Veta (1986 Film)
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''Veta'' () is a 1986 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 period
action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...
film directed by A. Kondandarami Reddy. The film stars
Chiranjeevi Konidela Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, philanthropist and former politician known for his work in Telugu cinema. Known as the "Mega Star", he is widely regarded as one of the most succe ...
, Jayaprada, and
Sumalatha Sumalatha Ambareesh (born 27 August 1963) is an Indian actress and politician. She has acted in over 220 films across multiple languages, primarily in Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, with a few appearances in Tamil and Hindi cinema. She received ...
in lead roles. Produced by Samyuktha Movies, it is an adaptation of
Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
' novel ''
The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...
''. The music was composed by K. Chakravarthy, with cinematography by V. S. R. Swamy. The film brought together the successful team behind the 1983 blockbuster ''Khaidi'', including Chiranjeevi, Samyuktha Movies, director Kodandarami Reddy, composer Chakravarthy, and writers
Paruchuri brothers Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao (born 21 June 1944) and Paruchuri Gopala Krishna (born 25 September 1947), collectively referred to as the Paruchuri Brothers, are a screenwriting duo whose work is predominant as story writers, dialogue writers, act ...
. However, ''Veta'' failed to replicate the success of its predecessor and was a commercial failure at the box office.


Plot

Set in 1939 during the British rule of India, Pratap is a sailor in love with a wealthy woman. However, her cross-cousin Jayaram, who serves in the British army, also desires to marry her. When the ship's captain is poisoned by two crew members, Jayaram uses his influence to falsely accuse Pratap, resulting in his deportation to the secluded Andaman Jail. Trapped in prison for thirteen years, Pratap eventually escapes, diving into the
Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated f ...
where he is rescued by two sailors. Consumed by thoughts of vengeance against those who wronged him, Pratap teams up with Mahendra Bhupathi, a fellow inmate and former zamindar who also seeks revenge against Jayaram. Mahendra, on his deathbed, reveals the location of a hidden treasure on Malabar Island. Pratap escapes from prison by substituting himself for Mahendra's dead body in a burial sack. After retrieving the treasure, Pratap reinvents himself as a wealthy zamindar. He finds Mahendra’s daughter, Jyothirmayi, who is also seeking vengeance, and provides her shelter. With calculated precision, Pratap infiltrates the nobility and systematically destroys those who betrayed him.


Cast

*
Chiranjeevi Konidela Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, philanthropist and former politician known for his work in Telugu cinema. Known as the "Mega Star", he is widely regarded as one of the most succe ...
as Prathap, a sailor *
Jaya Prada Jaya Prada Nahata (born Lalitha Rani Rao; 3 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician known for her works majorly in Telugu cinema and Hindi cinema as well as in Tamil films in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada is the recipient ...
as Saroja *
Sumalatha Sumalatha Ambareesh (born 27 August 1963) is an Indian actress and politician. She has acted in over 220 films across multiple languages, primarily in Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, with a few appearances in Tamil and Hindi cinema. She received ...
as Jyothirmayi *
Jaggayya Kongara Jaggayya (31 December 1926 – 5 March 2004) was an Indian actor, littérateur, journalist, lyricist, dubbing artist and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He was known as ''Kanchu Kantam Ja ...
as Mahendra Bhupathi * Ranganath as Benarjee *
Nutan Prasad Tadinada Varaprasad popularly known as Nutan Prasad (12 December 1945 – 30 March 2011) was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He was a native of Kaikaluru, Andhra Pradesh, India. He started his fil ...
as Chowdappa *
Mohan Sharma Mohan Sharma is an Indian film and television actor, film producer, director and screenwriter, who works in Cinema of South India, South Indian films. He has produced more than 15 films in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada. He became noted th ...
as Jayaram * Mikkilineni * Mada


Production

''Veta'' is a
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 ...
adaptation of
Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
' novel ''
The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...
'', which has been adapted into several films in French and English. The Telugu version, translated in the 1950s, follows a man wrongfully imprisoned due to a conspiracy who seeks revenge against his betrayers. It was Tirupathi Reddy's idea to adapt this story as a film in Telugu and the writers Paruchuri Brothers adapted the story as pre-independence era. During the development phase of ''Veta'', it was reported that
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 ...
had shown interest in the film's story. Despite his initial interest and exploration of various adaptations, Balakrishna was unable to participate in the film. Consequently, the film was produced with Chiranjeevi in the lead role. Subsequently, the film was produced by the head of Samyuktha Movies, Tirupati Reddy, who pitched the story to Chiranjeevi and director A. Kodandarami Reddy. ''Veta'' was made with a significant budget of around 1
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 ...
. ''Veta'' featured Chiranjeevi in new looks, with him working for 60 days on the film.
Jaya Prada Jaya Prada Nahata (born Lalitha Rani Rao; 3 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician known for her works majorly in Telugu cinema and Hindi cinema as well as in Tamil films in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada is the recipient ...
, his co-star, worked for 38 days.


Music

The music was composed by K. Chakravarthy and released through Saptaswar music label. Lyrics were written by
Veturi Veturi Sundararama Murthy (29 January 1936 – 22 May 2010), known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet and lyricist who is known for his works in Telugu literature and cinema. Veturi is a recipient of the National Film Award, ...
,
Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry (born Chembolu Seetharama Sastry; 20 May 1955 – 30 November 2021) was an Indian poet and lyricist known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He acquired the stage name Sirivennela after writing the ...
and Rajasri.


Reception

''Veta'' was released on 28 May 1986 with high expectations, due to its association with the successful team behind ''Khaidi'' (1983), including Chiranjeevi, director Kodandarami Reddy, composer Chakravarthy, and writers Paruchuri brothers. However, the film was a box office failure and did not live up to the expectations set by its predecessor. In 2006, Kodandarami Reddy reflected on the film's failure, attributing its poor performance to the elevated expectations set by the success of ''Khaidi'', coupled with the audience's dissatisfaction with the plot, particularly the heroine's marriage to another character. Tirupathi Reddy too opinionated the same. Chiranjeevi also expressed his deep disappointment, acknowledging the emotional toll the film's failure took on him and revealing that it took a considerable time for him to recover. In recent years, however, some viewers have re-evaluated ''Veta'', now considering it an underrated film.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Veta (film) 1986 films Films set in 1939 Films based on The Count of Monte Cristo Films directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy 1980s Telugu-language films Films scored by K. Chakravarthy Indian action thriller films Indian action drama films Indian films about revenge 1986 action thriller films 1980s action drama films 1980s masala films Films set in the British Raj 1986 drama films Films set in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Indian Army in films Films about treasure hunting Films set in prison Films set on ships Films set in the Indian Ocean Indian Navy in films