Govindudu Andarivadele

Govindudu Andarivadele
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Krishna Vamsi
Written by	Krishna Vamsi, Paruchuri Brothers
Produced by	Bandla Ganesh
Starring	Ram Charan Srikanth Kajal Aggarwal Kamalinee Mukherjee
Cinematography	Sameer Reddy
Edited by	Naveen Nuli
Music by	Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production company	Parameswara Art Productions
Release date	1 October 2014 (2014-10-01)
Running time	149 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹300 million (US$3.6 million)
Box office	₹416.5 million (US$5.0 million)

Govindudu Andarivadele ([Govind is a people's man] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)), also known as GAV, is a 2014 Indian Telugu family drama film written and directed by Krishna Vamsi and produced by Bandla Ganesh for Parameswara Art Productions. The film features Ram Charan, Srikanth, Kajal Aggarwal and Kamalinee Mukherjee in the lead roles, while Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Rahman and Adarsh Balakrishna play supporting roles. Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the film's soundtrack and score while Sameer Reddy worked as the cinematographer. The film is partially inspired from the 1991 Telugu film Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu directed by Kranthi Kumar.

It tells the story of an NRI named Abhiram who visits his grandfather Balaraju's house as a student interested in Agriculture. He actually came to reconcile the differences between his father, Chandrasekhar Rao, and Balaraju who parted ways as the former preferred to go to the USA when the latter builds a charitable hospital to serve the needy in their village decades back. The rest of the film shows how Abhiram succeeds in winning the hearts of the family members and what happens when Balaraju comes to know about the truth behind Abhiram and his attempts.

The film was officially launched in Hyderabad on 6 February 2014. Principal photography commenced from the same day and ended on 22 September 2014. A large portion of the film was shot in Hyderabad, Rameswaram, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari, Pollachi and Karaikudi in India while significant portions were shot in London and Jordan. The film was released worldwide on 1 October 2014 to positive reviews from critics. The film became one of the highest grossing Telugu films of 2014.

Plot

Balaraju, the head of his village, lives with his wife Baby along with his two sons Chandrasekhar Rao and Bangari and two daughters. He helps Chandrasekhar become a doctor and builds a hospital to help the needy. On the inauguration day, Chandrasekhar comes back home with his lover Kausalya, also a doctor. Both express their wish to wed and settle abroad which infuriates Balaraju, leading to their separation. 25 years later, Chandrasekhar, a successful doctor in London, tells the story to his son Abhiram and daughter Indu. After experiencing the pain in his father's words, Abhiram decides to go to Balaraju's house via Hyderabad and reconcile the differences between them. He meets his friend, Bunny, at the airport and goes to the village on Bunny's bike the next day. He sees a cockfight match between Bangari and Baachi on the way and helps Balaraju pardon Bangari and get Baachi arrested. Abhiram then introduces himself as a student from London who came here to learn agricultural practices and stick fighting skills. He creates a good impression on Balaraju's family when he saves a child's life and is allowed to stay in their house.

Balaraju's granddaughter Satya comes back from Hyderabad. Abhiram is surprised to see Satya's cultured behavior and traditional attire, as she was the girl whom Abhiram and Bunny met in a pub earlier in Hyderabad. She is also equally shocked to see him as his cell phone has photos showing how she spent her time at the pub. Abhiram blackmails Satya by saying that he would leak the photos. She, in turn asks Bangari to get Abhiram's cell phone by saying that he is blackmailing her. However, their efforts fail and in turn, Baachi involves himself in it. A fight happens between Abhiram and Baachi, which increase their rivalry. To get rid of Bangari, Balaraju arranges Chitra's marriage. Satya tells Bangari about this who then kidnaps Chitra. Abhiram chases him, saves Chitra and gets Bangari arrested. Satya picks Abhiram's phone and learns his true identity through it. Abhiram offers to help Balaraju renovate the hospital he built by asking Abhiram's father to assist him and he accepts the offer. Abhiram finds out that Satya has his phone when he goes to call his father. She deletes her photos and after learning that she knows the truth, Abhiram compromises with her and they fall in love with each other.

