| Magadheera | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | S. S. Rajamouli |
| Produced by | Allu Aravind |
| Screenplay by | S. S. Rajamouli M. Ratnam |
| Story by | Vijayendra Prasad |
| Starring | Ram Charan Tej Kajal Aggarwal Sri Hari Raghumundri Sarath Babu Dev Gill |
| Music by | M. M. Keeravani |
| Cinematography | K. K. Senthil Kumar |
| Editing by | Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao |
| Distributed by | Geetha Arts |
| Release date(s) | July 31, 2009 (Telugu) May 27, 2011 (Malayalam) May 27, 2011 (Tamil) |
| Running time | 166 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | 40 crore[1] |
| Box office | 80 crore[2][3] |
Magadheera (Telugu: మగధీర) is a 2009 Telugu film. The film is a historical drama love tale, directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by Allu Aravind. The film stars Ram Charan Tej and Kajal Aggarwal in the lead roles, while actors Sri Hari Raghumundri and Dev Gill play other prominent roles. The film features an original soundtrack by M. M. Keeravani, art direction by R. Ravindar, cinematography by K. K. Senthil Kumar and editing by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao. It released on 31 July 2009 to critical and commercial acclaim, eventually proceeding to become the highest grossing Telugu film after its theatrical run.[4]
The film won, two Silver Lotus National Film Award's in the Choreography and Special Effects category.[5] The film was dubbed and released in Malayalam as Dheera - The Warrior[6] and in Tamil as Maveeran,[7] on 27 May 2011.[8]
Contents |
The story is told in a series of flashbacks, starting with the present time, 2009. Harsha (Ramcharan) is a stunt lover and ekes out his living by taking part in bike races and stunts. He happens to meet Indu and whenever he touches her, he is reminded of something that happened in the past. He falls in love with her and she reciprocates the love. Indu's father fights a legal battle for Udaygadh kingdom as it was his ancestral property. His brother-in-law enjoys the property illegally. The latter's son Raghuveer (Dev Gill) is spellbound by Indu's beauty and goes to their home and promises to return the entire property with the view of marrying Indu. Raghuveer's guru Ghora (Rao Ramesh) tells him that he just cannot win Indu as long as Harsha is alive. On learning that Indu's father accepted her love towards Harsha, Raghuveer kills the father and implicates Harsha in the murder. Later, Raghuveer takes Indu away to Udaygadh. Though Harsha tries to explain the truth to Indu, she doesn't believe him. In the process, Harsha drops from the helicopter and falls in a pond only to be saved by Solomon (Sri Hari Raghumundri). Now it was Harsha's turn to prove his innocence and remind Indu of their reincarnation.
The story dates then goes back four centuries, to be precise, to 1609 AD. There is a kingdom called Udaygadh in Rajasthan ruled by a King (Saratbabu). Mitravinda (Kajal Agarwal) is his only daughter. Ranadev Bhilla (Dev Gill) is her cousin. Kala Bhairava (Ram Charan Tej) is a warrior who trains the army of the kingdom. His family has lived under the curse that any warrior will not live for more than 30 years, and will not accept death until he has killed a hundred enemies in the battle. He is also the personal caretaker of the royal family.
Ranadev eyes Mitravinda and wants to get the kingdom by marrying her. But the princess loses her heart to Bhairava. In order to win her hand, both Ranadev and Bhairava take part in a contest and Bhairava emerges the winner. The king, who knows about the curse, requests Kala Bhairava to reject the hand of princess as he does not want his daughter to live the life of a widow. Ranadev turns traitor and joins hands with Sher Khan (Sri Hari Raghumundri). He invades the kingdom and kills the king. Later, Ranadev and Sherkhan reach the place where Bhairava and Mitravinda are offering prayers to Lord Siva. Sher Khan challenges Bhairava to save the princess from his men. Bhairava courageously attacks and kills 100 soldiers. Sher Khan accepts defeat. Bhairava kills Ranadev but Ranadev stabs Mitravinda. During her last moments, Mitravinda requests Bhairava to proclaim his love for her. They both fall off the cliff and the last words between them remain unsaid. The unproclaimed love of Kala Bhairava and Mithravinda and the unfulfilled wishes of Ranadev have made them take another birth four centuries later. The final showdown is more of a battle between true love and lust, where love emerges the winner.
90% of the film was shot at Gujarat, Rajasthan, Rann of Kutch, and Badami in Karnataka.[9] Other scenes were filmed at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. The first song of the film, "Bangaru Kodi Petta", was filmed at the Chennai Port. The song "Nakosam Nuvvu" was shot in Switzerland. "Panchadara Bomma Bomma" was shot at Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad.
