Potugadu

Potugadu
Movie poster
Directed by	Pavan Wadeyar
Produced by	Sireesha Lagadapati Sreedhar Lagadapati
Screenplay by	Pavan Wadeyar
Story by	Pavan Wadeyar
Starring	Manoj Manchu Sakshi Chaudhary Simran Kaur Mundi Rachel Anupriya
Music by	Achu Rajamani
Cinematography	Srikanth
Edited by	M. R. Varmaa
Production company	Ramalakshmi Cine Creations
Release dates	September 14, 2013 (2013-09-14) [1]
Running time	125 mins
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹200 million (US$3.0 million)
Box office	₹500 million (US$7.4 million)

Potugadu (English: Hero) is a Telugu film directed by Pavan Wadeyar. It is a remake of the Kannada film Govindaya Namaha which was also directed by Pavan Wadeyar.^[2] It is produced by Sirisha and Sridhar under Ramalakshmi Cine Creations banner.^[3] The film has four heroines, Sakshi Chowdhary, Simran Kaur Mundi, Rachel and Anupriya.^[4] Achu has scored the music,^[5] and two tunes from the Kannada film - including the sensational hit Pyarge Aagbittaite - have been used in the Telugu version.^[6] The shooting was wrapped up in a single extensive schedule and the post-production work was simultaneously in progress.^[7] Reportedly Potugadu was going to be the biggest movie in terms of budget in Manoj's career. The film released on 13 September 2013 and was declared a 'Hit' at the Box office.^[8]

Plot

Govinda Naama Sastry (Manoj Manchu) is a young man who decides to commit suicide. He goes to a lonely spot and decides to have one last drink. At about the same time, Venkata Rathnam (Posani Krishna Murali) also comes to the same spot to commit suicide. The two sit down for a chat to find out more about their respective life stories.

While Venkata Rathnam decides to die as his lover ditched him, Govinda has four love stories to narrate. First up is his romantic track with Vaidehi (Simran Kaur Mundi), the daughter of a rich Brahmin. After a brief courtship, the love story fails because Vaidehi’s father is against the alliance. Govinda moves on in life and this is where the second love story begins. He falls in love with Mumtaz (Sakshi Choudhary) and romance blossoms between them. But Govinda throws away everything in a drunken stupor, where he makes some derogatory comments about Mumtaz.

Venkata Rathnam gets furious and tries to bash Govinda. But Govinda vomits blood admitting that he had poison mixed in the drink. Venkata Rathnam takes him to a hospital and gets him treated by a doctor. Mumtaz is working there as a nurse which is not known to either Govinda or Venkata Rathnam. Mumtaz hides behind a wall and starts listening to Govinda's story.

Next up is a love story with a foreigner named Stacy (Rachel) who is engaged to his boss. In order to steal her ring costing 500,000 rupees he separates the couple but he ditches her after he comes to know that she threw the ring into a river out of frustration. The last and final love story involves Mary (Anupriya). For the first time in his life, Govinda experiences true love. He fully reforms himself and leads a normal life. But the shocking truth about Mary is that she runs a brothel and trafficks girls. Upon hearing this from the police, Govinda is heartbroken.

On hiring Govinda for a job, Mary tells that him that her task is upbringing talented girls from towns and his job is to transport them to her house. In the present, Govinda is informed by the police regarding this and after pleading strongly, police accept Govinda's favor in helping them in releasing the girls. The girls, all of them transported by Govinda, are in a container and after much bloodshed Govinda rescues all of them. Dejected and heartbroken by the betrayal and the sins he committed he decides to die.

Now both Govinda and Venkata Rathnam go out of the hospital and watch Vaidehi being taken to a room for her delivery and his boss along with his parents. Govinda tells 2 truths to Venkata Rathnam before suicide. One is that he left Vaidehi as he was aware that if he eloped with Vaidehi, her parents would commit suicide. The other is that he separated his boss and Stacy as his boss would desert his parents after his marriage with her which didn't happen because of him.

Mumtaz stops Govinda as Govinda confesses to Venkata Rathnam that Mumtaz was the only girl who showered unconditional love on him and he just left her in a drunken state. The pair reconciles and a frustrated Venkata Rathnam leaves the hospital with the hope of gaining love. He accidentally comes across a beautiful girl who accepts his proposal.^[9]

Cast

• Manchu Manoj
• Sakshi Chaudhary
• Simran Kaur Mundi
• Rachel
• Anupriya

Music

Achu has composed the music for the film. The soundtrack album, officially released by Aditya Music, consist of 10 tracks out of which 2 were re-used from the original. Among many famous celebrities the audio was launched in Hyderabad on 25 August 2013.^[10]

Release

Potugadu was awarded 'A' certificate by the censor board. It also has recommended few cuts to the movie.The film released in 550 screens worldwide.^[11]

Critical reception

The film opened mixed to positive reviews from critics. Andhra Wishesh rated 3.5/5 stated Potugadu has lots of love stories woven into one product. Go watch it for some light fun and good laughs.^[12]123Telugu.com rated 3/5 stated 'Potugadu' has a very entertaining and racy first half. But it is let down by a loud and cliched second half. You can safely watch the film once, for the crackling performances from Manoj and Posani as well as for some great songs.^[13]Oneindia rated 3/5 stated Potugadu is a wonderful comedy entertainer, which has best performances, rich production and interesting script. Manoj and Pavan are sure to get a big break from this film. It is a mass entertainer. Don't miss it to watch this weekend.^[14]Great Andhra rated 2.5/5 stated the film progresses at a brisk pace and ends in two hours. That is a huge plus for the movie. Otherwise, one would have had to suffer Manoj’s excesses for a longer time and that would have negatively impacted the film. Those who can tolerate 'loud comedy' and bear Manoj’s over action, can watch Potugadu once. Given that it’s a low budget flick with double meaning dialogues and good music, it might end up being a safe film at the box office. It is what one can term as an 'ok' movie. Surely, you won’t miss anything in case you decide to skip watching it! Watch it at your own risk!^[15] Telugu Mirchi rated 2.25/5 stated The ratings and analysis of the above reviews do not reflect the opinion of the audience. It is merely the reviewer’s perception and has no connection with the box office collections whatsoever.^[16]Rediff.com rated 2/5 stated The film may appeal to those who enjoy double entendres and crude entertainment. Others can happily give it a miss.^[17]Deccan Chronicle rated 1.5/5 stated the film waste of time skip it!^[18]

Box office

The film opened well 45% - 60% occupancy on first day collected ₹ 68.8 million.The film surpassed collection of previous Blockbuster film Manoj in just 2 days of its release.^[19] The film first weekend collected ₹ 220 million at the box office.Despite of political issues the film had a strong collection in first week ₹ 350 million at the box office.^[20] The film become biggest hit ever in Manoj's career.The film final worldwide collection ₹ 200 million at the box office.^[21]

References

External links

Potugadu at the Internet Movie Database