''A1 Express'' is a 2021 Indian
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
-language
sports drama
A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the spor ...
film directed by Dennis Jeevan Kanukolanu. It stars
Sundeep Kishan
Sundeep Kishan (born 7th May 1987) is an Indian actor and producer who works in predominately in Telugu and Tamil cinema.
Career
Sandeep Kishan was born in a Telugu family in present-day Chennai. He is the nephew to the cinematographers Chota ...
and
Lavanya Tripathi
Lavanya Tripathi (born 15 December 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu films along with Tamil films. She made her acting debut with the Hindi television show ''Pyaar Ka Bandhan'' (2009) and made her film debut with ''An ...
while
Murali Sharma
Murali Sharma (born 9 August 1972) is an Indian actor who works predominently in Telugu and Hindi films. Sharma has starred in over 130 feature films, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam cinema.
Sharma gained wide recognition ...
and
Rao Ramesh
Raavu Ramesh Rao (born 25 May 1968) is an Indian actor known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and television. He is the son of veteran actor Rao Gopal Rao. Rao Ramesh initially appeared in ''Seema Simham'' (2002), ''Okk ...
appear in supporting roles. A remake of the Tamil film ''
Natpe Thunai
''Natpe Thunai'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language sports film directed by D. Parthiban Desingu in his directorial debut, while Sreekanth Vasrp and Devesh Jeyachandran have written the film's story, screenplay and dialogues. Produced by Sunda ...
'' (2019), the story of the film deals with the issues of
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
and
nepotism
Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
in sports. The film was released on 5 March 2021.
Plot
Sundeep (Sanju) Naidu is a happy-go-lucky youngster in
Yanam
Yanam (Telugu: ''యానాం'') is a town located in the Yanam district in Puducherry. It has a population of 35,000 and is entirely surrounded by Andhra Pradesh. It was formerly a French colony for nearly 200 years, and, though united wi ...
whose only ambition is to move to France. He goes to Yanam for this purpose, but there, he ends up falling in love with Lavanya Rao, a hockey player. Lavanya learns hockey through her hockey coach, Murali, a kindhearted retired military man who is the coach of the Indian local hockey team.
A corporate is after the ground where the Murali's players practice, and they are aided by the Sports minister Rao Ramesh. Later by filing a
RTI about the company, Murali discovers the corporation's plan to build a factory in the ground which pollutes the nearby rivers and harmful for the nearby villagers living there. Now to save the ground from the corporate the Murali's students should play with the Vizag hockey team and win the match. While selecting the hockey players for his team, he learns that Sanju was the 2014 U-21 World Cup Indian hockey team captain who was banned for three years. When Murali asks Sanju to join their hockey team and help them win the match, he refuses and narrates his past and his reasons for leaving hockey.
Sanju, Darshi, and Rahul were his childhood friends. Sanju is an attacker in his team, while Darshi is defense in the same team. Sanju, after being selected by national selectors, gets into the Indian hockey team and later becomes the captain of the 2014 U-21 World Cup competition's Indian hockey team, but Darshi is rejected in the Indian hockey team and asks about this to his coach, who mocks his desire to play hockey as well as his financial status and instead tells him to help his father in his fishing business. Because of this, Darshi kills himself in grief, and Rahul loses his leg to an oncoming train when he tries to save him. When Sanju learns of this, he thrashes his coach, and is therefore banned for five years.
Later, Murali decides to protest against the corporate company's unit being set up there with the help of his students and the local people, but the minister uses his dirty tricks and prevents Murali from becoming successful in his protest. The sports minister later acquaints with Sanju former coach to thwart Sanju's team from winning the hockey tournament.
After seeing the local people of India players of hockey suffering, Sanju decides to join the hockey team and get back the ground. Murali and Sanju train the players, and later, after facing so many difficulties, they win the match and get their ground back. When they come back to the ground, they see Rao Ramesh (who has lost his position now) giving a speech to the press as feeling happy for Murali's team's victory.
