Kshanam
| Kshanam | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ravikanth Perepu |
| Produced by | PVP cinema |
| Screenplay by |
Adivi Sesh Ravikanth Perepu Abburi Ravi (Dialogues) |
| Story by | Adivi Sesh |
| Starring |
Adivi Sesh Adah Sharma Anasuya Bharadwaj Vennela Kishore Satyam Rajesh Satyadev Kancharana |
| Music by | Sricharan Pakala |
| Cinematography | Shaneil Deo |
| Edited by |
Arjun Shastri Ravikanth Perepu |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹1.1 crore (US$170,000) |
| Box office | ₹5 crore (US$780,000)(17 days) |
Kshanam (English: Moment ) is a 2016 Indian Telugu-language mystery thriller film released worldwide on 26 February 2016. It was directed by Ravikanth Perepu, with Adivi Sesh and Adah Sharma in lead roles and Anasuya Bharadwaj, Vennela Kishore, Satyam Rajesh, Satyadev Kancharana appearing in supporting roles. Music is by Sricharan Pakala and cinematography by Shaneil Deo. The film opened to critical acclaim & commercial success.The film is being remade in Tamil as Sathya (2017) with Sibiraj.
Plot
Rishi, a San Fransisco-based investment banker gets a voice call from Shweta, his ex-lover. They studied medicine in the same college and wanted to marry, but her father arranged an alliance with an entrepreneur named Karthik. Rishi leaves for India with the pretense of attending a marriage in their relatives' household. He takes a car for hire from Babu Khan, a travels agent. Rishi also takes a SIM card on his sister's address and stays at Hotel Marriott.
Rishi meets Shweta at a restaurant and learns that her five-year old daughter Ria is missing. Things went worse when none except Shweta, including Karthik, believe that Ria actually exists. He also learns about Karthik's brother Bobby, a drug addict, who regularly visits her home. Rishi begins an informal investigation which fails many a times, also inviting the ire of two afro-american gangsters in the city. Babu Khan, who helps them in transporting drugs, saves Rishi on humanitarian grounds. Posing as Vasanth Khanna, a police officer, Rishi meets Karthik and learns that the couple was childless. Karthik recalls Shweta being attacked by two masked men before a school to steal her car. He added that Shweta went into coma and post recovery started telling that she had a five-year old daughter named Ria.
Perplexed, Rishi later watches a closed-circuit television video footage of two masked men attacking Shweta on the day when Ria went missing. But, Ria is seen nowhere in the footage which makes Rishi doubt Shweta's mental condition. He confronts Shweta who refuses to acknowledge that Ria is imaginary. Rishi sees height markings of a child on a wall and before he could react, Shweta commits suicide. ACP Jaya and inspector Ravi Chowdary investigate the suicide case. Khanna is killed in Marriott and Khan confesses to Rishi that he saw Bobby kidnapping Ria. They meet Jaya and Chowdary and get Bobby arrested. In custody, Bobby is killed by Jaya as an act of self defense.
The same night, Khanna's murderers attack Khan and Rishi; Khan is killed in the process of shooting the murderers to death. Rishi watches a MMS in the murderers' phone sent by Jaya instructing to kill him. Rishi meets Jaya at her farmhouse where Ria is hidden. Jaya reveals that Karthik wanted to kill Ria and arranged the attack, after which she found Ria in Bobby's custody. Karthik wanted Shweta to suffer; he convinced all his friends and family to pretend Ria never existed, saying that Shweta cannot bear the shock of her daughter's death.
Before Jaya could kill Rishi, Chowdary shoots her after listening to the conversation on his way to the farmhouse with his subordinates. Karthik is arrested and reveals that Ria was not his daughter, as a medical report confirmed him sterile in the past. Rishi recollects that on their last night together in India before separation, he and Shweta made love. As Rishi realises that Ria is his biological child and approaches her, he sees a reflection of Shweta smiling at him.
Cast
- Adivi Sesh as Rishi
- Adah Sharma as Swetha
- Anasuya Bharadwaj as ACP Jaya Bharadwaj
- Satyadev Kancharana as Karthik
- Amit Sachdev as Commissioner Lucknow
- Vennela Kishore as Babu Khan
- Satyam Rajesh as Ravi Chowdary
- Ravi Varma as Bobby
- Uma Akkineni
Production
The film's concept was inspired by a small incident in actor and filmmaker Adivi Sesh's life when he felt creepy after dropping a four-year-old girl and her friends at a school in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.[1] Concerned about the girl's safety, Sesh wanted to make a thriller film with the missing of a three-year-old being the backdrop.[2] Prasad V Potluri of PVP Cinema agreed to bankroll the film and Sesh's friend Ravikanth Perepu was chosen to direct the film; it marked the latter's debut in Telugu cinema.[3] Sesh and Perepu worked on the screenplay for ten months. Pre-production phase began three months after the scripting work commenced. Sesh and Perepu chose to work with a low budget to make the project a feasible one, considering the genre's appeal.[3] The film's crew consisted of 20 members; two of Perepu's twelfth grade friends were the associate directors.[3]
While writing the script, Sesh and Perepu discussed possibilities for every situation and discarded the first one as it would be a predictable one.[3] Shaneil Deo was the film's director of photography. Sricharan Pakala composed the film's soundtrack and score. Perepu edited the film with Arjun Shastri;[4] Sesh and the associate directors did involve in the process.[3] Sesh played Rishi, an investment banker who searches for his ex-girlfriend's missing child on her request.[1][2] He stated that Rishi was modelled on his real self in terms of sensibilities except for the fact that the character is an alcoholic.[5]
Release and Reception
Kshanam movie's theatrical trailer is released on February 10, 2016 which increased expectations and curiosity among audience. Kshanam was released on 26 February 2016 across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and received critical acclaim and received positive response from the first show.[6][7] It was rated 3.25 by Idlebrain.com[8] and The Hindu gave it 4 stars.[9]
Box office
In 10 days since its release, Kshanam grossed about ₹ 4.8 crores at the Telugu (AP and Telangana) Box office.[10] It collected $65,679 (₹ 44.83 lakh) from 27 screens at the US box office in the first weekend.[11] In its second weekend, it collected $28,889 from 20 screens at the US box office and its 10-day total US collection stands at $111,037 (₹ 74.68 lakh).[12]
References
- 1 2 "‘Kshanam’ most rewarding and stressful film: Adivi Sesh". The Indian Express. Indo-Asian News Service. 22 February 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- 1 2 Jonnalagedda, Pranita (25 February 2016). "Kshanam is my heart and soul on celluloid: Adivi Sesh". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (11 March 2016). "The man behind ‘Kshanam’". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ Kshanam (motion picture) (in Telugu). India: PVP Cinema. 2016. From 01:57:15 to 01:58:21.
- ↑ Palaparthi, Srividya (3 March 2016). "I’m kicked about the kudos Kshanam got: Adivi Sesh". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ↑ I am glad Kshanam broke all Tollywood stereotypes: Adah Sharma
- ↑ I’m kicked about the kudos Kshanam got: Adivi Sesh
- ↑ "Kshanam review by jeevi — Telugu cinema review — Adivi Sesh, Adah Sharma & Anasuya Bharadwaj".
- ↑ Sangeetha Devi Dundoo. "Kshanam review: A well made thriller". The Hindu.
- ↑ ‘Kshanam’ strikes gold at box office
- ↑ Kshanam US box office collection
- ↑ US box office collection: 'Kshanam' beats 'Guntur Talkies', 'Shourya', 'KVPG' this weekend