Rajanna
| Rajanna | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | V. Vijayendra Prasad |
| Written by | G. Ajay Kumar (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | V. Vijayendra Prasad |
| Story by | V. Vijayendra Prasad |
| Produced by | Nagarjuna Akkineni |
| Starring | Nagarjuna Akkineni Sneha Baby Annie |
| Narrated by | Akkineni Nageswara Rao |
| Cinematography | Shyam K. Naidu Anil Bandhari Kandru Poorna |
| Edited by | Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao |
| Music by | M.M. Keeravani |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 129 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
Rajanna is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language period action film written and directed by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film is produced by Nagarjuna, and starred him, Sneha and child artist Baby Annie. The film is partially inspired by Razakar movement, and freedom fighter Suddala Hanmanthu.[2] Rajanna was released to positive reviews and critical acclaim, with soundtrack composed by M. M. Keeravani.[3] The film recorded as Above Average at the box office.[4] The film has won six state Nandi Awards, including the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film – Silver.[5]
Plot
The film is set in the Nelakondapalli village of Khammam district in Nizam Princely State of Hyderabad of the late 1940s. The feudal society is under the vice-like grip of an aristocratic family and its head, Dorasani (Shwetha Menon). Mallamma (Baby Annie) is the darling of the village who is living in perpetual humiliation. They seek solace in her songs. Brought up by Sambayya, an old man, she develops a mysterious attachment to a basil tree which is regarded as holy by the entire village.
She happens to sing a song in Dorasani's house, which enrages her. Since nobody can have a skill which her daughter has not been able to acquire, she decrees that Mallamma cannot sing if she wants to be alive. However, singing is in her very marrow. After all, she is the daughter of Rajanna, who had inspired hundreds of villagers to revolt against the evil lords through his revolutionary songs.
When Dorasani finds Mallamma singing for another time, she decides to hound her and kill. The grandpa wants to take her away, but Mallamma refuses to oblige. It is then when she tells him that she cannot abandon the village where Rajanna meets her every day. Dorasani, who overhears Sambayya telling her that she is Rajanna's progeny, kills him. A heroine that she is, Mallamma stages an escape with the help of the music teacher Kulkarni (Nassar), who tells her that the only way to get rid of Dorsani is to meet Jawaharlal Nehru at Delhi. She sets off to do the same. After overcoming many challenges, she reaches, is taken care of by a young lady, and sets off to meet Nehru with a rose. But, the crowd rushes past her and crushes the rose. She then writes to Kulkarni and tells him that she met a musician who will introduce Mallamma to Nehru in a singing contest on his birthday. Unfortunately, Dorasani catches hold of the letter, captures Mallamma, and locks her in a shed with her music teacher, who tells her the story of Rajanna as follows:
After killing over 100 British officers, Rajanna (Akkineni Nagarjuna) is a proud son of a free India. Much to his dismay, he finds the villagers of Nelakondavalli still in servitude and radicalizes them to massacre the oppressors. He slices off the hand of a Nawab and saves a woman from the assault. When the Nawab comes back for revenge, he is killed by the very same woman whom he tried to assault after a revolutionary song by Rajanna. The revolution spreads to hundreds of villages and the nawabs are shaken. Unable to repress the warfare on their own, the local lords seek the help of the evil Razakars. Ever at the forefront to save the village, Rajanna leads a guerrilla warfare with his four comrades (a Muslim, a Tamil Brahmin, a Punjabi and a Maharashtrian) and achieves martyrdom after fighting hundreds of Razakar desperadoes to the finish. Rajanna lives on in the memories of the people of Nelakondapalli.
After knowing the story, Mallamma escapes the shed and sets off to meet Nehru. But the singing contest is over. She then sings her heart out. The song attracts Nehru and he comes to Mallamma. He drives away Dorsani and develops the town.
The town is shown with a statue of Rajanna.
