Athadu

''Athadu'' () is a 2005 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film, written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by Jayabheri Arts. The film stars Mahesh Babu as a hitman hired to stage the assassination of a politician, only to be framed for the actual murder, forcing him to assume a new identity while evading the law. The supporting cast includes Trisha, Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj, Nassar, Sunil, Sayaji Shinde, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Brahmanandam. The music was composed by Mani Sharma, while K. V. Guhan handled the cinematography.

''Athadu'' was released on 10 August 2005 and received positive reviews from critics and audiences, emerging as one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of the year. It won three Nandi Awards and a Filmfare Award South for Best Director – Telugu. Over time, ''Athadu'' gained recognition as a modern classic in Telugu cinema and holds the record for being the most telecast Telugu film, having aired over a thousand times on television. The film was remade in Hindi as '' Ek: The Power of One'' (2009) and in Bengali as ''Wanted'' (2010).

Plot

Nandu is a skilled assassin-for-hire. Along with his partner Malli, he is hired by politician Siva Reddy to stage an assassination attempt on him, intending to gain sympathy votes. However, on the day of the staged attack, Siva Reddy is actually shot dead, and Nandu is framed for the murder. During his escape, Malli dies in a car accident. Nandu manages to evade the police by jumping onto a moving train.

On the train, Nandu meets Parthasaradhi "Pardhu", who is returning to his hometown, Basarlapudi, after running away as a child two decades earlier. While the train halts at a station, the police searching for Nandu arrive. A sub-inspector, mistaking Pardhu for Nandu, shoots and kills him.

Nandu, intending to inform Pardhu's family of his death, arrives in Basarlapudi. However, Pardhu's unsuspecting family mistakes Nandu for their long-lost relative and welcomes him with open arms. Over time, he bonds with them and falls in love with Poori, Pardhu's cousin. Nandu helps the family resolve several issues, including protecting their farmland, aiding a struggling family affected by Pardhu's past actions, and withdrawing money from Pardhu's bank account to fund a relative's wedding. He confides his real identity to Pardhu's childhood friend Ramana.

Meanwhile, CBI officer Anjaneya Prasad is assigned to investigate Siva Reddy's assassination. Noting inconsistencies in the evidence, he tracks leads to Basarlapudi but fails to uncover Nandu's identity. Eventually, he discovers a withdrawal from Pardhu's account, calls the household, and tricks Nandu into revealing himself. Realizing the trap, Nandu escapes.

Prasad informs Pardhu's family of his real fate and departs. The revelation leaves them devastated, but Ramana defends Nandu, highlighting his contributions to the family. Nandu returns and admits he initially intended to inform them of Pardhu's death but refrained upon seeing their happiness at his arrival.

Pardhu's grandfather, Satyanarayana Murthy, privately acknowledges Nandu as his grandson, noting that his actions have proven his place in the family. He hands Nandu a shotgun, once owned by Pardhu's father, which had misfired due to an obstructed barrel, and encourages him to uncover the truth and clear his name.

Nandu contacts Baaji Reddy, Siva Reddy's associate, and blackmails him with a fake recording into confessing. Baaji Reddy reveals that Malli is alive and was bribed to assassinate Siva Reddy and frame Nandu so that Baaji Reddy could secure the chief minister position. Nandu secretly records this confession.

Nandu tracks Malli to a church, where they are ambushed by Baaji Reddy's corrupt officers. Nandu eliminates the attackers and confronts Malli, who takes Nandu's shotgun and aims at him. However, when he fires, the obstructed barrel causes the gun to backfire, killing him. Prasad arrives, and Nandu hands over the recording. Prasad confronts Baaji Reddy, who arrogantly dismisses the evidence as inadmissible in court. However, Prasad points out that Siva Reddy's vengeful son would not hesitate to kill him once the truth emerged. With no escape, Baaji Reddy commits suicide.

Later, Prasad finds Nandu performing Pardhu's last rites. Addressing him as Pardhu, he reveals that he has officially cleared his name and allows him to go free. Nandu, having fully embraced his new identity, returns to Basarlapudi to live with his newfound family.