Later, Chitra, now Abhiram's friend at the house, tells him why Bangari was expelled from the house when he asks her about it. Bangari and Chitra love one another and Balaraju does not approve of it, as Bangari is a spoiled brat and a drunkard. Frustrated and intoxicated, Bangari enters Chitra's room and tells her of his attempt to rape her so as to marry her. However, Balaraju expels him from the house after catching him. Balaraju’s brother-in-law and his son, Rajendra, who plan to set up a SEZ manufacturing beer, release Bangari from jail. Abhiram's father sends the advanced equipment to Hyderabad, which Bunny and Bangari receive. Bangari attacks Bunny and seizes the equipment. On knowing this, Abhiram stops Bangari and his men and reveals his identity. Bangari realizes his fault and reunites with Balaraju. The equipment is unloaded at the hospital, which is then renovated. Indu too visits Balaraju's house. Satya gets engaged to an American NRI doctor. She threatens Abhiram that she would die if she doesn't marry him. He decides to break up with her and upon hearing this, Bangari reveals Abhiram and Indu's identity to Balaraju, who orders Abhiram's and Indu to leave the house.

Later, Abhiram gets a phone call from his father who plans to come back to the village. Suddenly, Baachi kidnaps Indu and an injured Abhiram manages to save her but gets shot by Baachi. Bangari arrives and Abhiram prevents Baachi from getting harmed by saying that Baachi too is a family member. Chandrasekhar comes to the hospital and operates Abhiram. When Abhiram regains consciousness, Balaraju welcomes him, Indu and Chandrasekhar back into the family. The film ends with Abhiram getting married to Satya and Bangari to Chitra as Balaraju and Baby celebrate their anniversary that day.

Cast

• Ram Charan as Abhiram.
• Srikanth as Bangari.
• Kajal Aggarwal as Satya.
• Kamalinee Mukherjee as Chitra.
• Prakash Raj as Balaraju.
• Jayasudha as Baby.
• Rahman as Dr. Chandrasekhar Rao.
• Bhanu Sri Mehra as Kausalya Chandrasekhar Rao.
• Adarsh Balakrishna as Baachi.
• Vennela Kishore as Bunny.
• Rao Ramesh as Rajendra.
• Kota Srinivasa Rao as Balaraju's brother-in-law.
• M. S. Narayana as Bangari's senior gang member.
• Harsha Vardhan as Chandrasekhar's friend.
• Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao as Bangari's uncle.
• Posani Krishna Murali as Balaraju's brother-in-law's lawyer.
• Pragathi as Satya's mother.
• Kasi Vishwanath as Satya's father.
• Satya Krishnan as another aunt of Abhiram.
• Sameer as the father of the kid whose life Abhiram saves.
• Harsha Chemudu as one of Bangari's gang members

Production

Development

"We are making films for the Telugu audience so an apt Telugu title would invariably work best. But it all depends on what type of film it is. Govindudu Andarivadele is the story of an NRI who returns to his native village to reunite with his extended family, so we decided to go with the title from a hit devotional song about Lord Krishna who is everyone's beloved."

 —Krishna Vamsi, regarding the selection of the film's title.

In September 2010, Chiranjeevi invited Krishna Vamsi for a discussion to make a movie with Ram Charan as the hero and after a story narration session, they agreed to move ahead on the project. After a gap of 3 years, in August 2013, it was announced that Ram Charan, Daggubati Venkatesh and Krishna would act in a film directed by Krishna Vamsi and bankrolled by Bandla Ganesh under his banner, Parameswara Art Productions. The project was, however, put on hold till the complete bound script was ready. In December 2013, Bandla Ganesh posted a photo in Twitter which featured himself, Krishna Vamsi and Director of Photography Sameer Reddy at the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Antarvedi with the complete bound script. The film was initially titled Vijetha after the 1985 Telugu film which featured Chiranjeevi and Bhanupriya in the lead roles. In March 2014, the supposed story of the film was leaked into the internet. The story was that Ram Charan played the role of an NRI who visits his joint family where he has to bridge the gap between his father and his father's younger brother. On 27 March 2014, the title was confirmed to be Govindudu Andarivadele when the poster of the film featuring the logo of the title was released.

