Rowdy (2014 Film)
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''Rowdy'' is a 2014 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
action drama film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...
written and directed by
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...
. It stars
Vishnu Manchu Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu (born 23 November 1981) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film ''Ragile Gundelu''. Years later, he starr ...
and his father
Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam Naidu, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films ...
with
Jayasudha Jayasudha Kapoor (born Sujatha Nidudavolu), known mononyomusly as Jayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She has also worked in few Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Known ...
and Shanvi Srivastav in important roles.
Sai Karthik Sai Karthik is an Indian music composer and playback singer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Although he entered the film industry as a drummer for live shows, he soon turned film composer with the film ''Aboo Adavallu'' (2008 ...
composed the music for this film, while Satish Mutyala handled the cinematography. The principal photography commenced on 26 December 2013 and ended on 21 February 2014 in 30 working days. It was dubbed into Hindi by the same name. The film also used sync sound and a three camera setup to reduce the work of dubbing and camera angles while in post production. The film is a remake of the Hindi film '' Sarkar''. It was released on 4 April 2014 (worldwide) and 3 April 2014 (
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 ...
) in over 50 screens. Upon release, the film received positive reviews, with critics praising
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...
's narrative and performances of
Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam Naidu, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films ...
,
Vishnu Manchu Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu (born 23 November 1981) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film ''Ragile Gundelu''. Years later, he starr ...
and
Jayasudha Jayasudha Kapoor (born Sujatha Nidudavolu), known mononyomusly as Jayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She has also worked in few Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Known ...
. The film minted on the first weekend of its release. The film minted a worldwide share of at the end of the second week of its run, and was declared a box office hit.


