''Alluda Majaka!'' is a 1995
Telugu-language
action comedy film directed by
E. V. V. Satyanarayana and produced by
K. Devi Varaprasad under the Devi Films banner. The film stars
Chiranjeevi,
Ramya Krishna
Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Telugu and Tamil films, along with appearances in Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films.
Early life
Ramya was born ...
, and
Rambha, with supporting roles played by
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
,
Kota Srinivasa Rao
Kota Srinivasa Rao (born 10 July 1942) is an Indian character actor known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He has also starred in a few films in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hindi cinema, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada and Ma ...
, and
Ooha. Written by
Posani Krishna Murali, the film features music composed by
Koti, including the popular chartbuster "Attho Athamma Kuthuro."
The film marked the only collaboration between Chiranjeevi and Satyanarayana. Upon release, it faced controversy over some scenes, leading to protests, and intervention by the
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory Motion picture content rating system, film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of ...
(CBFC).
Despite the controversies, ''Alluda Majaka'' emerged as a commercial success, becoming the second-highest-grossing Telugu film of 1995 and running for 100 days in 27 centres.
The film was later remade in
Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
as ''Kiladi'' (2000).
Plot
Sitaram (
Chiranjeevi) is the son of the benevolent patriarch of his village who has been the Panchayat President for the past thirty years. Sitaram, his family and the village community are victimized by Vasundhara (
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
) and Peddayya (
Kota Srinivasa Rao
Kota Srinivasa Rao (born 10 July 1942) is an Indian character actor known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He has also starred in a few films in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hindi cinema, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada and Ma ...
). Peddayya's
NRI son, Siva (Chinna) comes to the village from the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
to see Pappi (
Ramya Krishna
Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Telugu and Tamil films, along with appearances in Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films.
Early life
Ramya was born ...
), the eldest daughter of Vasundhara, and a girl of Peddayya's choice for him to marry, but he decides instead to marry Sitaram's sister, Malleswari (
Ooha), a traditional Telugu girl. Peddayya agrees to the marriage after he realises that the ancestral land which Sitaram's father had distributed to the coolies contains priceless granite deposits. He demands the land as dowry days before the proposed marriage. Sitaram's father refuses to take it back from the coolies. Peddayya cancels the marriage. Vasundhara is angered by Siva's choice but dupes the coolies, steals their land and makes a deal with Peddayya. Siva's marriage is fixed with Pappi without his knowledge. Meanwhile, it becomes public knowledge that Malleswari is pregnant (with Siva's child). Sitaram's father kills himself when he realises that the coolies have lost their land. Sitaram and Malleswari move to the city, awaiting Siva's return.
Upon Siva's return, Malleswari is falsely arrested for prostitution before his eyes. Disgusted, Siva rejects her. Sitaram is framed (by Peddayya) in the murder of a police officer and is subsequently sentenced to death. He escapes from custody and forcibly marries Pappi who is all set to marry Siva. With the help of a lawyer, Sivarama Krishna (
Giri Babu), the estranged husband of Vasundhara, Sitaram comes out of prison on parole. He is then transformed by his father-in-law into Mr. Toyota, a rich NRI on the lookout for an Indian bride, to teach Vasundhara a lesson and to resolve the multiple crises of the film. After another arrest and dramatic escape from prison, Sitaram defeats the villains and restores order. Finally, Sivarama Krishna and Vasundhara are reunited, Malleswari marries Siva and Sitaram finds himself in a bedroom with Puppy and her younger sister Bobby (
Rambha).
Cast
Production
Development
Following the stupendous success of ''
Gharana Mogudu'' (1992), producer
K. Devi Varaprasad announced that he would not produce any film with other actors until he worked with
Chiranjeevi again. Despite Chiranjeevi's suggestion to take up other projects during his period of unavailability, Varaprasad remained steadfast and waited two and a half years. This dedication culminated in their collaboration for ''Alluda Majaka''.
The film marked the only collaboration between Chiranjeevi and director
E. V. V. Satyanarayana.
Satyanarayana was offered the opportunity after a screening of his earlier film ''
Appula Appa Rao'' (1992), which was attended by Chiranjeevi and Devi Varaprasad. Impressed by Satyanarayana's work, Varaprasad proposed that he direct a high-budget film with Chiranjeevi in the lead. Crafting a script that matched Chiranjeevi's star image proved challenging, and Satyanarayana took two years to finalize the story. Upon its completion, the script, written by
Posani Krishna Murali, was narrated to both Chiranjeevi and Devi Varaprasad, who approved it in a single session.
During pre-production, the filmmakers considered titles such as ''Adirindi Alludu'' and ''Gharana Atta Gadasari Alludu'' before finalizing ''Alluda Majaka'' to avoid associations with dubbed films.
Casting
The story of ''Alluda Majaka'' revolves around a mischievous son-in-law and his strong-willed mother-in-law. Initially, veteran actress
Vanisri, who had previously played a similar role in ''
Attaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu'' (1989), was considered for the mother-in-law's role. However, due to concerns over a controversial sequence and a dance scene with the hero, Vanisri declined the offer. The role was subsequently offered to
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
, who accepted.
Ramya Krishna
Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Telugu and Tamil films, along with appearances in Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films.
Early life
Ramya was born ...
and
Rambha were cast as the female leads, with the film marking Rambha's first collaboration with Chiranjeevi.
Filming
The production commenced on August 26, 1994, with a launch event held at
Sanjeevaiah Park in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
.
N. T. Rama Rao, then
leader of the opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
, and a close associate of Devi Varaprasad, attended the event and gave the ceremonial first clap. Several prominent film personalities were present at the launch.
The filming was conducted entirely in
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
(now Chennai), a decision influenced by logistical challenges despite tax exemptions being available only for films shot in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
. The production faced delays when Chiranjeevi sustained an injury during a horse-riding sequence.
Controversy
The film sparked controversy due to scenes deemed objectionable, particularly in their portrayal of women.
Communists
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
and
Hindu nationalists demanded a ban, prompting the
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory Motion picture content rating system, film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of ...
(CBFC) to consider recalling the film two months after its release. However, protests by Chiranjeevi's fans led the CBFC to edit out the controversial parts instead of banning the film.
Despite the issues, the film was a box-office success.
Music
Music for the film was composed by
Koti.
The song ''Atho Athamma Kuthuro'' became an instant chartbuster. The song was remixed in the 2012 comedy - fantasy film ''
Yamudiki Mogudu''. The overture of
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard song "Alluda Majaka", opening their ''
Oddments'' album, samples a portion of the film, at around the 8:30 mark.
Box office
Initially slated for release during
Sankranti, the film was postponed to
Maha Sivaratri and released on February 25, 1995.
Despite the controversies, ''Alluda Majaka'' was a commercial success. The film opened with 120 prints and collected a gross of nearly 3.56
crore
Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...
in its opening week.
It ran for 50 days in 75 centres and completed 100 days in 27 centres, ultimately grossing around 9 crore. It became the second-highest-grossing Telugu film of 1995.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1990s Telugu-language films
1995 films
Indian action comedy films
Films directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana
Films scored by Koti (composer)
Films with screenplays by Posani Krishna Murali
Telugu films remade in other languages
1995 action comedy films