Agnyaathavaasi (lit. 'A man in exile') is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language action drama film[3][4] written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film stars Pawan Kalyan, Aadhi Pinisetty, Keerthy Suresh and Anu Emmanuel in lead roles. The film began its principal photography in April 2017 which ended in November 2017. Anirudh Ravichander composed the film's score and soundtrack.
| Agnyaathavaasi | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Trivikram Srinivas |
| Written by | Trivikram Srinivas |
| Produced by | S. Radha Krishna |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | V. Manikandan |
| Edited by | Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao |
| Music by | Anirudh Ravichander |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 158 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹70 crore[1] |
| Box office | est. ₹95 crore[2] |
Upon release on 10 January 2018, during the Sankranti festival weekend, it received Mixed To Postive reviews from both critics and audiences, alike. Production values, cinematography, music, dialogue and action sequences received full Postive. However, the direction, writing, screenplay, pace were criticized.[5] The film was a box-office bomb.[6]
Plot
editGovinda "Vindha" Bhargav, a powerful businessman, receives news of his younger son Mohan Bhargav's death in a car accident while in Italy. Soon after, assassins enter his hotel room, and one of them holds up a phone. On the other end, Vindha's friends Sarma and Varma reveal that they orchestrated his son's death and plan to take over his empire. Vindha secretly records this conversation before being killed by the gunmen.
The news of Vindha's death reaches his second wife, Indrani Bhargav, who discovers the audio file of Vindha's alleged killers. She contacts Appaji, the brother of Vindha's deceased first wife Krishnaveni, to summon an unknown person. Appaji informs the unknown person, who is revealed to be Abhishikth Bhargav, Vindha's eldest son. After performing his father's last rites in Varanasi, Abhi travels from Assam to Hyderabad, where his father's possible killers live. He gets a job in his father's company under the pseudonym Balasubramanyam and befriends Sukumari, Varma's daughter, and Suryakantham, Sarma's secretary.
Abhi discovers that the recorded phone conversation was faked, as there are no international calls registered on Sarma and Varma's phones. Meanwhile, unknown assailants attempt to kill Abhi, but he kills them in self-defense. The last attacker reveals that the true mastermind is Seetharam, the son of Vindha's former business partner, Dheenabandhu.
ACP Sampath, leading the police investigation, delves into Vindha's past. Vindha, originally a middle-class man, built a successful pharmaceutical company and planned to set up a factory in a remote village. However, Vindha refused to bribe a local politician, who incited villagers to attack Vindha's factory with help from Vindha's friend Aditya Bandaru. During their escape on a charter plane, Vindha's medicine vial is destroyed, but Vindha secretly keeps a second vial. Vindha begins to suspect his friends after observing their behaviour.
While on a holiday in Bali with his pregnant first wife Krishnaveni, there is an attempt on her life. She is presumed dead, but it is revealed that another woman wearing the same robe was mistakenly killed. Vindha sends Krishnaveni to her brother Appaji's house for safety, but she dies shortly after giving birth to Abhi. Vindha raises Abhi to be indifferent to wealth, considering it a necessary trait to lead his empire. With Abhi's consent, Vindha marries Indrani, who becomes Mohan's mother.
Abhi takes over the company, revealing his true identity as Vindha's son. He tortures Sarma, Varma, and Koteswara Rao, who harass women in the workplace. Seetharam, upon learning of Abhi, returns to India and demands proof of Abhi's lineage. Abhi travels to Bulgaria with Sukumari and Suryakantham to retrieve Vindha's will, which names Abhi as the heir. However, Seetharam, with Appaji's help, steals and destroys the will, eliminating the evidence.
During the election for the future CEO, Abhi battles Seetharam's goons on the company rooftop. He reveals that the will Seetharam destroyed was fake and that Appaji was part of Abhi's plan. After defeating most of Seetharam's goons, a board member reveals himself as Aditya's brother and admits to being part of Vindha's murder to avenge his brother. Abhi confronts him, and the board member and Seetharam's henchman Parag fall from the rooftop, resulting in their deaths.
Abhi reveals to Seetharam that the company "AB group" was named after Aditya Bandaru, not himself. He then assumes the position of CEO and assures Indrani he will fulfill his father's duties. In the end, Abhi ensures that Seetharam is exiled to an isolated island.
