Veera Simha Reddy

Veera Simha Reddy
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGopichand Malineni
Screenplay byGopichand Malineni
Dialogue by
Story byGopichand Malineni
Produced by
  • Naveen Yerneni
  • Yalamanchili Ravi Shankar
Starring
CinematographyRishi Punjabi
Edited byNaveen Nooli
Music byS. Thaman
Production
company
Release date
  • 12 January 2023 (2023-01-12)
Running time
172 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹70 crore[2]
Box office₹134 crore[3]

Veera Simha Reddy is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language action drama film[4] written and directed by Gopichand Malineni and produced by Mythri Movie Makers. It stars Nandamuri Balakrishna in a dual role along with Honey Rose as main female lead while Shruti Haasan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Duniya Vijay in supporting roles. The film score and soundtrack were composed by S. Thaman.

Principal photography commenced in February 2022 and ended in December 2022. Veera Simha Reddy was released on 12 January 2023, coinciding on the Sankranthi weekend. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and performed decently at the box-office, grossing ₹134 crore worldwide.[5]

Plot

In Istanbul, Meenakshi runs a restaurant of Rayalaseema Cuisine and lives with her son Jai Simha Reddy, who owns a car dealership. Through a scuffle at his dealership, he gets acquainted with a tone-deaf wannabe singer named Isha and falls in love with her. Jai goes to Isha's home along with Meenakshi for a marriage proposal, where he meets her father Jayaram, who is a tycoon. While the talks are proceeding, Meenakshi discloses to Isha's parents about Jai's father, Veera Simha Reddy who is a leader in Pulicherla, Andhra Pradesh.

Veera Simha Reddy is the arbiter, who efforts towards eradicating the infamous factionalism. He is at odds with fiend faction leader Pratap Reddy that aims to assassinate him. At a plurality of times, Pratap Reddy tries to finish Veera Simha Reddy, but all his attempts go in vain, which enrages his wife Bhanumati as she wants to avenge her miseries caused by Veera Simha Reddy. Pratap Reddy decides to demolish a factory owned by industrialist Raj Gopal, which was constructed 30 years ago by the aim of Veera Simha Reddy to bring employment to the region. He conspires with his uncle Peddi Reddy, a minister to carry out his evil plan. They resolve to meet at a land and to lay a foundation stone for a new factory to which several prominent politicians are arriving.

Immediately, Raj Gopal proceeds to Veera Simha Reddy's aid. Veera Simha Reddy gallantly encounters their convoy at a milestone and backfires their plan by single-handedly obliterating all of them. Later, Veera Simha Reddy receives a phone call from Meenakshi who invites him to Turkey. Upon reaching, Veera Simha Reddy unites with Jai, who is unbeknownst to him is his son. He thanks Meenakshi for respecting his decision years ago to walk out on them. They meet Jayaram, who happily gives his acceptance to Jai and Isha's union. After their departure, Jayaram is frightened as he is the investor in the factory whose construction is blocked was previously blocked by Veera Simha Reddy. Hurriedly, Jayaram dials Pratap Reddy and indicates the presence of Veera Simha Reddy in Turkey. After a long fight, Bhanumati arrives with Pratap and finishes Veera by deceiving. It is then revealed that Bhanumati is Veera Simha Reddy's sister.

Jai attempts to save Veera Simha Reddy, who stops him saying that he can die repeatedly for Bhanumathi. Before leaving his breath, Veera Simha Reddy instructs Jai to perform his final rights in his motherland. As per guidelines, Jai carries his father's corpse to Rayalaseema and conducts the funeral. Following, Jai questions the underlying reason for Bhanumati's enmity against her brother when Siddhappa, Veera Simha Reddy's trusted lieutenant divulges the past. Bhanumati was the illicit child of Veera Simha Reddy's father, yet he idolized and dedicated his life to her. Meenakshi was his cross-cousin who endeared him from childhood and was betrothed to him. He asked her to wait until the accomplishment of Bhanumati's marriage, but unfortunately they consummated.

Their adjacent village Musali Madugu, was in constant torment under Gangi Reddy who was Pratap Reddy's father. Once, a child from Musali who was a victim of Gangi's atrocities, approached Veera Simha Reddy to liberate them from his evil clutches. Forthwith, Veera Simha Reddy charged onto the village and a fight ensued, and culminated with Veera decapitating Gangi Reddy while Pratap watched helplessly. In the interim, Bhanumati loved Siddhappa's son Shekar. Learning this, Veera Simha Reddy heartfully gave his approval and engaged them.