Cast
*
Sundeep Kishan
Sundeep Kishan (born 7th May 1987) is an Indian actor and producer who works in predominately in Telugu and Tamil cinema.
Career
Sandeep Kishan was born in a Telugu family in present-day Chennai. He is the nephew to the cinematographers Chota ...
as Sundeep "Sanju" Naidu
*
Lavanya Tripathi
Lavanya Tripathi (born 15 December 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu films along with Tamil films. She made her acting debut with the Hindi television show ''Pyaar Ka Bandhan'' (2009) and made her film debut with ''An ...
as Lavanya Rao (voice dubbed by
Chinmayi
Chinmayi Sripaada is an Indian playback singer, working mainly for the South Indian film industry. She is also a voice actor, television presenter, radio jockey, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company ...
)
*
Murali Sharma
Murali Sharma (born 9 August 1972) is an Indian actor who works predominently in Telugu and Hindi films. Sharma has starred in over 130 feature films, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam cinema.
Sharma gained wide recognition ...
as Coach Murali
*
Rao Ramesh
Raavu Ramesh Rao (born 25 May 1968) is an Indian actor known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and television. He is the son of veteran actor Rao Gopal Rao. Rao Ramesh initially appeared in ''Seema Simham'' (2002), ''Okk ...
as Sports minister Rao Ramesh
*
Posani Krishna Murali
Posani Krishna Murali (born 22 January 1958) is an Indian screenwriter, actor, director and producer who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He worked as a writer for over 150 Telugu films and directed a number of films. In 2009, he also conte ...
as Sundeep's uncle
*
Priyadarshi Pulikonda
Priyadarshi Pulikonda (born 25 August 1989) is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Telugu films. He gained recognition for his role in ''Pelli Choopulu'' (2016). In addition to supporting roles, Priyadarshi played the lead in films such as ...
as Darshi
*
Rahul Ramakrishna
Rahul Ramakrishna (born 15 January 1991) is an Indian actor, writer and journalist. He made his debut with the short film, ''Sainma''. He became popular with his role in the 2017 Telugu film, ''Arjun Reddy''.
Early life
Rahul Ramakrishna was b ...
as Rahul
* Satish Saripalli as Lavanya's father
* Abhijeeth Poondla as Asif Ali, Vice captain
*
Raghu Babu
Yerra Raghu, known professionally as Raghu Babu, is a Telugu comedian well known for his comic expressions and timing. He has worked in many successful films in Telugu industry. He is the eldest son of famous comedian and character actor Giri B ...
as Raghu, Govt Officer
*
Sriranjini as Sundeep's mother
*
Satya
''Satya'' (Sanskrit: सत्य; IAST: ''satya)'' is a Sanskrit word loosely translated as truth, essence. A. A. Macdonell, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Asian Educational Services, , pp. 330–331 It also refers to a virtue in Indian relig ...
as Satya, Sundeep's cousin
* Sudharshan as Rao Ramesh's assistant
* Uppada Parvateesam
* Mahesh Vitta as Mahesh, Divya's classmate
* Divi Vadthya as Divya, Satya's sister
*
Khayyum
Khayyum is an Indian actor who has appeared in more than 100 Telugu films.
Early life
Khayyum was born in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, and brought up in Hyderabad. His father was a tailor and his mother was a housewife. He is the brother of a ...
as Khayyum, Ground Incharge
* Bhupal Raju as a school coach
*
Kathi Mahesh
Kathi Mahesh Kumar (1977/8 – 10 July 2021) was an Indian film critic and actor working in Telugu cinema. He appeared on the Telugu reality TV show ''Bigg Boss''.
Personal life
Kathi Mahesh Kumar hailed from Yellamanda, a village in Chittoo ...
as a journalist
Production
Development
After his first production venture, ''
Ninu Veedani Needanu Nene
''Ninu Veedani Needanu Nene'' () is a 2019 Indian Telugu romantic thriller film written and directed by Caarthick Raju and produced by Dayapannem and Vijisubramanian, under the banner of Venkatadari Talkies. The film stars Sundeep Kishan, Anya ...
