''Manmadhudu 2'' () is a 2019 Indian
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India
** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language.
* Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
-language
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film directed by
Rahul Ravindran. It is produced by
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...
and P. Kiran under
Annapurna Studios
Annapurna Studios is an Indian film studio facility founded in 1976 by the Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. It is located on a site in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. The studio provides comprehensive production and post-production services.
...
,
Anandi Art Creations and
Viacom18 Studios
Viacom18 Studios is an Indian film distribution and production company. It is a subsidiary of JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, Viacom18 and Disney India. Based in Mumbai, It is one of the first studio model based motion pi ...
. It stars Nagarjuna and
Rakul Preet Singh
Rakul Preet Singh (born 10 October 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil films. Singh is a recipient of several accolades including a SIIMA Award, in addition to four nominations at the Filmfare Award ...
, with music composed by
Chaitan Bharadwaj. The film is an official remake of the French film ''
I Do'' (2006) and is a
spiritual successor
A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...
to Nagarjuna's ''
Manmadhudu
''Manmadhudu'' () is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar, who co-wrote the script with Trivikram Srinivas. Produced by Nagarjuna under the Annapurna Studios banner, the film stars Nagarjuna, Sonali ...
'' (2002). The film opened up to mixed to negative reviews and became a
box-office bomb
A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...
.
Plot
Samba Siva Rao / Sam is an aged bachelor and a perfumer by profession who lives in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, creator of Gucci Bloom. In his youth, a breakup with Suma due to the traditional harassment of his family makes him averse to the concept of marriage and pushes him to believe in flings. However, his family consisting of his mother and three sisters - Swarnalatha, Sangeetha, and Swetha - give an ultimatum to enter wedlock within three months. To solve the problem, Sam enters into a contract and hires a young girl named Avantika to act as his fiancé for a few weeks and ditch him on the wedding day so that his family will leave him alone. As Avantika, wants to adopt her deceased sister's son for which a bank balance is obligatory as per Portuguese rules, she also agrees. However, the situation changes when Sam's family gets emotionally closer to Avantika and even she too. According to the plan, Avantika absconds. As a result, Sam's mother collapses with a heart attack. To rescue her from danger, Sam again hires Avantika with Plan B: to act horribly toward the family so that they do not like her anymore. In that process, Avantika shifts to Sam's residence when the two starts liking each other, but Sam maintains silence because of the age gap. A grief-stricken Avantika completes their contract and takes off. At last, Sam stands up to his family, confesses his schemes, and expresses his love for Avantika, which she overhears and comes back. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the marriage of Sam and Avantika and the couple adopting Avanthika's nephew.
Cast
Cameo appearances
*
Samantha Ruth Prabhu
Samantha Ruth Prabhu (born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil films. One of South India's highest-paid actresses, Samantha is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards So ...
as the girl who Sam meets at a bridge (Voice dubbed by
Chinmayi)
*
Keerthy Suresh
Keerthy Suresh (born 17 October 1992) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Malayalam Cinema, Malayalam films. Her film accolades include one National Film Award, five South Indian In ...
as Suma, Sam's ex-girlfriend
*
Akshara Gowda
Akshara Gowda Bikki (born Harini Gowda) is an Indian actress who appears in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada & Telugu language, Telugu films.
Personal life
In April 2011, Akshara Gowda was linked to Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh. However, ...
as Akshara, the girl whom Sam meets at the bar
*
Brahmanandam
Kanneganti Brahmanandam (born 1 February 1956) is an Indian actor and comedian known for his work in Telugu cinema. Recognised as one of India's finest and highest-paid comic actors, he holds the Guinness World Record for the most screen cred ...
as
Suribabu Lavangam
*
Sudhanshu Pandey
Sudhanshu Pandey is an Indian model, film and television actor, singer, writer and producer. He has appeared in many Hindi films and some few Tamil films.
Career
After a successful modelling career, he made the television debut with ''Beta'', ...
as Amit, Avantika's sadistic ex-boyfriend
Production
The film is being produced by
Annapurna Studios
Annapurna Studios is an Indian film studio facility founded in 1976 by the Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. It is located on a site in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. The studio provides comprehensive production and post-production services.
...
,
Anandi Art Creations and
Viacom18 Motion Pictures
Viacom18 Studios is an Indian film distribution and production company. It is a subsidiary of JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, Viacom18 and Disney India. Based in Mumbai, It is one of the first studio model based motion pic ...
.
Movie launched on March 25, 2019, with a formal puja ceremony in Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad.
