Sarileru Neekevvaru (transl. Nobody can match you) is a 2020 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Anil Ravipudi. The film stars Mahesh Babu and Rashmika Mandanna along with Vijayashanti who makes her comeback into films after 13 years while Prakash Raj and Rajendra Prasad play supporting roles. It was produced by Anil Sunkara, Dil Raju and Mahesh Babu under the banners AK Entertainments, Sri Venkateswara Creations and G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment respectively. Devi Sri Prasad composed the music while R. Rathnavelu handled the cinematography.
Production began on 31 May 2019 in Hyderabad. Shooting began on 5 July 2019 at Kashmir and lasted till mid-November 2019. The film released on 11 January 2020 in 2050 screens worldwide coinciding with Sankranti. Produced on a budget of ₹75 crore, upon release, the film was commercially successful grossing more than ₹260 crore worldwide.
Plot
Ajay Krishna is a major in the Indian Army, while another person named Ajay joins his regiment. During a shootout, Ajay gets severely injured. Ajay’s Brigadier sends Ajay Krishna and his colleague Siva Prasad to inform the news to Ajay’s family by ensuring that Ajay’s sister’s wedding preparations are not disturbed. On the way to Kurnool in a train, they come across Samskruthi, who is to marry a below-average guy. On deciding to run away and marry a good-looking guy, she sees Ajay Krishna and falls in love with him. She tries to lure Ajay Krishna by accusing him of raping her, but he remains unbudged.
In Kurnool, Ajay’s mother, Bharathi, is on a hideout with her family to escape from MLA Yeddula Nagendra, a corrupt minister. When they are caught by Nagendra’s men who threaten to kill them, Ajay Krishna comes to their rescue and beats up the men with a warning that he would deal with Nagendra in the same way. Nagendra’s main henchman narrates this to Nagendra and tells him that he has seen Alluri Seetharama Raju in his guts. Meanwhile, Bharathi tells Ajay Krishna that Nagendra is after them as she lodged a complaint against him for killing his friend’s (or might be brother’s son) son, which was covered up as a suicide. When Nagendra threatens her to withdraw the complaint, she stands on her ground. Consequently, she is suspended from the college on the allegation of leaking the question paper and her daughter’s marriage gets called off.
Ajay Krishna then goes to Nagendra’s house and challenges him that he will change him as a responsible citizen by making him surrendered after fetching all the evidence. Ajay Krishna then understands that Nagendra has been involved in a scam through Ramakrishna, a government officer, and Bharathi’s brother’s son, a bank officer and another woman. Ramakrishna tried to uncover the scam with his help and the another girl. At the same time, Ajay Krishna re-arranges Bharathi’s daughter’s marriage with the same person. Meanwhile, Ajay is declared dead and Ajay Krishna informs the family after the wedding. Performing his last rites, Ajay Krishna and Prasad head back to Kashmir, while Ajay Krishna also accepts Samskruthi’s proposal in between. Despite gathering the evidence, Ajay Krishna spares Nagendra from being jailed as he might use the sympathy to come out of jail and resume his corrupt activities. Ajay Krishna instead tells Nagendra that he is appointed to the Indian Army so that that he will be disciplined and lead an honest life thereafter. The film ends with Nagendra being reformed and Ajay Krishna marrying Samskruthi.