In mid April 2014, Yuvan Shankar Raja was signed as the film's composer after S. Thaman opted out due to conflicting dates with his other projects, although sources reported that talks were also held with G. V. Prakash Kumar. It became the first time that Krishna Vamsi collaborated with Yuvan Shankar Raja, with the director later informing that he had waited five years to work with the composer. Reports regarding Rajkiran being replaced by Prakash Raj because of Chiranjeevi and the altering of the original script were denied as rumors and that Prakash Raj was included for enhancing Telugu nativity. The film's shoot was put on hold due to the climate at the shooting spot being unsuitable for the child artistes acting in the film and not due to Chiranjeevi. Ram Charan, in an interview with The Hindu, said that Rajkiran was replaced with Prakash Raj as the portions involving the former ended up looking more like a Tamil film.

Casting

Ram Charan, Venkatesh and Krishna were initially set to play the lead roles, with Venkatesh playing the role of paternal uncle of Ram Charan in the film. In September 2013, Kajal Aggarwal was signed to be paired opposite Ram Charan. In October 2013, Krishna walked out from the project citing health issues. Actor Jagapati Babu rejected the offer for the role of Ram Charan's father as he wanted to concentrate on villain and character roles rather than portray a father role. In November 2013, Tamil actor Rajkiran was roped in to play the role of Ram Charan's grandfather which was supposed to be done by Krishna. In a turn of events, Kajal had initially opted out of the project due to her pending Tamil commitments and remuneration problems. This led to the producers to search for a new actress in the lead role. Krishna Vamsi was scouting for a face with a typical village belle looks for the role of one of the Heroines. In December 2013, Venkatesh walked out of the project and was subsequently replaced by Telugu actor Srikanth. Venkatesh opted out of the project citing the role not suiting his image and clarified not being dissatisfied with the role. Chandini Choudary was rumored to play the female lead, but her inclusion remained unconfirmed and eventually proved to be untrue.

Tamannaah was approached as well, but she could not allot dates to the film due to her prior commitments in Aagadu and Baahubali. Kajal was finalized by the end of 2013 as Ram Charan's heroine in this film thus marking Kajal's comeback to Telugu Cinema after a brief gap. In the end of January 2014, Kamalini Mukherjee was selected to play the role of the other heroine. Regarding her inclusion in the film, Krishna Vamsi said she was chosen due to her looks and her acting prowess. A rock band called "The Tapes" participated in the shoot of the film for 7 to 9 hours straight when one of their songs were used in a sequence in the film featuring Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal marking the band's first onscreen appearance. Vennela Kishore confirmed his presence in the film twice through his Twitter account. In the end of May 2014, Prakash Raj replaced Rajkiran as Ram Charan's grandfather. Jayasudha and Rahman were signed for key roles. M. S. Narayana was selected to play a supporting role. Adarsh Balakrishna was selected to portray the film's antagonist who was recommended by Srikanth to Krishna Vamsi. The Rugby League club of Hemel Hempstead made its debut in Indian cinema with this film.

Characters & looks

Ram Charan's character was named Abhiram, a NRI who comes from London to India in search of his roots. He was seen as one of the rugby players of he Rugby League club of Hemel Hempstead who was also the team's main player. For his role, Charan grew a ponytail and appeared in traditional Telugu attire by sporting a Dhoti for some scenes in the film, unlike the stylish attires he sported in his previous films. He also learnt stick fighting skills for his characterization in the film. Srikanth played the role of Ram Charan's younger paternal uncle and sported a long hairdo for his role. He featured in a rustic appearance and a still of him appearing in the look was shown in the end of July 2014. His character in the film was that of a typically spoiled brat who was aggressive and rebellious by nature and was termed by Krishna Vamsi as a "crucial role" in the film.

Kajal Aggarwal revealed one of her attires in the film on 27 July 2014 which featured her in a black half-sari. Jayasudha was selected to play the role of Prakash Raj's wife in the film while Rahman was signed in to play the role of Ram Charan's father. Kamalini Mukherjee's character was named Chitra and she was seen as a rural girl contrary to the urbane roles she played in the past. Adarsh Balakrishna was seen in a negative role as a M.P.'s son living in a village who believes in showing off. He sported a very different look in the movie and wore jewelry with Indian attire complete with long hair.

Filming

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, where principal photography began.