Plot

The film opens in a street in Hyderabad in a night with Krishna (
Vishnu Manchu Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu (born 23 November 1981) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film ''Ragile Gundelu''. Years later, he starr ...
) saving Sirisha (
Shanvi Srivastava Shanvi Srivastava (born 8 December 1993) is an Indian actress and model who primarily works in Kannada and Telugu films. Srivastava is the only Kannada actress to have won both the SIIMA Critics Award for Best Actress – Kannada for ''Master ...
) from some eve-teasers and accompanying her to the hostel she stays. In the journey, they both come to know that they hail from the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. When Sirisha asks Krishna about the details of his father, the scene shifts to the native place of Krishna where his father, a don fondly called as Anna (
Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam Naidu, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films ...
) and as Annagaru with respect, punishing a teacher named Sankar Rao for harassing his pregnant wife for dowry on the complaint of the woman's father Rama Rao. Anna is a sexagenarian man who always thinks about the welfare of the people of Rayalaseema, and they too revere him equal to god. Anna is a very powerful and influential don who also controls the political affairs of that region. His friend Ananda Rao ( Paruchuri Gopala Krishna), a ruling party politician, is his close friend, and he and the party extends their full support to Anna to stop the Nandavaram project whose happening would destroy 34 villages completely. On the other hand, a group of influential people working under a mysterious man tries to make the project to earn crores. The group consists of KR, Vedantham Murthy aka Vedam (
Tanikella Bharani Tanikella Bharani (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, poet and playwright who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has worked as an actor in more than 750 films, including few in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi; while he was al ...
), Chandi ( Jeeva), and Seshagiri. Krishna visits his home when Anna kills his opponent Guruva Reddy (
Banerjee Banerjee, also known as Bandyopadhyay, is a Bengali Kulin Brahmin surname originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. The surname belongs to the Rarhi clan of the Hindu Bengali Brahmin caste. History Notable people N ...
) and appoints the dead man's henchmen as his henchmen by promising a little high salary. Then the family of Anna is introduced. Anna lives with his wife Lakshmi (
Jayasudha Jayasudha Kapoor (born Sujatha Nidudavolu), known mononyomusly as Jayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She has also worked in few Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Known ...
), elder son Bhushan (
Kishore Kishore () may refer to: * Kishore (name), an Indian given name and surname * '' Captain Kishore'', a 1940 Bollywood film * '' K for Kishore'', a 2007–2008 Indian television singing contest * '' Kishore Bangla'', Bengali-language juvenile week ...
), and Krishna. Bhushan is married and has a son, but he never loved them and hates them to the core. Unlike Anna and his dutiful and devoted brother Krishna, Bhushan is a spoiled brat, often terrorizing people in the name of Anna, creating fear in their hearts. When a young woman's brother warns Bhushan, Bhushan comes to their home, kidnaps the woman, and conducts a sexual assault on her in his farmhouse. Bhushan, also because of his anger on his father apart from greed for money, joins hands with KR's group for the formation of the Nandavaram project. Meanwhile, Krishna and Sirisha are deeply in love, and Anna's trusted henchmen Ramudu finds out that she is Gavarraju's daughter. Gavarraju was Anna's enemy who was killed by Anna at Tirupathi during an assassination attempt. Though Sirisha is aware of it, she has no objection to join his family, and Anna too respects Krishna's decision to marry her and accepts their alliance. Meanwhile, Sirisha informs Krishna in their regular meeting that her friend is kidnapped and kept in Anna's farmhouse by Bhushan, who trashed her brother recently. She also adds that none dared to convey the same to Anna because of Bhushan. Krishna tells the whole matter to Anna, and when he finds the woman assaulted there, he apologizes to her and tells Ramudu to drop her in her home. He also house arrests Bhushan there forever to ensure the safety of the innocent people. But on the request of Lakshmi, he lets him enter his house again. Later, Ramudu invites Anna and Lakshmi for attending his daughter's wedding, and they accept it happily. However, Sirisha's brother reveals to Krishna that Anna is going to be fatally attacked in the way. At the time of execution, firing starts on Anna's vehicles, and in this confusion, Bhushan kills his wife and son, but none knows that. Anna is severely injured and attacked by the rivals, who are killed by Krishna. Anna is sent to the nearby hospital. Inspector Gogin Rao (
Ravi Babu Ravi Babu is an Indian actor, director, writer, and producer in Telugu film industry, Telugu cinema. He has written 13 films and directed 16. He has acted in roughly 67 films in his career. Personal life and career His father is actor Chalapa ...
) asks Anna's men to get out of the hospital as the patients and their relatives are frightened of seeing them carrying weapons. This results in a brawl between Krishna and Gogin Rao, and the former is arrested for attacking a police officer on duty. However, it is later revealed that Gogin Rao is not as sincere as he appears and works for KR. Sirisha goes to the police station and tells Krishna that Anna is going to be attacked again by the rivals' men. Krishna goes there and saves Anna from the goons. Later, as both the plans are failed, Bhushan goes to the hospital carrying oranges to the hospital and leaves soon. He keeps explosives inside them so that Anna dies because of a blast as suggested by KR and Vedam. Unfortunately, Lakshmi cuts them, and the blast occurs. Anna, who was in the way to the room conducting medical tests, collapses and understands what happened then. After Lakshmi's funeral is conducted, Krishna meets Anna and tells that KR, Gogin Rao, Chandi, Vedam, Seshagiri, and Bhushan are the culprits and adds that he would kill all of them. First, he kills Gogin Rao by strangling him with a thin wire. Next, he kills Seshagiri by feeding him a poisoned (possibly cyanide-infused) cake. Then, he kills Chandi by locking him in a car filled with gas, leading to suffocation. Vedam is murdered brutally and is hanged from a tree to resemble a suicide. KR is shot offscreen and dies when lit on fire by Krishna. Later, Krishna meets Bhushan, narrates Bhushan's plans and deeds to Bhushan himself, and when Bhushan feels guilty, Krishna calls him a mad dog and shoots him. Finally, during Lakshmi's last rites, the main one behind the group is revealed as Ananda Rao. His close associates hold more than 50% stake in the Nandavaram project, and with that money, he planned to shift to the opposition party and win the elections. Since Anna would oppose it, he wanted to murder him and joins hands with KR and his group. On Anna's request, Krishna himself murders Ananda Rao. The film ends with Anna conducting Lakshmi's death rituals and Krishna appointing Ananda Rao's gunmen as his henchmen promising a little higher salary like Anna did in the case of Guruva Reddy.