Cast
- Nagarjuna Akkineni as Rajanna
- Sneha as Lachamma
- Baby Annie as Mallamma
- Shwetha Menon as Dorasani
- Nassar as Kulkarni, music teacher
- Supreeth as Jagjit
- Mukesh Rishi
- Vijayakumar
- Ajay
- Pradeep Rawat
- Ravi Kale
- Hema
- Telangana Shakuntala
- Sravan
- Sanjeevi
- Gandhi
- Dinakar Gavand
- Alapathi Lakshmi
- Vaishali
- Aruna Devi
- Master Athulith
Soundtrack
| Rajanna | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | 2011 | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 36:38 | |||
| Label | Vel Records | |||
| Producer | M. M. Keeravani | |||
| M. M. Keeravani chronology | ||||
| ||||
The music was composed by M. M. Keeravani. Music was released on Vel Records Music Company. The audio was well received and was opened to positive reviews by critics.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gjijigadu" | K. Sivadatta | Sanjeev Chimmalgi, Kaala Bhairava | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Raa Ree Ro Rela" | Ananta Sriram | L. V. Revanth, K. Sahiti, Sravana Bhargavi, Madhumitha, Amritha Varshini, B. Ramya | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Karakuraathi Gundello" | K. Sivadatta | M. M. Keeravani, Kailash Kher | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Lachchuvamma Lachchuvamma" | Suddala Ashok Teja | Rahul Nambiar, Deepu, Sravana Bhargavi | 4:57 |
| 5. | "Chittiguvva" | Ananta Sriram | Sanjeev Chimmalgi, Venu, Sivani, B. Ramya | 3:17 |
| 6. | "Okka Kshanam" | Ananta Sriram | Rahul Nambiar, Deepu, L. V. Revanth, M. K. Balaji, Prithvi Chandra | 1:52 |
| 7. | "Goodu Chediri Koyila" | Siva Shakthi Datta | Shweta Pandit | 3:39 |
| 8. | "Kaligajje" | Mettapalli Surendar | Mettapalli Surendar, Chaitra | 1:35 |
| 9. | "Vey Vey" | Suddala Ashok Teja | M. M. Keeravani, L. V. Revanth | 3:17 |
| 10. | "Dorasani Korada" | Mettapalli Surendar | Amrutha Varshini | 1:11 |
| 11. | "Melukove Chittitalli" | Chaitanya Prasad | Sudharsini | 2:12 |
| 12. | "Amma Avanee" | Siva Shakthi Datta | Malavika | 4:38 |
| Total length: | 36:38 | |||
Casting
It was announced in 2010 that Akkineni Nagarjuna would do a film titled 'Rajanna' under Vijayendra Prasad's direction.[6] S. S. Rajamouli choreographed the action sequences of the film.[7] Sneha was roped in to play the female lead after their previous hit Sri Ramadasu.[8][9]
Malayalam actress Shwetha Menon played a negative role.[10] Baby Annie was cast in the role of an orphaned girl.[11]
Production
A massive village set and Bungalow set were erected near Jubilee Hills of Hyderabad for the film. It accidentally caught fire on 5 April 2011 causing a loss of ₹7 million.[12] Filming resumed after 2 weeks.
The film was set to be released on 23 December 2011 but the date was moved ahead to 21 December due to a good response to the film's music.
Critical acclaim
The reviews from the press were very positive. Rediff hailed the film as brilliant[7] and fullhyd.com said "Mallamma's story is brilliantly written", and praised the performances as well, particularly that of Baby Annie. StudentLive gave 4/5 saying, "Rajanna is a movie made a genuine effort. It’s not a movie stuffed with brainless action. This is something rare from the stables of Tollywood which more often than not dishes movies that require you to leave your brain behind when you watch the movie. Rajanna is sure to touch your hearts."[13] The film was later dubbed and released in Tamil as Raja Singh during 2015.[14]
Awards
- Nandi Award for Best Feature Film – silver
- Nandi Award for Best Child Actress – Baby Annie
- Nandi Special Jury Award – Nagarjuna Akkineni
- Nandi Award for Best Character Actor – Gandhi
- Nandi Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Malavika
- Nandi Award for Best Art Director – S. Ravinder
- Other Awards
- South Indian International Movie Awards – Special Appreciation (Actor) – Nagarjuna Akkineni[15]
- CineMAA Awards – Special Jury Award (Actor) – Nagarjuna Akkineni[16]
References
- ^ "Rajanna`s release advanced by a day". Sify. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Neeraja, Murthy (21 December 2011). "Rajanna: Songs of revolution". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ^ "Rajanna based on Razakaras movement". Rediff.com. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
- ^ Prakash (26 December 2011). "Nagarjuna's Rajanna gets good opening at Box Office". Oneindia.in. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Suresh, Kavirayani (13 October 2012). "2011 Nandi Awards winners list". Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ "Nagarjuna | Rajanna | Vijayendra Prasad | Rajamouli | Annapurna Studios". CineGoer.com. 1 January 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ a b "Review: Rajanna is brilliant – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ "Sneha joins Nagarjuna in Rajanna". Sify.com. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ Andhravilas.net (24 August 2010). "Sneha to romance Nagarjuna once again? – Andhravilas.com -Telugu Cinema, Telugu Movies, India News & World News, Bollywood, Songs:". Andhravilas.com. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ "Shwetha Menon in Negative role in Rajanna". Supergoodmovies.com. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- ^ Sify.com (24 August 2011). "Rajanna child artist". Sify.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ^ indiaglitz.com (5 April 2011). "Rajanna Set Fire". indiaglitz.com. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ Madhav, Sriram. "Rajanna Review: A brilliant epic". Movie Review. StudentLive.
- ^ http://filminfo.ticketgreen.com/FilmInfo.aspx
- ^ SIIMA: Nagarjuna and others for Telugu nominations – IBNLive. Ibnlive.in.com (5 June 2012). Retrieved on 2015-11-28.
- ^ Kamal Haasan graces CineMAA awards 2012 – Bollywood News & Gossip, Movie Reviews, Trailers & Videos at. Bollywoodlife.com (18 June 2012). Retrieved on 2015-11-28.