Cast
- Mahesh Babu as Major Ajay Krishna
- Rashmika Mandanna as Samskruthi
- Vijayashanti as Bharathi, Medical College Professor
- Prakash Raj as MLA Yeddula Nagendra
- Rajendra Prasad as Siva Prasad, Ajay’s colleague
- Rao Ramesh as Samskruthi’s father
- Murali Sharma as Ajay’s Brigadier
- Posani Krishna Murali as C. I. Narayana
- Satyadev Kancharana as Ajay
- Brahmaji as Mrudanga Rao
- Tanikella Bharani as Minister
- Sangeetha as Swarajyam
- Jaya Prakash Reddy as Nagendra’s father
- Ajay as Nagendra’s Henchman
- Raghu Babu as Teacher Tirupati Rao, Nagendra’s sidekick
- Subbaraju as Crime Branch Koti (extended cameo)
- Vennela Kishore as Kishore, Crime Branch Koti’s assistant (extended cameo)
- Rajiv Kanakala as Ramakrishna, a government officer
- Bandla Ganesh as Blade Ganesh
- Satya as Bangarraju
- Hari Teja as Swetcha
- Abhinaya
- Rajitha
- Gautham Raju
- Tamannaah in the party song, “Daang Daang”
- Anil Ravipudi (cameo appearance in credits)
- Devi Sri Prasad (cameo appearance in “Mind Block” song)
- Sekhar (cameo appearance in “Mind Block” song)
Production
Development
After many speculations movie title was announced as Sarileru Neekevvaru. Opening ceremony was conducted on May 31, 2019.
Casting
Rashmika Mandanna was signed to play the leading lady in the movie opposite Mahesh Babu. Vijayashanti was signed in for this film, which marked her comeback after 13 years. Tamannaah was signed in for a party song. The film also marks the comeback of Sangeetha and Bandla Ganesh into movies after many years.
Filming
The first schedule was shot in Kashmir from July 5 to July 20, 2019. For the second schedule, a replica set of Konda Reddy Buruju was constructed in Ramoji Film City with an estimated cost of ₹40 million (US$560,000). On 8 November 2019, with the Kerala schedule the talkie part of the film wrapped up.
Soundtrack
| Sarileru Neekevvaru | |||||
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| Soundtrack album by
Devi Sri Prasad
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| Released | 5 January 2020 | ||||
| Recorded | 2019 | ||||
| Studio | Brindavan – The Garden Of Music | ||||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 21:06 | ||||
| Language | Telugu | ||||
| Label | Lahari Music T-Series |
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| Producer | Devi Sri Prasad | ||||
| Devi Sri Prasad chronology | |||||
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The music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad, collaborating with Mahesh Babu for the fifth time and with Anil Ravipudi for the second time after F2 – Fun and Frustration. The lyrics were written by Devi Sri Prasad, Sri Mani and Ramajogayya Sastry. Composer Devi worked with a special orchestra in Europe for recording the film’s soundtrack and score. The makers announced that the film features five songs and all of them will be released as singles, on five consecutive Mondays of the December month. The hashtag #MassMBMondays was trending on social media.
The first single track titled “Mind Block” was released on 2 December 2019, which was sung by Ranina Reddy with Blaaze singing the rap versions. Devi recorded this song while he was recording two other songs for his upcoming two films, on the same day. The second single track “Suryudivo Chandrudivo” was released on 9 December 2019, which was rendered by B Praak. The song resembles numbers, like “Idhe Kadha Nee Katha” from Maharshi (2019) and “Srimanthuda” from Srimanthudu (2015), which were composed by Devi Sri Prasad. The lyrics talk about the protagonist’s kindness and greatness. The third single track “He’s So Cute” was released on 16 December 2019, which was sung by Madhu Priya. It is termed as a teasing-romantic number. The fourth single “Sarileru Neekkevvaru Anthem” was released on 23 December 2019. Sung by Shankar Mahadevan, it features an orchestra from Europe, which recorded the film’s score. The fifth single track “Daang Daang” was released on 30 December 2019, which was sung by Nakash Aziz and Lavita Lobo. The full album was released on 5 January 2020.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Mind Block” | Sri Mani, Devi Sri Prasad | Blaaze, Ranina Reddy | 4:23 |
| 2. | “Suryudivo Chandrudivo” | Ramajogayya Sastry | B Praak | 4:32 |
| 3. | “He’s So Cute” | Sri Mani | Madhu Priya | 3:30 |
| 4. | “Sarileru Neekevvaru Anthem” | Devi Sri Prasad | Shankar Mahadevan | 4:27 |
| 5. | “Daang Daang” | Ramajogayya Sastry | Nakash Aziz, Lavita Lobo | 4:14 |
| Total length: | 21:06 | |||
Dubbed versions
The film was dubbed and released in Malayalam as Krishnan, Kannada as Major Ajay Krishna and Tamil as Ivanukku Sariyana Aal Illai.