'' became a decent success,
Sundeep Kishan
Sundeep Kishan (born 7th May 1987) is an Indian actor and producer who works in predominately in Telugu and Tamil cinema.
Career
Sandeep Kishan was born in a Telugu family in present-day Chennai. He is the nephew to the cinematographers Chota ...
officially announced his second project under his
Venkatadri Talkies banner, titled as ''A1 Express'' and it was reported to be helmed by newcomer Dennis Jeevan Kanukolanu. The project was officially announced in October 2019 with a poster release denoting it as the first
Telugu-language
Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fami ...
sports film to be based on
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
.
Casting
Sundeep also played the lead role apart from producing the film, and actors
Priyadarshi,
Rahul Ramakrishna
Rahul Ramakrishna (born 15 January 1991) is an Indian actor, writer and journalist. He made his debut with the short film, ''Sainma''. He became popular with his role in the 2017 Telugu film, ''Arjun Reddy''.
Early life
Rahul Ramakrishna was b ...
,
Murali Sharma
Murali Sharma (born 9 August 1972) is an Indian actor who works predominently in Telugu and Hindi films. Sharma has starred in over 130 feature films, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam cinema.
Sharma gained wide recognition ...
and
Srinivas Avasarala
Srinivasa Saambasiva Avasarala (born 19 March 1984) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, and television presenter known for his works in Telugu cinema. He received two Nandi Awards and a SIIMA Award.
Early life
Srinivasa Saambasiva ...
were signed, although the details of the lead actress were not announced. The actors undergone a month-long training at the Begumpet Hockey Stadium in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
so as to understand the nuances of the sport, and the film went on floors from November 2019. With the shooting being progressed silently in Hyderabad, the makers announced the lead actress of the film as
Lavanya Tripathi
Lavanya Tripathi (born 15 December 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu films along with Tamil films. She made her acting debut with the Hindi television show ''Pyaar Ka Bandhan'' (2009) and made her film debut with ''An ...
with her character poster being released from the film in December 2019. Tripathi trained intensively in hockey before her portions were shot earlier a month ago.
Filming
The film's shooting which was halted due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, was resumed in September 2020, during the fourth phase of unlock. The major of the portions were shot in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
with a special team being designated in order to observe the cast and crew abiding the safety guidelines in order to control the spread of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The post-lockdown schedule was completed within a duration of 15 days and the team took a month-long break due to restrictions in travel after pandemic lockdown, as the team had to start the final schedule in
Mohali
Mohali, officially known as Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, is a planned city in the Mohali district in Punjab (India), Punjab, India, which is an administrative and a commercial hub lying south-west of Chandigarh. It is the headquarters of the Moh ...
. Later, the final schedule took place in October 2020 with the portions being shot at the
Mohali International Hockey Stadium
International Hockey Stadium is a field hockey stadium in Mohali, Punjab, India.
This stadium serves as the home ground for the hockey club, Punjab Warriors, of Hockey India League. On May 25, 2021, the stadium was renamed the Olympian Balbir ...
, where the crucial sequences of the 2007 film ''
Chak De! India
''Chak De! India'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film directed by Shimit Amin and produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films, with a script written by Jaideep Sahni. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan as Kabir Kh ...
'' were filmed. The shooting of the film was wrapped in December 2020.
Soundtrack
The music is composed by
Hiphop Tamizha
Hiphop Tamizha () is an Indian musical duo based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The duo consists of Adhithya "Adhi" Venkatapathy and R. Jeeva.
Their commercial break-through came with the song "Club le Mabbu le" in 2011. In 2012, Hiphop Tamizha rele ...
, in his third Telugu film after ''
Dhruva
Dhruva (Sanskrit: ध्रुव, , lit. "''unshakeable, immovable, or fixed"'') was an ascetic devotee of Vishnu mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana.
The Sanskrit term ''dhruva nakshatra'' (ध्रुव नक्ष ...