Cast

*
Vishnu Manchu Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu (born 23 November 1981) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film ''Ragile Gundelu''. Years later, he starr ...
as Krishna *
Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam Naidu, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films ...
as Anna *
Jayasudha Jayasudha Kapoor (born Sujatha Nidudavolu), known mononyomusly as Jayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She has also worked in few Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Known ...
as Lakshmi * Shanvi Srivastav as Sirisha *
Kishore Kishore () may refer to: * Kishore (name), an Indian given name and surname * '' Captain Kishore'', a 1940 Bollywood film * '' K for Kishore'', a 2007–2008 Indian television singing contest * '' Kishore Bangla'', Bengali-language juvenile week ...
as Bhushan * Paruchuri Gopala Krishna as Anand Rao *
Tanikella Bharani Tanikella Bharani (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, poet and playwright who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has worked as an actor in more than 750 films, including few in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi; while he was al ...
as Vedantham Murthy aka Vedam *
Ravi Babu Ravi Babu is an Indian actor, director, writer, and producer in Telugu film industry, Telugu cinema. He has written 13 films and directed 16. He has acted in roughly 67 films in his career. Personal life and career His father is actor Chalapa ...
as Gogin Rao * Jeeva as Chandi *
Banerjee Banerjee, also known as Bandyopadhyay, is a Bengali Kulin Brahmin surname originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. The surname belongs to the Rarhi clan of the Hindu Bengali Brahmin caste. History Notable people N ...
as Guruva Reddy *Kalicharan Sanjay (actor)


Production

In mid November 2013, it was reported that
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...
would direct
Vishnu Manchu Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu (born 23 November 1981) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film ''Ragile Gundelu''. Years later, he starr ...
, which was confirmed by the actor in an interaction with the press. In mid-December 2013, the project materialized, and it was also reported that Ram Gopal Varma wanted to recruit
Regina Cassandra Regina Cassandra (born 13 December 1990) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Cassandra is a recipient of several accolades including a SIIMA Award and a CineMAA Award, along with a Filmfare OTT Award n ...
as the heroine. In the end of December 2013,
Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam Naidu, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films ...
was said to be a part of the film, and the shooting started on 26 December 2013 after a simple launch event. The filming continued at an incredible pace, and in early January 2014, a song on Mohan Babu and 2,000 extras was shot at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad in which the people hailed him as their supremo and godfather. After their previous film '' Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda'' released and became a success at the box office, it was declared in early February that the film was titled ''Rowdy'' which was confirmed by Mohan Babu at his office contrary to the reports that the film was titled ''Ottu'', ''Annagaru'' and ''Seema Lekka''. At the same time, Shanvi Srivastav, who was well known for her performances in the films '' Lovely'' and '' Adda'', was selected for a short yet essential role in the film and was paired with Vishnu. In the third week of February 2014, it was reported that the film's shoot is nearing completion at an incredible speed with a romantic song on Vishnu and Shanvi being shot in just two days. The filming finally ended on 21 February 2014 in just 30 working days. The producers said that they had a very tough time at the time of the shooting of action sequences, because of RGV's insistence on reality. The producers spoke "Rowdy is a film, we were really passionate about". It was also reported that an 11-minute action episode on Mohan Babu and Vishnu by firmly focusing the camera on them. "The interval sequence is by far one of the best fights I have ever done. Entire Credit to RGV. He has captured great action timing and finely tuned aggression by the two lead actors in the film" said Vishnu. The producers also hailed Ram Gopal Varma regarding the handling of sentimental scenes in the film. They said "Though the director has included lots of action and drama in the film, we admired the sentimental scenes between Mohan Babu and Jayasudha. We never expected Ram Gopal Varma to add this element with such vigour. He surprised not only me but also the lead stars, with his neat direction of the sentimental sequences. The chemistry between Mohan Babu and Jayasudha that once fluttered the hearts of moviegoers has been captured well all over again with much more intensity" in a statement issued to the IANS.


Marketing

The film's first look was released on 21 February 2014 on the occasion of completion of shoot. The first look received unanimously positive response. The film's trailer released on 7 March 2014 by Vishnu himself from USA. The trailer received great positive response from all the corners though some opined that the film had shades of Ram Gopal Varma's Hindi film '' Sarkar''. On 11 March 2014 Ram Gopal Varma unveiled the promo of the romantic song ''Nee Meeda Ottu''. The teaser of 107 seconds, which portrayed on screen chemistry between the lead stars Vishnu Manchu and Shanvi Srivastav, garnered tremendous response in means of shares and views on social networking sites within few hours of its release. As a part of the promotion, Ram Gopal Varma and Vishnu Manchu visited Visakhapatnam where they interacted with media and audiences at VMax Multiplex theater. The full videos of ''Nee Meeda Ottu'' and ''Seema Lekka'' along with an action sequence were shown to the media and audiences there. After receiving good response there, the team of the film including Ram Gopal Varma, Mohan Babu and Vishnu Manchu visited Mallikharjuna theatre in Hyderabad where the team interacted with media and the audiences at the theater and also projected about 10 mins of songs and scenes from the film there.