Cast
edit- Pawan Kalyan as Abhishikth Bhargav, Vindha's eldest son who disguises himself as Balasubramanyam and the main protagonist
- Aadhi Pinisetty as Seetharam, Dheenabandhu's son who wishes to take Vindha's company and the main antagonist
- Jayaprakash as Daya Bandaru, Aditya's brother
- Boman Irani as Govinda Bhargav aka Vindha, Abhi and Mohan's father
- Ajay as Aditya Bandaru, Vindha's friend
- Keerthy Suresh as Sukumari, Varma's daughter
- Anu Emmanuel as Suryakantham, Sharma's secretary
- Khushbu as Indrani Bhargav, Abhi's stepmother, Vindha's second wife, Mohan's mother
- Rao Ramesh as Varma, Vindha's friend
- Murali Sharma as Sarma, Vindha's friend
- Sampath Raj as Detective Sampath, the Police officer investigating the murder of Vindha
- Indraja as Krishnaveni Bhargav, Abhi's mother, Vindha's first wife
- Pavitra Lokesh as Kumari, Sukumari's mother, Varma's wife
- Tanikella Bharani as Appaji, Abhi's uncle
- Parag Tyagi as Parag, Security In-Charge Officer
- Sameer Hasan as Deenabandhu, Vindha's ex-business partner
- Vennela Kishore as Bala Subramanyam, a dim-witted man whose identity is used by Abhi to enter his company
- Chaitanya Krishna as Rohit, Suryakantham's ex-boyfriend
- Raja Chembolu as Sukumari's friend kidnapped by Abhi's team
- Raghu Babu as Koteswara Rao, a corrupt and flirtatious manager in Vindha's company who gets beaten with a belt in Kodaka Koteswara Rao song
- Ravi Mariya as Minister Idithangi
- Aadukalam Naren as MLA
- Radha Ravi as Mayilvaganam
- Srinivasa Reddy as Abhi's assistant
- Narra Srinu as Abhi's assistant
- Abhishek Maharshi as Abhi's assistant
- Avantika Vandanapu as Sampath's daughter
- Adithya as Seetharam's henchman
- Srikanth Iyyengar as Sampath's assistant
- Appaji Ambarisha Darbha as Writer
- Vamsee Aloor as Mohan Bhargav
- Sivaji Raja as Narappa
- Fish Venkat as Sidhappa
- Lahari Shari as Sushmita
- Venkatesh Daggubati as Guru (cameo)
Production
editPrincipal photography began on 3 April 2017 with a small coffee shop scene, shot at Ciclo Cafe, then moved to a special set erected in Ramoji Film City for an action sequence. Some parts of the film were shot in Annapurna Studios and a major sequence and a song were shot in Bangkok. The unit moved to Bulgaria on 26 October 2017 for 15 days to shoot two songs. After the foreign schedule, shooting continued in Hyderabad and was completed by the end of November 2017, including a brief period of shooting at Varanasi.[7][8][9]
After the film, Kalyan actively began his political campaign for the 2019 Andhra Pradesh election.[10][11]
Music
editThe soundtrack was composed by Anirudh Ravichander, making his Telugu debut. The first song, "Baitikochi Chusthe", was unveiled on 7 November 2017, the birthday of director Trivikram Srinivas.
| Agnyaathavaasi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 3 December 2017 | |||
| Length | 23:35 | |||
| Language | Telugu | |||
| Label | Aditya Music | |||
| Producer | Anirudh Ravichander | |||
| Anirudh Ravichander chronology | ||||
| ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Baitikochi Chuste" | Sri Mani | Anirudh Ravichander | 3:26 |
| 2. | "Gaali Vaaluga" | Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry | Anirudh Ravichander | 4:18 |
| 3. | "Dhaga Dhagamaney" | Sri Mani | Anirudh Ravichander | 4:16 |
| 4. | "Swagatham Krishna" | Oothukkadu Sri Venkata Subbaiyer Kriti | Padmalatha, Niranjana Ramanan | 3:23 |
| 5. | "AB Yevaro Nee Baby" | Sri Mani | Nakash Aziz, Arjun Chandy | 4:19 |
| 6. | "Kodakaa Koteswar Rao" | Bhaskarabhatla | Pawan Kalyan | 3:53 |
| Total length: | 23:35 | |||
Release
editThe film was released on 10 January 2018.[12] It was then later released on Sun NXT for digital streaming, and the satellite rights are owned by Gemini TV. It was later dubbed and released in Hindi as Yevadu 3 on YouTube and aired on Sony Max by Goldmines Telefilms on 20 December 2018.[13] It was also dubbed in Malayalam as Yuvarajavu which was aired on Surya TV & in Tamil as Maraivaasi which was aired on Sun TV.