Cast

* Mahesh Babu as Nanda Gopal "Nandu", an assassin who takes up the identity of Pardhu
** Manoj Nandam as Young Nanda Gopal "Nandu"
* Trisha as Poori, Pardhu's cousin and Nandu's love interest (voice dubbed by Savitha Reddy)
* Prakash Raj as Anjaneya Prasad IPS, designated to CBI Officer, takes up the case of Siva Reddy assassination.
* Sonu Sood as Malli, Nandu's partner (voice dubbed by P. Ravi Shankar)
* Sayaji Shinde as Siva Reddy, opposition party leader and Pratap Reddy's father (cameo appearance)
* Kota Srinivasa Rao as Baaji Reddy, Siva Reddy's close aide
* Rahul Dev as Sadhu, a local don and Nandu's mentor
* Nassar as Satyanarayana Murthy, Pardhu's grandfather (voice dubbed by S.P.Balasubrahmanyam)
* Sunil as Ramana, Pardhu's friend
* Rajiv Kanakala as Parthasaradhi "Pardhu" (cameo appearance)
* Ajay as Pratap Reddy, Siva Reddy's son
* Giri Babu as Poori's father
* Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Poori's uncle
* Brahmanandam as Krishna Murthy, Poori's uncle
* Sudha as Poori's mother
* Sruthi as Poori's 1st aunt
* Hema as Krishna Murthy's wife/Poori's 2nd aunt
* Charan Raj as Police Officer
* Tanikella Bharani as Naidu
* Brahmaji as Nagasamudram Bujji, Naidu's brother-in-law
* Posani Krishna Murali as Farooq, Siva Reddy's aide
* Ravi Prakash as CI Ravi, Anjaneya Prasad's assistant
* Harsha Vardhan as a car agency owner (Cameo Appearance)
* Vajja Venkata Giridhar as Giri, Pardhu's friend
* Harika as Lalitha, Poori's sister
* Prabhu as SI Prabhu
* M. S. Narayana as Tea Shop's customer
* Ananth as Doctor
* Jaya Prakash Reddy as Lalitha's future father in law
* Gundu Sudarshan as a corrupt MRO
* Rallapalli as Datthu, Manager of Thanuku Manjeera Bank (Cameo Appearance).
* Shanoor Sana
* Mounica
* K. Vishwanath as CBI Officer K. S. Patanjali IPS (special appearance)

Production

Development

In an interview with the media about his film ''Julayi'' (2012), Trivikram shared his views on this film, stating :

Casting

Initially, Trivikram Srinivas wanted to do this film with Pawan Kalyan and narrated the script. But he did not show much interest in signing the film and even slept during the narration. Mahesh Babu listened to the script of this film in 2002 but Trvikram and the film's producers had to wait for him till he completed the shooting schedules of S. J. Surya's science fiction film '' Naani'' and Gunasekhar's family drama '' Arjun'' as they were his existing commitments then. The shooting started a month later after the completion of ''Arjun''. For his characterization and the dialogues uttered by the character he played, Mahesh had to adjust to Trivikram's style of dialogues, which took ten days. Trisha was selected for the leading female role. In an interview with the media on 29 June 2005 at the event of audio release stated that she would be seen in a role with shades of comedy though she added that her role was a limited one.

Murali Mohan later revealed that he wanted his friend and former Telugu actor Sobhan Babu to play the role of Satya Narayana Murthy, which would have marked his comeback film, who was then busy with a highly profitable real estate career. For the same, Murali Mohan even issued and sent a blank cheque to Sobhan Babu's residence at Chennai as the remuneration. But Sobhan Babu refused to do that role and rejected the offer politely. Later, Nassar portrayed that role with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam dubbing for him in frail voice and his performance was appreciated by critics.

Filming

For the film's shoot, 160 digital still cameras were imported from London, to shoot freeze-frames in action sequences. Not more than ten shots were shot per day and four to five complicated action sequences were shot under the supervision of Peter Hein and the climax sequence was shot indoors, which took enormous time to complete thus making the principal photography end after a span of two years. A big set was constructed at Ramanaidu Studios in Nanakramguda at Hyderabad where most of the film's family scenes were shot. On 7 August 2004, a scene featuring Mahesh and Sunil was shot on the bridge of the lake at ICRISAT campus in Hyderabad.

Soundtrack

Mani Sharma composed the music for this film marking his first collaboration with Trivikram Srinivas and eighth collaboration with Mahesh Babu. This album consists of six melodies while Sirivennela Sitaramasastri and Viswa penned the lyrics.

The film's soundtrack was released by Mahesh Babu's father and Telugu actor Krishna on 29 June 2005 at the house set of the film constructed at Nanakramguda through Maruthi Music label.