Home media
The satellite rights of the film were sold to Gemini TV, which premiered it on 25 March 2020 for the first time on eve of Ugadi and in its first Television premier movie recorded a TRP of 23.4. The film’s digital rights were acquired by Amazon Prime Video and made available for streaming since 1 March 2020.
Reception
Critical response
Times Of India critic Neeshita Nyayapati, rated the film 2.5/5 stars and stated, “Sarileru Neekevvaru definitely has its moments but Anil Ravipudi’s bloated narrative that tries too hard.” On performances, Nyayapati noted that Babu did a “good job of playing a man who will serve the country, crack jokes and protect,” while also appreciating Vijayashanthi’s role. She felt that DSP’s music was “okay” and action by Ram-Lakshman was “engaging”, but Ratnavelu’s cinematography was “unfortunately overshadowed by subpar VFX shots.”
The editor of India Today, Janani K, rated the film 2/5 stars and wrote, “Mahesh Babu film is utterly disappointing.” She stated that “Screenplay is replete with disjointed stories that are forced together.” Janani also criticized the fake rape scene in the film, “The audacity to involve the heroine’s mother in faking a rape scene should be called out,” she added. First post editor Hemanth Kumar rated the film 3.25/5 stars and stated “Neekevvaru movie review: Mahesh Babu hits it out of the park in Anil Ravipudi’s fine blend of heroism and comedy.” In a review for Indian express, Manoj Kumar rated the film 3.5/5 stars and wrote “Mahesh Babu shines in mind bending popcorn fare.” Sify gave the film 3/5 and called it a “A commercial action-entertainer.” Sangeetha Devi of The Hindu wrote “Mahesh Babu’s film is a partly entertaining mixed bag.” A reviewer of Hans India rated the film 3/5 stars and wrote, “The movie will be like an eye feast for the audience who have been waiting to see Mahesh Babu in a complete entertaining role”
Box office
Sarileru Neekevvaru on the opening day collected ₹680 million (US$9.5 million) gross, beating Mahesh Babu’s previous best Maharshi ₹590 million (US$8.3 million) gross worldwide. The film grossed ₹1 billion (US$14 million) in three days, and ₹2 billion (US$28 million) in 10 days. After a run of 50 days, the film grossed more than ₹2.64 billion (US$38 million) at worldwide box office, becoming on the one of the highest-grossing Telugu films.
Domestic
In Telugu-speaking states (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), the film collected a share of ₹327.7 million on the opening day. Collecting over ₹1 billion share in Telugu states in 10 days, Sarileru Neekevvaru is reported as the first Telugu film to do so, after the Baahubali franchise.
Overseas
At the USA box office movie collected US$759,000 through premiere shows. On the opening day movie collected A$ 236,754 in Australia, NZ$ 20,757 in New Zealand and GB£ 55,234 in United Kingdom and in two days the movie collected US$1.31 million in United States of America. In three days the movie collected CA$6,454 (₹457,000) from Canada, US$1,624,974 (₹115.1 million) from USA and GB£70,689 (₹6.51 million) from UK. In nine days the movie collected US$2 million (₹142.1 million) from USA, A$349,258 (₹17.1 million) from Australia GB£96,218 (₹8.88 million) from UK and NZ$35,566 (₹1.67 million) from New Zealand. And it crossed over $2.3 million in United States and marked as 3rd film to collect $2 million in Mahesh Babu’s career after Maharshi and Bharath Ane Nenu.