Principal photography was initially scheduled to commence from October 2013 after pre-production works were completed. the film's shoot commencement then shifted to November 2013, and was further postponed to December 2013 due to the script not yet ready at that time. The film's shoot was confirmed to finally commence from January 2014. Ram Charan joined the sets of the film on 6 February 2014. A special set was erected for shooting the film at Nanakramguda in Hyderabad whose construction started from 26 January 2014. On the day of launch of the film i.e. 6 February 2014 it was confirmed that the film's shoot would start from that day itself and would continue for 3 days in Hyderabad and would continue in a few areas in Tamil Nadu like Pollachi and Nagercoil, for 40 days. Filming started with scenes shot on Ram Charan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport from 6 February 2014 for 3 days. Kajal Aggarwal joined the sets of the film in Hyderabad on 9 February 2014 and some scenes on Ram Charan and herself were shot.

File:GAV Working Still.jpg

Krishna Vamsi along with Ram Charan and Srikanth during the film's shoot.

After the completion of this schedule, filming moved to Rameshwaram first in the pre planned long 40 day schedule. In Rameswaram, some crucial scenes were shot which included scenes shot on Ram Charan, Srikanth and Kajal Aggarwal. Later, Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal participated in the film's shoot at Nagercoil near Kanyakumari after the completion of the schedule at Rameswaram. Family and comedy scenes were shot on Ram Charan and Srikanth in Kanyakumari. After filming a fight sequence on Ram Charan, Srikanth and few fighters at Kanyakumari, it was reported that the film's next schedule would start at Pollachi. Filming then moved to the town of Udumalaipettai in Pollachi where key wedding scenes in the film and the principal cast participated in the film's shoot. The song's shoot which featured Ram Charan and Kajal started from 14 March 2014. The song was said to have a greenery theme. After its completion, Ram Charan participated in action sequences at Pollachi. In the second week of May, Ram Charan participated in some key action sequences for the film. A special set was erected for this purpose and the fight sequences were shot in the supervision of Ram Lakshman. After filming some important scenes on the film's cast there, the shooting shifted to the house set erected at Nanakramguda in Hyderabad. The unit then went to Malaysia on 2 June 2014 for the filming of some song sequences.

File:GAV house set.jpg

Special House set erected at Ramanaidu Studios where the film was significantly shot.

On 28 May 2014 a press note was released which said that the film's shoot would continue in Hyderabad from 5 June 2014 and the team would then proceed to London after filming some family scenes at the special house set constructed earlier in Ramanaidu Cine Village in Hyderabad. 30 scenes and 2 songs was shot in that house set in Hyderabad over a period of 45 days. Prakash Raj allotted bulk dates and the re shoot took 8 days only and not 20 days as earlier reported by the media. After completing the shoot of few scenes and a montage song, the first part of the film's Hyderabad schedule ended on 18 June 2014. The next part commenced on 21 June 2014. At the end of June 2014, another song was shot in a special set at the house set consisting of mirrors, in which the lead pair participated. After the completion of the schedule at Hyderabad, the makers planned to start a new schedule at Pollachi from 13 July 2014 for ten days before proceeding to London. But due to incessant rains at Pollachi, the shooting continued at Hyderabad. The shooting of the pre-climax sequences were completed on 18 July 2014 in Hyderabad. The unit then went to Pollachi to shoot some key sequences of the film. The schedule at Pollachi ended on 28 July 2014. Filming then moved to Karaikudi. After the completion of the schedule in Karaikudi, the shooting continued in Hyderabad from 4 August 2014. The film's shoot was temporarily halted on 19 August 2014 because of the state wide survey in Telangana.

One of the locations in Petra, Jordan where the song Ra Rakumara was shot on Charan and Kajal.

The next schedule began in London on 22 August 2014. A romantic song was shot on Charan and Kajal in early September 2014 at Jordan. After its completion, a song was shot on the lead pair in London and the production unit returned to Hyderabad on 14 September 2014. According to Hemel Hempstead Gazette, the production moved to Hemel Hempstead in between their schedule in London after filming ended at the Kingstone Press Championship One game at Oxford between Oxford RL and Hemel Stags. According to the Stags’ website, two teams that was composed mainly of actors took to the field at the Pennine Way Stadium to go through some scenes featuring Ram Charan although Hemel skipper BJ Swindells was on hand to add some authenticity to the action. Around 25% of the film was shot there and that this was the introduction of Charan in the film and hence the length of the sequence would be long in the final edit. Two songs sequences were shot simultaneously in Hyderabad. The principal photography ended on 22 September 2014 on completion of the songs shoot. However, it was announced later officially that the film would release without a song which would be shot on 2 and 3 October and that the song would later be added to the film.