Out of anger, Pratap Reddy heckles a drunk Shekar who inadvertently indulges in gunfire and kills a villager Suri. Veera uprights piety and ostracizes Shekar, who later commits suicide. Heartbroken, Bhanumati pledged to seek vengeance. On that account, she married Pratap Reddy and commanded him not to touch her before Veera Simha Reddy's death. Thus, Veera Simha Reddy leaves Pratap Reddy alive for his sister and decided to renounce all comforts as a penalty for Shekar's death, and requests Meenakshi to quit his life. She relucantly agrees and hides her pregnancy.

Back to the present, Jai challenges Pratap to enter without his aunt's background. Infuriated by Jai's comment, Pratap Reddy smacks Bhanumati asserting that he is the one who instigated vengeance in her mind. He reveals that he had killed Shekar and staged it as a suicide. Distraught, Bhanumati meets Jai and apologizes to him, where she kills herself by slitting her throat. During the time of her cremation, Pratap Reddy attacks Jai. However, Jai manages to decapitate Pratap Reddy and merges his aunt's ashes in his father's grave, where he continues his father's legacy.

Cast

  • Nandamuri Balakrishna in a dual role as Pulicherla Veera Simha Reddy and Jai Simha Reddy
  • Varalaxmi Sarathkumar as Bhanumathi, Pratap Reddy's wife, Veera Simha Reddy's half-sister, and Jai's aunt
  • Honey Rose as Pulicherla Meenakshi, Veera Simha Reddy's girlfriend, wife and Jai's mother
  • Duniya Vijay as Musali Madugu Pratap Reddy, Veera Simha Reddy's rival, Gangi Reddy's son and Bhanumati's husband
  • Shruti Haasan as Isha Jayaram, Jayaram's daughter and Jai's love interest
  • Lal as Siddhappa, Veera Simha Reddy's right-hand man
  • Naveen Chandra as Shekhar Reddy, Siddhappa's son and Bhanumati's ex-fiancé
  • Ajay Ghosh as Addibakula Peddi Reddy, Pratap Reddy's uncle
  • Murali Sharma as Jayaram, Isha's father
  • John Kokken as Raja Reddy, Pratap Reddy's cousin
  • P. Ravi Shankar as Home Minister Krishna Reddy
  • B. S. Avinash as Musali Madugu Gangi Reddy, Pratap Reddy's father
  • Pammi Sai as Sai Reddy, Peddi Reddy's PA
  • Sachin Khedekar as Rajagopal, Factory Owner
  • Raghu Babu as Durga Reddy, Bhanumati's suitor's father
  • Sapthagiri as Giri, Jai's supervisor
  • Rajeev Kanakala as Suri Reddy, a villager
  • Sekhar as Veeranna, Suri's brother-in-law
  • Easwari Rao as Siddhappa's wife
  • Sameer as Rudra Reddy, Veera Simha Reddy's father
  • Annapurna as Veera Simha Reddy's grandmother
  • Rajitha as Veera Simha Reddy's relative
  • Rajashree Nair as Meenakshi's mother
  • Naga Mahesh as Varada Reddy, a villager
  • Goparaju Ramana as head priest
  • Duvvasi Mohan as a priest
  • Ananth Babu as a priest
  • Chammak Chandra
  • Archana Ananth as Isha's mother
  • Aruna Bhikshu as Isha's grandmother
  • Harika Koyilamma as Isha's sister
  • Siva Krishna as Ramgopal Reddy
  • Meena Kumari as Veera Simha Reddy's relative
  • Chandrika Ravi in item number "Maa Bava Manobhavalu"
  • Ramajogayya Sastry in a cameo appearance
  • Brahmanandam in a cameo appearance as Ismail, a judge in the "Voice of Europe" music show
  • Ali in a cameo appearance as Darbar, a judge in the "Voice of Europe" music show
  • Manisha Eerabathini in a cameo appearance as host in the "Voice of Europe" music show
  • Master Sathwik as a victim of Gangi Reddy

Production

Development

In late January 2021, it was reported that Gopichand Malineni would team up with Nandamuri Balakrishna for his next directional, funded by Naveen Yerneni and Y. Ravi Shankar under Mythri Movie Makers.[6] The project was officially announced on 10 June, on the occasion of Balakrishna's birthday, with the working title NBK107. Thaman S was brought on-board to compose the score.[7] A muhurtam ceremony was held on 13 November in Hyderabad.[8]