Naga Chaitanya
Akkineni Naga Chaitanya (; born 23 November 1986) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. Chaitanya is a recipient of several accolades including one Filmfare Awards South, Filmfare Award South and one Nandi Award for his work.
Born in ...
,
Amala Akkineni
Amala Akkineni (''née'' Mukherjee) (born 12 September 1967) is an Indian actress, Bharatanatyam dancer, and activist. She has predominantly worked in Tamil films, in addition to Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada-language films. She was a ...
,
Sumanth
Yarlagadda Sumanth Kumar (born 9 February 1975), known mononymously as Sumanth, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is the eldest grandson of Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He is also a partner in Annapurna ...
and
Sushanth
Sushanth Anumolu (born 18 March 1986), known professionally as Sushanth, is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema, Telugu films. Born into the Akkineni–Daggubati family, he made his acting debut with ''Kalidasu'' (2008).
After a series ...
has graced the event.
After filming some important scenes in some locations at Portugal (including
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
) and
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, the team wrapped up the schedule and returned to
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 ...
.
Soundtrack
Music composed by
Chaitan Bharadwaj, and released on
Aditya Music
Aditya Music India Private Limited is an Indian music record label company, which owns the label Aditya Music. It produces music for the Telugu cinema industry and is headquartered at Hyderabad, Telangana.
Overview
The company was founded b ...
label.
Release
The movie was released on 9 August 2019.
Reception
Critical reception
''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' gave 3.5 out of 5 stars stating "The director missed a trick or two with the climax but gets almost everything else bang on, ensuring a hilarious entertainer that you wouldn't mind watching on repeat. Too much of something can be an overkill, they often say. But when it comes to Vennela Kishore's comedy in Manmadhudu 2, that doesn't ring true. In fact, it only leaves you wanting for more". ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...
'' gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Manmadhudu 2, directed by Rahul Ravindran, aims to be a breezy entertainer but it barely scratches the surface. Witty one-liners and a handful of neatly crafted moments are the only takeaways from Manmadhudu 2". ''
Firstpost
Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions.
The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...
'' gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "This could have been a meaningful drama about toxic relationships, but Rahul Ravindran does not quite dig deep into that aspect of the film. This could also have been a film about a man who is afraid of breakups because that seems more unbearable than being lonely, but we do not see enough of that. This could have been about a family trying to make Sam understand the meaning of happiness and companionship, but all we get to see is a bunch of them trying all sorts of things to convince Sam, except for pouring their hearts out to him directly. Manmadhudu 2 could have been so much more than what it is but it ends up nowhere".
''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'' gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "Rahul Ravindran has not set this story in a perfect world. The hero’s family is regressive in its thinking even as all of them seem lovely. The hero is a womanizer. Sam also seems to enjoy trips to strip clubs and so on. And yet, the film is not crass. It is an imperfect world and we should accept something good even if we find it in the most unlikely places". ''
The New Indian Express
''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...
'' gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Save for a few comic sequences provided by Vennela Kishore, Manmadhudu 2 is a bumpy ride that struggles to take off at the right time. The convoluted plot devoid of the emotional arc makes it a dreary affair". ''
The News Minute
''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Vignesh Vellore who is also the current CEO in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, ...
'' stated "The film has its moments but holds itself back too much and Nagarjuna's character, especially, needs more work".
Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' wrote "Manmadhudu 2 doesn’t live up to that promise and here’s hoping that with the next one, Rahul will be back in form". ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'' gave 1.5 out of 5 stars stating "Despite decent performances by the film’s lead cast, Nagarjuna and Rakul Preet Singh, the film’s writing is a huge let down. Except for a couple of funny one-liners, the film is a disgrace and shouldn’t belong to the world of Manmadhudu". ''
Deccan Chronicle
''Deccan Chronicle'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Hyderabad, India. Founded in 1938, it was initially launched as a Weekly newspaper, weekly and later converted into a daily. The newspaper's name reflects its origins in the ...
'' stating "Manmadhudu 2 is a big blunder from Nagarjuna, who bought the remake rights of the French film. He spoke very highly about this film but it does not come to pass. The film’s leading lights stressed many times that the film is for a family audience, it is anything but that".
References
External links
*
{{Nagarjuna (actor)
Films shot in Portugal
Films shot in Hyderabad, India
Films shot in Switzerland
Films shot in Lisbon
2019 romantic comedy films
Indian romantic comedy films
2010s Telugu-language films
Indian sequel films
Indian remakes of French films
2019 films
Films scored by Chaitan Bharadwaj
Films set in Lisbon
Films about fashion in India
Fiction about Indian diaspora