Post-production

The film's dubbing activities commenced at Shabdalaya Studios in Hyderabad on 18 July 2014 by conducting a formal pooja ceremony and the process began with the supporting cast dubbing for their respective roles. Yuvan Shankar Raja started re-recording for the film's first half on 26 August 2014 at his studio in Chennai. Srikanth completed dubbing for his role on 10 September 2014. Chiranjeevi personally monitored the post-production works and promotion strategies. In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, Chiranjeevi mentioned that Charan also participated in the production and editing of the film's trailer and took extra care of the trailer's release and had asked him to check if everything was right. During the shoot of two songs at Hyderabad, the post production works were completed in tandem. The film's copy was sent to Central Board of Film Certification on 26 September 2014.

Ram Charan completed dubbing for his role on 24 September 2014. On 26 September 2014, the film was awarded an 'U/A' certificate instead of a clean 'U' by the censor board due to some portions and scenes in the film between the lead pairs. The censor board asked the makers to obtain a No Objection Certificate from Animal Welfare Board of India in order to retain scenes featuring animals and deleted few romantic scenes apart from muting few dialogues and display of warnings about Cigarette smoking and Alcohol consumption.

Themes and influences

Ram Charan said in an interview that the film is partially inspired from Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu (1991), though the film was also remarked to be inspired from Krishna Vamsi's previous works Ninne Pelladata (1986) and Murari (2001). Critics also compared the film to other films based on family drama like Brindavanam (2010) and Attarintiki Daredi (2013).

Addressing the same, Krishna Vamsi, in an interview with The Hindu, said "Tell me one new story that has been written since Ramayana and Mahabharata. Aatma Bandhuvu (1962), Devudu Chesina Manushulu (1973), Ramarajyamlo Bheemaraju (1983) and Muddula Manavaralu (1986) — which was a remake of the Tamil film Poove Poochooda Vaa (1985) — all had a similar structure of a protagonist returning to unite a family". He added that this film was made to act as a reminder to folk arts, music and spirituality of the Telugu people. He also drew inspiration from the husband and wife scenes shown in the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), as he wanted to narrate the same in Telugu films.

Music

Main article: Govindudu Andarivadele (soundtrack)

Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the music for the film, which marked his first collaboration with Krishna Vamsi; it was also the first time he scored for a film starring Srikanth and Ram Charan. The soundtrack, consisting of six songs, was released on 15 September 2014 in Hyderabad. The audio rights were purchased by Aditya Music. The soundtrack received positive reviews from critics.

Release

The film was released on 1 October 2014. Regarding the choice of the release date, the makers wanted to capitalise on the long holiday of Navratri followed by Bakrid. Charan attended the film's premiere show at the USA on 30 September 2014 along with the other cast and crew members. Gemini TV acquired the film's satellite rights for an amount of ₹90 million (US$1.1 million). Govindudu Andarivadele released in 750 screens in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, 100 in Karnataka, 50 in Tamil Nadu, 85 in Maharashtra and 60 in other parts of North India. The film released in 154 screens in USA and 50 screens in other International markets.

Distribution

In mid-July 2014, the distribution rights of the film in Ceded region were sold for approximately ₹81 million (US$970,000) including prints & publicity costs which is the highest amount for a Ram Charan's film till date. The Nellore region rights were sold to Hari Pictures for a record price of ₹20 million (US$240,000). Asian Movies acquired the film's overseas distribution rights and released it in collaboration with CineGalaxy, Inc. Aakash Movies distributed the film in UAE along with Ravi Teja's Power. Errabus distributed the film in United Kingdom. Bandla Ganesh himself distributed the film in the Nizam and Krishna regions.

Marketing

The first look posters and stills of the film were unveiled on 26 March 2014 and 27 March 2014. On 26 March 2014, 4 stills of Ram Charan from the film were released into the Internet officially wishing the actor on the occasion of his birthday on 27 March 2014. Those 4 stills received positive response. The next day, the posters featuring the logo and 3 of those 4 stills were released which were designed by Working Title. The posters received positive response and trended on various social networking sites. The film's teaser was intiially planned to be launched on 29 July 2014 at Ramanaidu Studios, but the release was postponed to 7 August 2014 and a promotional event was planned at Ramanaidu Studios in Nanakramguda for the teaser's launch.