Casting

In mid June 2021, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar was reported to play an important role in the film.[9] In mid August, Vijay Sethupathi was reported to play the lead antagonist role, thus making the film as his second Telugu film after Uppena (2021), but turned to be false.[10] In October, Shruti Haasan was reported to play the lead female role, alongside Balakrishna. She was reported to receive ₹2.5 crore (US$310,000) for remuneration.[11] Shruti's commitments were officially announced on 5 November.[12] Kannada actor Duniya Vijay was announced playing the lead antagonist on 3 January 2022.[13] Few days later, Varalaxmi's commitments were officially announced.[14]

Filming

Principal photography begam on 18 February 2022 in Sircilla and commenced in December.[15][16][17] In October 2022, the film's official title was unveiled as Veera Simha Reddy.[18]

Music

Veera Simha Reddy
Soundtrack album by
Thaman S
Released9 January 2023
Recorded2022
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length15:16
LanguageTelugu
LabelSony Music India
Thaman S chronology
Varisu
(2023) 		Veera Simha Reddy
(2023) 		Bro
(2023)
Singles from Veera Simha Reddy
  1. "Jai Balayya (Mass Anthem)"
    Released: 26 November 2022
  2. "Suguna Sundari"
    Released: 15 December 2022
  3. "Maa Bava Manobhavalu"
    Released: 24 December 2022
  4. "Mass Mogudu"
    Released: 9 January 2023

The music of the film is composed by Thaman S. The first single titled "Jai Balayya" was released on 26 November 2022.[19] The second single titled "Suguna Sundari" was released on 15 December 2022.[20] The third single titled "Maa Bava Manobhavalu" was released on 24 December 2022.[21] The fourth single titled "Mass Mogudu" was released on 9 January 2023.[22]

All lyrics are written by Ramajogayya Sastry

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Jai Balayya" (Mass Anthem)Kareemullah3:51
2."Suguna Sundari"Ram Miriyala, Snigdha Sharma4:14
3."Maa Bava Manobhavalu"Sahiti Chaganti, Yamini, Renu Kumar4:49
4."Mass Mogudu"Mano, Ramya Behara3:27
Total length:15:16

Release

Theatrical

Veera Simha Reddy released on 12 January 2023, for the Sankranti weekend.[18][23][24] Theatrical rights of the film were sold at a cost of ₹73 crore.[25]

Home Media

The digital streaming rights of the film were acquired by Disney+ Hotstar for ₹14 crore,[26][25] and was premiered on 23 February 2023.[27] It was premiered on television on Star Maa on 23 April 2023.[28]

Reception

Critical reception

123Telugu gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "On the whole, Veera Simha Reddy is a decent action entertainer that has all the commercial elements to entertain Balakrishna fans."[29] Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express rated the film 3.25 out of 5 stars and wrote "The troubling part of Veera Simha Reddy, by that token most of Balakrishna's movies, is that it argues its okay to kill to solve a problem".[30] Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Veera Simha Reddy is Balakrishna’s film through-and-through. However, where he triumphs as Veera, he fails as Jai. Whenever the man comes on-screen donned is black is when you feel like paying attention, his cakey makeup and lukewarm performance while playing the other character takes away from it."[31] Janani K of India Today gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and termed the film as "reeks of clichéd ideas", criticised the storyline while praised the performance of Balakrishna.[32]

Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times wrote "The film thrives on violence and some exquisitely shot action sequences, which are a treat to watch. As the central character Veera Simha Reddy, Balakrishna holds the film together and its quite literally a one-man show."[33] Bhuvanesh Chandar of The Hindu wrote "Violent scenes that bank on shock value, powerful antagonists, and an intriguing larger narrative worked well to complement the slow-motion chest-thumping moments. In Veera Simha Reddy, we have a loosely knit and archaic narrative told through a template screenplay."[34]

