album of Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava features four songs composed by S. Thaman, with one song being added in the extended soundtrack of the film.[14] The audio rights were of the film were purchased by Zee Music Company. Lyrics for the songs were written by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Ramajogayya Sastry, and Penchal Das. Initially, the makers planned to release the full audio album directly into the market, without hosting any audio launch event for the film.[15]

The complete soundtrack album is scheduled to be unveiled on mid-September, without launching any singles from the film. However, the lyric video of the first single track titled "Anaganaganaga" was released on 15 September 2018, and the song was unveiled in all streaming platforms the same day.[16] On 18 September 2018, the makers unveiled the second single track titled "Peniviti" sung by Kaala Bhairava, which was termed as an intense, raw, rustic number.[17] The lyrical video of Yeda Poyinadu was released on 25 September 2018.

The tracklist was unveiled on 19 September 2018, and the complete soundtrack album was unveiled the following day, on 20 September 2018.[18] The makers released the lyric videos and the promos of the songs before the film's release.

S. Thaman's work received praise from critics. Neetishta Nyayapati from The Times of India, stated it as "Despite featuring only four numbers, the jukebox of Aravindha Sametha sets itself apart with its authenticity. However, while the earthiness of the theme comes through the vocals and lyrics, it's missing in Thaman's music. Give this one a chance this weekend; you might just end up falling in love with the Seema dialect."[19] 123Telugu reviewed it as, "There was a lot of expectation from Thaman as he was teaming up with Trivikram for the first time. But it looks like the ace composer has given importance to the emotions in the film rather than churning out commercial numbers. Peniviti and Anaganaganaga will be chartbusters and are our picks. Finally, the album of Aravinda Sametha is not your regular song and dance album and has been composed to gel with the narrative. It will grow on you slowly after watching the film on the big screen."[20] Indiaglitz rated 3 out of 5 stars, and summarised it as "With just four songs, the album features two mood-based and two generic numbers."[21] Cinejosh summarised it as "All in all, Aravinda Sametha weaves out a melodious album fitting in all the elements for an NTR and Trivikram combo film!"[22]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Anaganaganaga"Sirivennela Seetharama SastryArmaan Malik4:47
2."Peniviti"Ramajogayya SastryKaala Bhairava5:10
3."Yeda Poyinado"Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Penchal DasKailash Kher, Nikhita Srivalli, Penchal Das5:05
4."Reddy Ikkada Soodu"Ramajogayya SastryDaler Mehndi, Anjana Sowmya4:04
Total length:19:06

Extended soundtrack

Though the album features four songs, a bonus track titled "Reddamma Thalli" sung by Penchal Das, and written by Ramajogayya Sastry, was released on 16 October 2018. The extended soundtrack, which contains the bonus track and complete background score, was released on 18 October 2018.[23] In the album, the bonus song, consists of two versions; one of them is the original version sung by Mohana Bhogaraju. The other one sung by Penchal Das is the cover version of the song.

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Reddamma Thalli" (Film Version)Mohana Bhogaraju1:57
2."Reddamma Thalli" (Cover Version)Penchal Das1:56
Total length:3:53

Marketing and release

On 19 May 2018, the title of the film was revealed as Aravinda Sametha.[24] Jr. NTR was featured in a chiseled avatar who worked out extensively with international trainer Lloyd Stevens for his new look for the film.[25] Also S. Thaman's background music in the motion poster was appreciated by fans.[26] The promotions of the film were commence on 10 September 2018.[27]

A pre-release event was held on 2 October 2018, at H.I.C.C. Novotel hotel in Hyderabad, where the makers also launched the theatrical trailer of the film.[28] The trailer received predominantly positive response from all corners.[29]

Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava was released theatrically on 11 October 2018. The film was dubbed and released in Tamil as Idhu Ennoda Jilla.[30] The film's Japanese Blu-ray is set for an official release on 3 April 2024.[31]

Reception

Critical reception

The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 stars stating, "An emotional drama camouflaged in a commercial exterior, here's a film that's courageous to stand apart from slapstick madness. Trivikram's treatment of this plot scores over his indulgence as Jr NTR delivers another fine performance".[32]

India Today gave 3 out of 5 stars stating, "Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava is a commercial actioner backed by Trivikram's engaging script and Jr NTR's excellent performance. After the debacle of Pawan Kalyan-starrer Agnyaathavaasi, director Trivikram Srinivas has bounced back with Jr NTR's Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava".[33]

News18 gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "Jr NTR elevates tried-tested story of factionalism".[34] Hindustan Times gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "Jr NTR is the torchbearer of peace in a film on factionalism".[35]

Awards and nominations

Date of ceremony Award Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
10 August 2019 Sakshi Excellence Awards Best Actress Pooja Hegde Won [36]
15 & 16 August 2019 8th South Indian International Movie Awards Best Film – Telugu Haarika & Hasinee Creations Nominated [37]
Best Director – Telugu Trivikram Srinivas Nominated
Best Actor – Telugu N. T. Rama Rao Jr. Nominated
Best Music Director – Telugu S. Thaman Nominated
Best Lyricist – Telugu (Peniviti) Ramajogayya Sastry Nominated
Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu (Peniviti) Kaala Bhairava Nominated
21 December 2019 66th Filmfare Awards South Best Actor – Telugu N. T. Rama Rao Jr. Nominated [38][39]
Best Actress – Telugu Pooja Hegde Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Telugu Jagapati Babu Won
Best Music Director – Telugu S. Thaman Nominated
Best Lyricist – Telugu (Peniviti) Ramajogayya Sastry Nominated
Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu (Peniviti) Kaala Bhairava Nominated
Best Female Playback Singer – Telugu (Reddamma Thalli) Mohana Bhogaraju Nominated
29 September 2019 17th Santosham Film Awards Best Comedian Sunil Won [40]
Best Music Director S. Thaman Won

References

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External links

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