The first teaser of 40 seconds was launched by hosting a press conference at the house set in Ramanaidu Studios where the film was shot. The teaser received very good response from the critics and the viewers. Reviewing the teaser, Nivedita Mishra of Hindustan Times wrote "Make no mistake, this one is no poor regional cousin of Bollywood. It's got color, good-looking stars with baddies to boot and loads of song and dance executed with a finesse that only Indian film industry can. The teaser of Ram Charan Teja's new film Govindudu Andarivadele is out and proves just that. From lush paddy fields to festive Indian family lives, this one has it all. Watch out for a shot of Ram Charan Teja riding a bullock cart! Quite novel!". The Times of India wrote "the teaser looked colorful and quite impressive reminding Krishna Vamsi's style of family and love entertainers". Subramaniam Harikumar of Bollywood Life wrote "The teaser sure has raised out hope. A lot of importance seems to be given to the rustic village backdrop with green fields and bullock carts and big ancestral bungalows. The cinematography is top notch with colours melting in your eyes in every frame. The teaser gives equal importance to family, tradition and romance, with all the important characters getting a decent exposure in the promo." The film's teaser received more than 300,000 views within 24 hours of its online release on YouTube. A set of stills were released in the second week of September 2014.

The film's official trailer was launched on 15 September 2014 at the Shilpakala Vedika along with the film's soundtrack. The trailer too received positive response. As a part of the film's promotion, Bandla Ganesh booked 860 spots in all Telugu news channels for airing the film's teaser and trailer till 2 October 2014. Out of them 70 spots each were booked in TV5, TV9, Sakshi while 50 spots each were booked in 14 other Telugu news channels. Post release, Ram Charan and Kajal participated in a special promotional program title Radhe Govinda hosted by Anasuya where they spoke about the film as a part of the film's promotion. As a marketing strategy, the makers planned to add the song Kokkokkodi to the film being screened in theaters to boost the collections.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
123telugu
Oneindia Entertainment
IndiaGlitz
The Times of India
Deccan Chronicle
Sify	Neat family entertainer
Behindwoods
IANS

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote "Filmmakers hope the family audience will troop in, connect with a thought, a dialogue, a character or a bond between the on-screen family members, have a good laugh, shed a few tears and get their money’s worth. An old-fashioned story told reasonably well is enough to put a smile on many faces. Krishnavamsi walks this predictable path in Govindudu Andarivadele" and added "This oft-repeated tale, has shades of several family dramas told earlier in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Yet, Krishna Vamsi makes it his own in the way he narrates it". Sandhya Rao of Sify wrote, "Overall Govindhudu Andhari Vadele is a neat family drama with the right dash of emotions. The first half is okay, but the second half surely does elevate the film to a different level. Watch GAV this festive season."

123telugu wrote "With Govindudu Andarivadele, it is once again proved that Krishna Vamsi is a master at making family entertainers. He brings out stunning human relationships, and sketches an entertaining family drama. Charan’s career best performance, Kajal’s glamour and superb performances from the supporting cast, make this film a must watch for the entire family" and rated the film 3.75 out of 5. Oneindia Entertainment wrote "Govindudu Andarivadele is a must watch family entertainer with emotion, action, family bonding and love. The movie has included everthing which should be in a family drama. GAV will be a grand treat this festival season" and rated the film 3.5 out of 5. IndiaGlitz wrote "A nice blend of sentiment and comedy apart, Govindudu Andarivadele packs the punch by presenting a different Ram Charan. Krishna Vamsi shows yet again that a director with a knack for varied themes can always spring up surprises by coming back in form - that too with a bang. His screenplay lives up to his own set standards, and goes beyond to unleash an actor Charan as against the star Charan" and rated the film 3.5 out of 5.