Box office

Veera Simha Reddy grossed ₹54+ crore worldwide on its opening day, including ₹36.2 crore from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana combined.[35] Thus, it became the highest opening grosser for Nandamuri Balakrishna.[36] The film has grossed US$747,000 by the first day of its release in the United States.[37] By the end of its theatrical run, Veera Simha Reddy grossed ₹133 crore worldwide including a distributors' share of ₹79.82 crore.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  2. ^ "'వాల్తేరు వీరయ్య', 'వీర సింహారెడ్డి' సినిమాల బడ్జెట్ ఎంతో తెలుసా ?". ABP News (in Telugu). 12 December 2022. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy: 100 రోజులు పూర్తి చేసుకున్న బాలకృష్ణ వీరసింహారెడ్డి మూవీ.. సెంటర్స్ లిస్ట్ ఇవే." TV9 Telugu. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Nandamuri Balakrishna's first look from NBK107 promises a heavy-duty action film". The Indian Express. 21 February 2022. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Veera Simha Reddy: 100 రోజులు పూర్తి చేసుకున్న బాలకృష్ణ వీరసింహారెడ్డి మూవీ.. సెంటర్స్ లిస్ట్ ఇవే." News18 Telugu (in Telugu). 21 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  6. ^ "'Krack' director Gopichand likely to team up with Balakrishna for an actioner". The Times of India. 21 January 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Nandamuri Balakrishna announces his 107th film on his birthday; teams up with Gopichand Malineni". Times Now News. 10 June 2021. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  8. ^ "NBK 107: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Shruti Haasan's film gets launched with pooja ceremony; pics go viral". The Times of India. 13 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Varalaxmi Sarathkumar brought on-board Balakrishna and Gopichand Malineni's #NBK107". The Times of India. 11 June 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Vijay Sethupathi to play a crucial role in Nandamuri Balakrishna's next with Gopichand Malineni?". The Times of India. 12 August 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Shruti Haasan to pair opposite Nandamuri Balakrishna for his next with Gopichand Malineni?". The Times of India. 28 October 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Shruti Haasan roped in as female lead for Balakrishna's next with Gopichand Malineni". The Times of India. 5 November 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  13. ^ "#NBK107: Duniya Vijay to play the antagonist in the Nandamuri Balakrishna starrer". The Times of India. 3 January 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Sharat Kumar's daughter to play a key role in Nandamuri Balakrishna's 'NBK107'". The Times of India. 5 January 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  15. ^ "NBK 107 షూటింగ్ షురూ..చితగొట్టేస్తున్న బాలకృష్ణ". Samayam Telugu (in Telugu). 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Balakrishna | NBK 107 : సిరిసిల్లలో మొదలైన బాలయ్య గోపీచంద్ కొత్త సినిమా షూటింగ్." News18 (in Telugu). 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Balakrishna starts shooting for 'NBK107' with a heavy action sequence". The Times of India. 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Veera Simha Reddy: Lion Ready For The Hunt". Gulte.com. 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy song Jai Balayya: Another ode to the myth of Nandamuri Balakrishna". The Indian Express. 25 November 2022. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Suguna Sundari: Second single from Nandamuri Balakrishna's 'Veera Simha Reddy' to be unveiled on Dec 15". Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  21. ^ "Nandamuri Balakrishna's Veera Simha Reddy 3rd single Maa Bava Manobhavalu to be out on Dec 24". India Today. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Here is yet another exquisite dance number 'Mass Mogudu' from Nandamuri Balakrishna, Shruti Haasan and Gopichand Malineni's 'Veera Simha Reddy'!". Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Its official! Nandamuri Balakrishna's Veera Simha Reddy to release in theatres on Jan 12". India Today. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  24. ^ "'వీరసింహారెడ్డి'కి గుమ్మడికాయ కొట్టేశారు.. ఈ నెలాఖరు నుంచి ఆన్‌లైన్ టికెట్ బుకింగ్స్". Hindustan Times Telugu. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Veera Simha Reddy 8 Days WW Collections: 'వీరసింహారెడ్డి' 8 డేస్ వాల్డ్ వైడ్ బాక్సాఫీస్ కలెక్షన్స్.. బాక్సాఫీస్ దగ్గర బాలయ్య ఎంత బాకీ ఉన్నాడంటే." News18 Telugu (in Telugu). 20 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  26. ^ "Official: Veera Simha Reddy Gets OTT Streaming Partner". Mirchi9. 12 January 2023. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy OTT release: This is when and where you can watch the Balakrishna, Shruthi Haasan starrer". ottplay.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  28. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy locks its world television premiere date". 123Telugu. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  29. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy Telugu Movie Review". 123telugu. 14 January 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  30. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy movie review: This Nandamuri Balakrishna starrer has no soul". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  31. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy Movie Review: Balakrishna triumphs as Veera but not so much as Jai". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  32. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy Movie Review: Balakrishna packs a punch in this template action entertainer". India Today. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  33. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy movie review: Without Nandamuri Balakrishna's energetic presence the film would be boring". Hindustan Times. 12 January 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  34. ^ Chandar, Bhuvanesh (12 January 2023). "'Veera Simha Reddy' movie review: Balakrishna misspent on a mind-numbing template". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  35. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy box office collection day 1: Balakrishna's film collects ₹60 crore". Hindustan Times. 13 January 2023. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  36. ^ "Veera Simha Reddy box office collection day 1: Nandamuri Balakrishna's film sets box office on fire, beats Ajith-starrer Thunivu". The Indian Express. 13 January 2023. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  37. ^ "US: Waltair Veerayya is off to a terrific start". Telugu Cinema. 13 January 2023. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.

External links