'' and ''
Krishnarjuna Yudham
''Krishnarjuna Yudham'' () is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Merlapaka Gandhi and produced by Sahu Garapati & Harish Peddi under Shine Screens banner. The film stars Nani, Anupama Parameswaran, Ruksha ...
''. Hiphop Tamizha reused most of the compositions from the 2019 Tamil film ''
Natpe Thunai
''Natpe Thunai'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language sports film directed by D. Parthiban Desingu in his directorial debut, while Sreekanth Vasrp and Devesh Jeyachandran have written the film's story, screenplay and dialogues. Produced by Sunda ...
'', except for one track. The album has eight songs that features lyrics written by
Ramajogayya Sastry
Ramajogayya Sastry (born 24 August 1970) is an Indian film lyricist, known for his works in Telugu cinema and music.
Early life
Ramajogayya Sastry was born in Arepalli Muppalla, Ipuru Mandal near Narasaraopet of Guntur district. His father, S ...
, Kittu Vissapragada, Samrat,
Roll Rida
Rahul Kumar Velpula (born 26 Jan 1989), known professionally as Roll Rida, is an Indian rapper, songwriter and actor in Telugu films and music.
He became popular with his YouTube rap song on Sankranthi, ''Patang'', was a huge hit with over 1 ...
, Krishna Chaitanya, Pranav Chaganty, Vamsi Vikas. The first song titled "Single Kingulam" was released on 12 February 2020,
which was sung by
Rahul Sipligunj
Rahul Sipligunj (born 22 August 1989) is an Indian playback singer, songwriter, independent musician and actor. He became popular with his independent songs on YouTube.YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
as of July 2020 and became one of the popular Telugu songs of the year on major music streaming platforms.
A year later, another song "Amigo" sung by
Inno Genga was released on 10 February 2021, as the film's second single. Later, the third song "Veedhikoka Jaathi" sung by
Roll Rida
Rahul Kumar Velpula (born 26 Jan 1989), known professionally as Roll Rida, is an Indian rapper, songwriter and actor in Telugu films and music.
He became popular with his YouTube rap song on Sankranthi, ''Patang'', was a huge hit with over 1 ...
and Yogi Sekar, with rap versions penned by the former was released on 25 February. The fourth song "Telavaarutunte" was released on 1 March 2021, and the rest of the tracks were released along with the complete album on 3 March 2021.
Reception
Critical reception
Neeshita Nyayapati of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' stated that "''A1 Express'' might be a predictable, often-told tale, but it is a much-needed one. Even if just to show that there is hope for the youth of this country after all, seeing as how they’re not afraid to fight back." ''
Film Companion
Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
''
's Karthik Keramalu wrote that "It's entertaining in its own mundane way, but when there are so many competent actors in a movie, you wish it had aimed higher. That’s all!"
Gabbeta Ranjith Kumar of ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' quoted the film as "lost opportunity" Another critic Sasidhar Divi rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and stated "''A1 Express'' may not be a perfect sports film, but it has its moments." Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' wrote that "''A1 Express'' is a mixed bag; a part of it wants to be taken as a serious sports drama and another part wants you to just have some popcorn entertainment. A little more focus would have made it a more engaging sports drama." A reviewer of ''
The Hans India
''The Hans India'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as in New Delhi. The newspaper was started on 15 July 2011 and belongs to Hyderabad Media House Ltd., which also owns ...
'' stated "On paper, A1 Express has a simple storyline. But the hockey angle makes things interesting in the movie. A1 Express is a good watch even though it has a few drawbacks."
Box office
The film grossed over ₹1.5
crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
on its opening day. In its opening weekend, the film grossed over ₹5
crore
A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 11214972
2021 films
Telugu remakes of Tamil films
Films scored by Hiphop Tamizha
Indian sports drama films
2020s Telugu-language films
Films set in Andhra Pradesh
2020s sports drama films
Films about corruption in India
Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films shot in Andhra Pradesh
Films set in Visakhapatnam
Films shot in Visakhapatnam
2021 drama films