Geetha Arts released the original Telugu version on 31 July 2009 and the Malayalam version, titled Dheera - the Warrior, on 27 May 2011. The Tamil version was released by Geetha Arts as Maaveeran. The film completed 730 days at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh breaking the 500-day record set by Pokiri. To signify the achievement, the producers organized celebrations at Kurnool.[10]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Rediff | [11] |
| Times of India | [12] |
The film opened to generally positive reviews. The Times Of India gave a 3/5 rating and said "Ram Charan Tej showcases his horse-riding and dancing skills to perfection, while Kaajal known for simple lover girl roles transforms into a determined princess and truly impresses. Actor Dev Gil is adequate as the ruthless villain. Also kudos for the way he has visualised and presented the film".[13] Radhika Rajamani from Rediff rated it 3/5 and explained that "Ram Charan seems to be a chip of the old block when it comes to dancing. Have a look at it for its technical brilliance".[14] NDTV who praised the lead performances and technical aspects of the film says "Ramcharan has excelled in all the departments and perfectly matched expectations. His macho image suited the warrior s character well. His ability to pen the screenplay could be seen in every frame and every scene of the film".[15]
Sify Movies noted "Cinematography plays a vital role with capturing the historic ambience of castles, romantic sojourns into scintillating locales and also into the risky stunts."[16] According to Suresh Krishnamoorthy from The Hindu stated "Rajamouli, who has delivered a half-a-dozen hits and is touted as one of the most successful directors of the decade in Telugu cinema, excels in story-telling. The vast expanse of the Thar desert in Rajasthan has been beautifully-showcased but what one does not understand is the colour on the screen. The sand is almost milky-bluish white!".[17] Behindwoods gave 2.5/5 and wrote "There is great scope for action, heroics, romance and sentiments in such a plot and the director has used it extremely well. Overall, Magadheera is a film that is built on a premise which is neither unique nor holds too many surprises."[18]
Producer Allu Aravind released the film on July 31 2009 with 500 prints in 1250 screens across the globe, the biggest ever release for a Telugu film,[19][20] which included more than 1000 screens in Andhra Pradesh.[21] The film opened up with 25 prints overseas.[22] At the box office, the film earned a substantial record of 20 crore in the first week of its release.[21] In the second week, the movie's collections crossed 30 Crore in Andhra Pradesh[23] and after five weeks, it collected 47 Crore.[24] According to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, “Magadheera” was released in around 40 theatres.[25] The film has had an unprecedented opening in Karnataka and has grossed more than 5 crore.[26] The final worldwide gross of the film was estimated to be 104 crore without audio and satellite rights,[27],[28],[29].In the USA, it earned around 4.5 crore.[30] The producers spent 1.5 crore in making the Tamil dubbed version which earned over 8 crores.[31]
| Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57th National Film Awards[32] | Best Choreography | K. Siva Shankar | Won |
| Best Special Effects | R. Kamal Kannan | Won | |
| Best Popular Feature Film | Allu Aravind | Won | |
| Best Director | S. S. Rajamouli | Won | |
| Best Editor | Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao | Won | |
| Best Art Director | Ravinder | Won | |
| Best Choreographer | Shiva Shankar | Won | |
| Best Audiographer | Radhakrishna | Won | |
| Best Costume Designer | Rama Rajamouli | Won | |
| Best Special Effects | Kamal Kannan | Won | |
| Special Jury Award | Ram Charan Tej | Won | |
| 57th Filmfare Awards South | Best Film | Allu Aravind | Won |
| Best Director | S. S. Rajamouli | Won | |
| Best Actor | Ram Charan Tej | Won | |
| Best Actress | Kajal Aggarwal | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Srihari | Nominated | |
| Best Music Director | M. M. Keeravani | Won | |
| Best Male Playback | Anuj Gurwara (Panchadara Bomma) |
Won | |
| Best Female Playback | Nikita Nigam (Dheera Dheera) |
Nominated | |
| Best Lyricist | Chandrabose (Panchadara Bomma) |
Nominated | |
| Special Award | |||
| Best Cinematographer | K.K. Senthil Kumar | ||
| Magadheera | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album | |
| Released | 31 June 2009 |
| Genre | Film soundtrack |
| Label | Aditya Music Sony Music (Maaveeran) Manorama Music (Dheera) |
| Producer | Allu Aravind |
The soundtrack of the film was released worldwide on 28 June 2009. The music was composed by M. M. Keeravani. Lyrics were provided by Bhuvanachandra, Chandrabose and M. M. Keeravani.[33] The music was launched on 28 June 2009 at Shilpakala Vedika by Ram Charan's father, film actor Chiranjeevi.[34]
| Song | Singer(s) | Duration | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Bangaru Kodipetta" | Ranjith, Shivani | 6:02 | Bhuvanachandra |
| "Dheera Dheera Dheera" | Nikita Nigam, M.M. Keeravani | 4:48 | Chandrabose |
| "Panchadara Bomma" | Anuj Gurwara, Reeta | 4:45 | |
| "Jorsey" | Daler Mehndi, Geeta Madhuri | 4:37 | |
| "Naakosam Nuvvu" | Deepu, Geeta Madhuri | 3:52 | M. M. Keeravani |
| "Rolling Titles Music" | Jassie Gift | 2:58 |
<ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TOI1; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text<ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TOI2; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text<ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named BS; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gamyam |
Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) 2009 |
Succeeded by Vedam |
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