Rajanna

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Rajanna
File:Rajanna poster.JPG
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. V. Vijayendra Prasad
Produced byNagarjuna Akkineni
Written byV. Vijayendra Prasad
G. Ajay Kumar (dialogue)
StarringNagarjuna Akkineni
Sneha
Baby Annie
Narrated byAkkineni Nageswara Rao
Music byM.M. Keeravani
CinematographyShyam K. Naidu
Anil Bandhari
Kandru Poorna
Edited byKotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Production
company
Release date
  • 22 December 2011 (2011-12-22)
[1]
Running time
129 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu

Rajanna is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language period action film written and directed by K. 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 Second Best Feature Film - Silver.[5]

Plot[edit]

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, which 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 her. 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 (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 of saving the village, Rajanna leads a guerrilla warfare with his four comrades (a Muslim, a Tamilian, 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[edit]

Soundtrack[edit]

Rajanna
Film score by
M. M. Keeravani
Released2011
GenreSoundtrack
Length36:38
LabelVel Records Sangeet Music
ProducerM. M. Keeravani
M. M. Keeravani chronology
Badrinath
(2011) 		Rajanna
(2011) 		Dammu
(2012)

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.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Gjijigadu"K. SivadattaSanjeev Chimmalgi, Kaala Bhairava2:53
2."Raa Ree Ro Rela"Ananta SriramL. V. Revanth, K. Sahiti, Sravana Bhargavi, Madhumitha, Amritha Varshini, B. Ramya3:34
3."Karakuraathi Gundello"K. SivadattaM. M. Keeravani, Kailash Kher3:32
4."Lachchuvamma Lachchuvamma"Suddala Ashok TejaRahul Nambiar, Deepu, Sravana Bhargavi4:57
5."Chittiguvva"Ananta SriramSanjeev Chimmalgi, Venu, Sivani, B. Ramya3:17
6."Okka Kshanam"Ananta SriramRahul Nambiar, Deepu, L. V. Revanth, M. K. Balaji, Prithvi Chandra1:52
7."Goodu Chediri Koyila"Siva Shakthi DattaShweta Pandit3:39
8."Kaligajje"Mettapalli SurendarMettapalli Surendar, Chaitra1:35
9."Vey Vey"Suddala Ashok TejaM. M. Keeravani, L. V. Revanth3:17
10."Dorasani Korada"Mettapalli SurendarAmrutha Varshini1:11
11."Melukove Chittitalli"Chaitanya PrasadSudharsini2:12
12."Amma Avanee"Siva Shakthi DattaMalavika4:38
Total length:36:38

Casting[edit]

It was announced in 2010 that 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 hired 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[edit]

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[edit]

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]

Accolades[edit]

Award[lower-alpha 1] Date of ceremony[lower-alpha 2] Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
CineMAA Awards 17 June 2012 Jury Best Actor – Male Nagarjuna Won [15]
[16]
Special Appreciation Award Baby Annie Won
Filmfare Awards South 7 July 2012 Best Film – Telugu Rajanna – Nagarjuna Nominated [17]
[18]
Best Actor – Telugu Nagarjuna Nominated
Best Supporting Actress – Telugu Baby Annie Won
Best Music Director – Telugu M. M. Keeravani Nominated
Best Lyricist – Telugu Suddala Ashok Teja – ("Lachuvamma Lachuvamma") Nominated
Nandi Awards 13 October 2012 Second Best Feature Film - Silver Rajanna – Nagarjuna Won [19]
Best Character Actor Sammeta Gandhi Won
Best Child Actress Baby Annie Won
Best Art Director S. Ravinder Won
Best Female Playback Singer Malavika – ("Amma Avani Nelathalli Ani") Won
Special Jury Award Nagarjuna Won
Santosham Film Awards 12 August 2012 Best Child Artist Baby Annie Won [20]
South Indian International Movie Awards 21–22 June 2012 Best Actor – Telugu Nagarjuna Nominated [21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
Special Appreciation – Actor Won
Best Supporting Actor – Telugu Baby Annie Nominated
Special Appreciation Won
Best Music Director – Telugu M. M. Keeravani Nominated
Best Lyricist – Telugu K. Sivadatta – ("Gijigadu") Nominated
Best Female Playback Singer – Telugu Malavika – ("Amma Avani Nelathalli Ani") Nominated
TSR–TV9 National Film Awards 2011 20 April 2013 Special Jury Award – Best Film Rajanna – Nagarjuna Won [26]
Special Jury Award – Best Actress Sneha Won
Special Jury Award – Best Child Actress Baby Annie Won

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
  2. ↑ Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Rajanna's release advanced by a day". Sify. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Neeraja, Murthy (21 December 2011). "Rajanna: Songs of revolution". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Rajanna based on Razakaras movement". Rediff.com. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Prakash (26 December 2011). "Nagarjuna's Rajanna gets good opening at Box Office". Oneindia.in. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "Nagarjuna | Rajanna | Vijayendra Prasad | Rajamouli | Annapurna Studios". CineGoer.com. 1 January 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Review: Rajanna is brilliant – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Sneha joins Nagarjuna in Rajanna". Sify.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ "Shwetha Menon in Negative role in Rajanna". Supergoodmovies.com. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  11. ↑ Sify.com (24 August 2011). "Rajanna child artist". Sify.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  12. ↑ indiaglitz.com (5 April 2011). "Rajanna Set Fire". indiaglitz.com. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  13. ↑ Madhav, Sriram. "Rajanna Review: A brilliant epic". Movie Review. StudentLive.
  14. ↑ http://filminfo.ticketgreen.com/FilmInfo.aspx
  15. ↑ "Kamal Haasan graces CineMAA awards 2012". The Times of India. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "CineMaa Awards". Sify. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  17. ↑ "59th Idea Filmfare Awards South 2012". Filmfare Awards South. MAA TV.
  18. ↑ "59th Idea Filmfare Awards South (Winners list)". Filmfare. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "2011 Nandi Awards winners list". The Times of India. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  20. ↑ "సౌత్ ఇండియా సంతోషం ఫిలిం అవార్డ్స్" [South India Santosham Film Awards]. Idlebrain.com (in తెలుగు). 13 August 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  21. ↑ "SIIMA nominations for Telugu films". Idlebrain.com. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "All the favourites and more in SIIMA list". IndiaGlitz. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "Asin, Dhanush, Santhanam win big at SIIMA Awards". Sify. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  24. ↑ "SIIMA Awards: 2011 Winners". South Indian International Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  25. ↑ Manigandan, K. R. (1 July 2012). "The South Shines". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  26. ↑ "TSR-TV9 film awards for 2011-12 announced". Business Standard India. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2021.

External links[edit]

Template:Nagarjuna (actor)

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