Karthik Pasupulate of The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 and said, "The film has some moments that stand out like Ram Charan's introduction on the rugby field, a couple of well picturised songs, a few smart one-liners and a couple of profound musings on the importance of family and overly color graded village imagery." before concluding that "the movie does offer [...] some feel good melodrama and production values that are more rich than original." Suresh Kaviyarani of the Deccan Chronicle rated the film 3 out of 5 and said, "You can watch it once for Charan’s performance and it is a clean family drama. This is a holiday time and it may work out for this film." Behindwoods.com wrote "This family entertainer does bring a glow in our faces and take us on a nostalgic trip of vacations we had with our joint families. Even though the proceedings of the film and the song placements hinder the progress at times, overall, the screenplay takes the film to the finish line. The story might lack an equally powerful antagonist, but there is nothing obvious about the movie that goes wrong" and rated the film 2.75 out of 5, summarizing the film as an age old story that still works. Haricharan Pudipeddi, writing for IANS, gave a mixed review saying, "Govindudu Andarivadele displays Telugu filmmakers' reluctance to dig deep within a genre. There's enough material readily available from our own lives for an engaging family tale, but rarely do we come across anything realistic." and gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5.

Box office

India

Govindudu Andarivadele took a record opening at the box office. The film grossed approximately ₹86.2 million (US$1.0 million) in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana together on the first day of its theatrical run, surpassed the opening day collections of Mahesh Babu's 1: Nenokkadine, which grossed ₹84 million (US$1.0 million) in the region. According to trade reports, the film amassed approximately ₹23 million (US$280,000) in Nizam while the Ceded region registered around ₹16 million (US$190,000). Collections in the East Godavari and Guntur regions were around ₹10 million (US$120,000) and ₹12.4 million (US$150,000) respectively. According to trade analyst Trinath, the film collected a total of ₹128.3 million (US$1.5 million) in India alone on its release day. The film collected a share of ₹231.8 million (US$2.8 million) in five days at the AP/Nizam region. The film managed to gross a total of ₹271.8 million (US$3.3 million) at AP/Nizam region by the end of its first week run thus ending it on a good note. It took the first week worldwide collections to approximately ₹350 million (US$4.2 million) share with which the film reached the third spot in the list of films with highest AP/Nizam share as well as in the list of films with top worldwide week one share surpassing Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu and Race Gurram.

The film's collections slowed down on its eighth day as it was a week day and collected ₹9.5 million (US$110,000) at Nizam box office alone taking its nine day worldwide collections to ₹363.8 million (US$4.4 million). On the next day, there was a drop of nearly 50% in the film's collections when compared to the release day because of loss of huge number of theaters due of new releases. On that day, it collected approximately ₹40 million (US$480,000) at the worldwide box office. It witnessed a decent growth on the second Saturday and collected ₹8 million (US$96,000) share at AP/Nizam Box office. The film grossed a total of ₹317.2 million (US$3.8 million) at AP/Nizam region in 12 days and with revenue from Karnataka, Rest of India and Overseas, the 12 day global total was ₹395 million (US$4.7 million) with which this film surpassed the final collections of Businessman, Pokiri, Arundhati, Aagadu and Iddarammayilatho. By that time, the film was declared the biggest success of 2014 at the Box office. The film crossed the ₹400 million (US$4.8 million) mark in two weeks with the film collecting ₹322.5 million (US$3.9 million) at AP/Nizam Box office and the rest from Karnataka, Rest of India and Overseas. Thus it surpassed the final collections of Julai and also marked Ram Charan's fifth film to enter ₹400 million (US$4.8 million) club.

The film's final collections in AP/Nizam region stood at ₹338.5 million (US$4.1 million), ₹36 million (US$430,000) in Karnataka and ₹10 million (US$120,000) from rest of India. It surpassed the final collections of Legend but failed to enter the list of all time top 10 Telugu films with highest worldwide share and stood in 13th place succeeding Eega. The film completed a 50 day run on 20 November 2014.

Overseas

The film had the biggest opening for a Ram Charan starrer in the US, where it grossed ₹10.7 million (US$130,000) on its first day, according to trade analyst Jeevi of Idlebrain.com. The film grossed ₹18.5 million (US$220,000) in 2 days in the US. The film grossed around ₹7.28 million (US$87,000) on its third day in the US including reported and non reported screens, making the film Ram Charan's biggest grosser there. By the end of the first weekend, the film grossed around ₹39.8 million (US$480,000) at US Box office including rentrak and non reporting screens. It earned around ₹36.2 million (US$430,000) rentrak only from 121 locations in 5 days including Tuesday premier shows in the US. The film collected an amount of ₹32 million (US$380,000) in its lifetime at Overseas Box office.

External links

• Govindudu Andarivadele at IMDb