Reception
editCritical reception
editTimes of India critic Neeshita Nayapati gave the film 2.5/5 stars, noting, "Despite all the pomp and show, Agnyaathavaasi, has been an amazing ride had it either been taken seriously or been made with the same old Trivikram-Pawan Kalyan touch. Pawan Kalyan aces through his role as usual.[14] In his review for The Indian Express, Manoj Kumar R stated, "It is strictly for fans of Power Star as Trivikram has spent the entire runtime gushing over Pawan Kalyan."[15] Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote: "The film is beautifully shot (cinematography by Manikandan) and Anirudh Ravichander comes up with refreshing music that gives a classy sheen to this urban masala film. But these aren't enough to salvage the film.
Writing for Variety, Joe Layden described the film as "a ferociously eager-to-please musical melodrama about ruthless ambition, violent revenge, and exuberantly schmaltzy music-video-style production numbers."[16]
Box office
editThe film grossed ₹95 crore (equivalent to ₹127 crore or US$15 million in 2023) against a budget of ₹70 crore (equivalent to ₹94 crore or US$11 million in 2023).[2][1] The film was an average grosser at the box-office, recovering its investment.[6]
Plagiarism allegations
editFrench director Jérôme Salle alleged that the film was plagiarised from his 2008 film Largo Winch.[17] Following this, T-Series, which owns the remake rights of Largo Winch, sent a legal notice to the makers of the film, asking for the censored copy of the film. It was later reported that T-Series was demanding ₹15 crore (equivalent to ₹20 crore or US$2.4 million in 2023) from the makers of Agnyaathavaasi for allegedly violating copyright.[18] The agreement between Agnyaathavaasi makers and T-Series management was amicably closed after the makers agreed to compensate them after taking into consideration that though the director had not taken the entire plotline of Largo Winch, he had written a few key scenes of Agnyaathavaasi based on scenes from the French film.[19]
See also
edit- Saaho, 2019 Indian film, also alleged to be a remake of Largo Winch
References
edit- ^ a b "Agnyaathavaasi 7-day worldwide box office collection: PSPK25 inches closer to Rs 100 crore". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ a b Nyayapati, Neeshita. "Agnyaathavaasi' box office collections Pawan Kalyan, Keerthy Suresh and Anu Emmanuel rakes 95 cr Worldwide". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Agnyaathavaasi". Metacritic.
- ^ "Agnyaathavaasi (2017) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ Hooli, Shekhar H. (10 January 2018). "Agnathavasi review roundup: Critics call it a big letdown by Trivikram Srinivas". International Business Times, India Edition. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Agnyaathavaasi Closing Collections Report". The Hans India. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Adivi, Sridhar. "Power star Pawan Kalyan is Agnatha Vaasi?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ "PSPK25: Shoot begins in Bangkok". Sify. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "Baitikochi Chuste song teaser: Anirudh sings for Pawan Kalyan in his Telugu debut. Watch video". 2 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "Pawan Kalyan clarifies rumours on working on new film". The News Minute. 23 November 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Pawan Kalyan may quit acting for politics: 'Not interested in films anymore'". Firstpost. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Agnyaathavaasi Musical Surprise - Pawan Kalyan | Trivikram Srinivas | Anirudh Ravichander | #PSPK25". Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Yevadu 3 (Agnyaathavaasi) 2018 New Released Hindi Dubbed Full Movie | Pawan Kalyan, Keerthy Suresh, archived from the original on 21 September 2021, retrieved 21 September 2021
- ^ "Agnyaathavaasi Review {2.5/5}: Pawan Kalyan and Trivikram movie Agnathavasi lacks soul". The Times of India.
- ^ "Agnyaathavaasi movie review: This film is strictly for Pawan Kalyan fans". indianexpress.com. 13 January 2018. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ Leydon, Joe (12 January 2018). "Film Review: 'Agnyaathavaasi'". Variety. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018.
- ^ Forbes (11 January 2018). "French writer director claims Indian film Agnyaathavaasi is a ripoff of his Largo Winch". forbes.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ ibitimes (10 January 2018). "Agnyathavaasi Copyright row Jerome Salle watches it says : its plot too familiar to Largo Winch". ibitimes.co.in. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ "Plagiarism Issue Of Agnathavasi Is Settled". Tupaki. 6 January 2018.