Soundtrack

Sai Karthik Sai Karthik is an Indian music composer and playback singer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Although he entered the film industry as a drummer for live shows, he soon turned film composer with the film ''Aboo Adavallu'' (2008 ...
composed the music and the background score for the film. The film's audio launch was held on 20 March 2014 at the Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College in
Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...
, and the album was distributed under the Puri Sangeet label. On 29 March, a separate album featuring the original score was released as a tribute to veteran composer
Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...
, whom Varma worked on '' Siva'' (1989). The cycle chase theme from ''Siva'' was integrated as the main theme for the film.


Release

In early March 2014, it was reported that the film would release worldwide on 28 March 2014 clashing with
Nandamuri Balakrishna Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960), also known as Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, film producer, politician and philanthropist known for his works in Telugu cinema. Balakrishna is an elected member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative A ...
's ''
Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
''. On 19 March 2014 it was officially declared that the film would release on 4 April 2014 in India and a day before i.e. on 3 April 2014 in USA. It was also reported later that the film will release with English subtitles in major markets worldwide to take full advantage of RGV film's pull across India and in the global markets. However, the leaders of Uttarandhra Joint Action Committee launched a morcha in Visakhapatnam demanding to ban the release of the movie. Alleging that the movie promotes rowdyism, the protesters stated that they will be filing a petition with the Election Commission to ban the film's release. The protesters contested that the episodes in the movie could be inflammatory. Meanwhile, the film was awarded an A certificate without any cuts from
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 ...
.


Reception

The film received positive reviews from critics though they drew comparisons and similarities with Ram Gopal Varma's ''Sarkar''.
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 ...
gave a review stating "The film is helped hugely by good performances from Mohan Babu, Vishnu and Jayasudha. While Varma can be commended for channelising Mohan Babu’s aggression in an apt role, one wishes he hadn’t made the actor say ‘respect’ so many times that it becomes a joke. Rowdy is one of the better films from Varma is recent times but offers nothing new in content." Oneindia Entertainment gave a review stating "Overall, Ram Gopal Varma has taken the story from his Sarkar and weaved a different screenplay for Rowdy keeping Telugu audience in mind. He has also added a few commercial ingredients to it. It is a good entertainer and will be a treat for action lovers. Must watch the film for Mohan Babu fans" and rated the film 3/5.
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 ...
gave a review stating "Varma’s films are always technically good and ‘Rowdy’ is no exception. The action sequences are well choreographed, especially the one where goons surround Mohan Babu. RGV, however, is still out of touch and most of the scenes and camera angles are mere repetitions of his earlier films. If you haven't seen ‘Sarkar’, you can watch ‘Rowdy’, especially for Mohan Babu's performance" and rated the film 2.5/5. 123telugu.com gave a review stating "‘Rowdy’ is an intense action thriller that makes for a good watch. If you have seen Godfather, the impact may be a little less. The movie's appeal might be limited to A centers alone. Watch the film for Mohan Babu" and rated the film 3.25/5. idlebrain.com gave a review stating "Mohan Babu is a superb actor. After M Dharmaraju MA and Rayalaseema Ramanna Chowdary, this is the most compelling character he has done in his career. It took a director of Ram Gopal Varma calibre to present Mohan Babu in a natural avatar. Plus points of the film are Mohan Babu, Vishnu Manchu, and their characterizations. On the flip side, a toned-down violence and a compelling second half would have made the movie more universal. On a whole, Rowdy is a special film that adds a feather to the cap of Mohan Babu" and rated the film 3/5. IndiaGlitz gave a review stating "If you wanted to see Mohan Babu do an
Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...
while retaining his irreverent style, 'Rowdy' fulfills that urge. The discerning might lament it as a dumbed-down version of Sarkar, though" and rated the film 3.25/5.


References


External links

* {{Ram Gopal Varma 2014 films Films directed by Ram Gopal Varma Indian crime drama films 2010s Telugu-language films Telugu remakes of Hindi films Indian political thriller films 2014 crime drama films 2014 crime action films Indian action drama films Indian films about revenge 2010s political thriller films Films scored by Sai Karthik