The film's soundtrack and score by Mani Sharma received critical acclaim. ''IndiaGlitz'' praised the album, noting that it had its moments and should not be compared to his previous works for Mahesh Babu. Upon the film's release, Sharma's background score and the title song were well received, with ''IndiaGlitz'' describing them as "very good" and fitting the film's tone. However, parts of the title song were noted to be influenced by Christina Aguilera's " Fighter". '' Idlebrain.com'' highlighted the picturisation of the opening song, the Mexican-inspired "Neetho Cheppana", and the effective background score. ''Sify'' praised Mani Sharma's music, particularly the "Neeto Chappana" song, filmed in the tea estates of Darjeeling.

Release

Domestic

The film released in 79 centers in Nizam region in Andhra Pradesh and was distributed by Maruthi Movies in which 3 centers screened the film for only 2 days. The film released in 24 centers across Visakhapatnam and was distributed by Sri Venkateswara Films. Sri Bharathi Pictures released the film in Krishna district in 18 centers. The film was released simultaneously on three screens in Chennai, the first Telugu film to do so.Chennai Box-Office (Aug 12–15)
. Sify.com (16 August 2005). Retrieved on 2015-07-23.

Overseas

The film was released with 6 prints in United States and was distributed by Vishnu Mudda and Soma Kancherla of Crown DVD distribution company. Because of the demand, another print was imported from India for screening. The film's first screening in the US happened at Cine Plaza 13 at North Bergen on the night of 11 August 2005. At Connecticut, a special screening was conducted on 19 August 2005. Initially one show was planned but because of the demand another show was screened. There at the theater, a turn out of 442 people was observed which included standing audience for 434 seats and about 60 could not be accommodated. Apart from USA, the film released in selected screens in United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany and Australia.

Home media

The DVD of the movie was released by Aditya Music under its Aditya Video Brand and won the best DVD award for its quality and is considered to be one of the best selling DVDs in Tollywood. After 7 years, Star Maa renewed the contract by paying an amount of 3.5 crores which was a record price for a 2005 Telugu film.

Dubbed version

The film was dubbed in Hindi as ''Cheetah: The Power of One''.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received praise for its plot, slick screenplay, creative action sequences, the amalgamation of humor, emotional weightage, suspense music, dialogues, cinematography and the central performance of Mahesh Babu.

''Sify'' stated, "The highlight of the film is Mahesh Babu who looks cool, confident and competent as a hit man with his expressive body language and mannerisms. Athadu just about makes it as a slickly packaged entertainer but only for want of a better alternative." ''IndiaGlitz'' gave a review stating, "The story sure has splendid potential, but the director does not use them to the hilt simply because he attempts to do too many things almost simultaneously. Yet, all things considered, Athadu is a good entertainer. The problem is you can't praise it as the best yet cannot rubbish it as being useless. It is somewhere in between with more pluses than minuses." ''Cinegoer.net'' gave a review stating, "True the film gives an image of a Hollywood base for the drama. Even the taking, screenplay structure and execution of scenes, less talk and more action – all add to this image. But there are elements in this film that only a Telugu man can do it originally. That is the love track. And the way Trivikram put to view the scenic structure between Mahesh Babu and Trisha is impressive and refreshing."

Box office

The film netted 10 lakh from three screens in Chennai in its opening weekend debuting at second position pushing Shankar's ''Anniyan'' down to the third place. It collected approximately in its total run. The film had a 50 days run in 205 centers and a 100-day run in 38 centres. The film had a 175-day run in Sudarshan 35 mm, Hyderabad, grossing 1.40 crore from the theatre.Box-Office Records And Collections – Maheshbabu's 75-Day Centres List
CineGoer.com. Retrieved on 23 July 2015.

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

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{{Trivikram Srinivas

2000s Telugu-language films
2005 action thriller films
Central Bureau of Investigation in fiction
Fictional portrayals of the Andhra Pradesh Police
Films about assassinations
Films about bank robbery
Films about child labour
Films about contract killing in India
Films about identity theft
Films about organised crime in India
Films directed by Trivikram Srinivas
Films scored by Mani Sharma
Films set in Andhra Pradesh
Films set in Hyderabad, India
Films set in Telangana
Films shot in Andhra Pradesh
Films shot in Darjeeling
Films shot in Hyderabad, India
Films shot in Telangana
Films with screenplays by Trivikram Srinivas
Indian action thriller films
Indian gangster films
Indian political action films
Rail transport films
Telugu films remade in other languages
Indian films about revenge
Films set in churches
Indian chase films
Films about security and surveillance
Police detective films
Indian detective films
Indian romantic action films
Indian romantic thriller films
2000s police procedural films
Indian IMAX films