''Damarukam'' () is a 2012 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

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

written and directed by

Srinivasa Reddy Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology Venkatesw ...

, and produced by R. R. Venkat on R. R. Movie Makers. It stars

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...

Anushka Shetty Sweety Shetty (born 7 November 1981), known by her stage name Anushka Shetty, is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in Telugu and Tamil films. She is the recipient of Three Filmfare Awards South, Two Nandi Award, and One Tamil ...

Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...

, and

P. Ravishankar Pudipeddi Ravi Shankar (born 28 November 1966), also known as Sai Ravi, is an Indian actor, dubbing artist, director and writer. He predominantly appears in Kannada films, in addition to Telugu and Tamil films. He dubbed for over 3500 films ...

. The music is composed by

Devi Sri Prasad Devi Sri Prasad (; born 2 August 1979) is an Indian film composer, lyricist, singer-songwriter and performer. Popularly known by his initials DSP, he is best known for his work in Telugu-language films, and has also worked in a few Tamil films ...

with cinematography by

Chota K. Naidu Chota K. Naidu (born 1962) is an Indian cinematographer, best known for his distinct style of cinematography for films like, ''Matru Devo Bhava'', ''Choodalani Vundi'', and ''Kotha Bangaru Lokam''. Naidu is part of the Indian Society of Cinemat ...

. The film was released in 2012 and opened to positive reviews from critics who appreciated Nagarjuna's performance. Naidu won

Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer - South ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, an ...

Plot

The

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the movie is born with the

divine grace Divine grace is a theological term present in many religions. It has been defined as the divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptati ...

Lord Siva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, and the boy's parents are advised to name him Mallikaarjuna as he is destined to accomplish a great work. During his childhood, Mallikaarjuna faces a great tragedy as his parents and grandparents are killed by a huge

black panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

as they return from Kaasi. This incident leaves his younger sister, Sailu,

paralyzed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

from the waist and hence renders her lame (Sailu had a talent for dancing before this incident). Malli then develops strong hatred toward Lord Siva. Meanwhile, the scene shifts to the focus of a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

named

Andhaka In Hindu literature, Andhaka (Sanskrit: अन्धक, IAST: Andhaka; lit. "He who darkens") refers to a malevolent asura, whose pride is vanquished by Shiva and Parvati.. His story finds mention in various Hindu texts, including the '' Matsy ...

asura. We see him performing a severe penance to obtain the boon of Lord Siva. Lord Siva blesses the demon that he will not interfere in the latter's attempt to sacrifice a virgin girl to obtain complete rulership over the three worlds. The demon is advised by his aged friend Maayi that the sacrifice must be made a month having two solar eclipses, in such a way that he has to marry the girl and sacrifice her before the solar eclipse ends. This will render the demon matchless and a master over all the five elements. The story then shifts to Malli, now an adult whose motive is to help people and take care of his bedridden sister. He falls in love with Dr. Maheswari on a visit to the hospital where his sister is being treated. There are many scenes where the atheist Malli forces the people of his colony, who include Rudraksha, Ringu Raja, the President, and others, not to worship, on account of his childhood tragedy. Then, one day, Sailu was just about to die, when Malli goes, Sailu tells him that she wants to die because of her unbearable pain. On this occasion, Malli questions Lord Siva about his condition and drives away in his car, only to meet with an accident. But Lord Siva intervenes and saves him. Lord Siva calls himself Saambayya, befriends Malli, and goes to his home. The demon chooses Dr. Maheswari as his target for the sacrifice and prevents the aghoraas (who arrive at the temple) from having access to Mahi, on the first solar eclipse day. Malli rescues Mahi from the Aghoraas, and Mahi's parents entrust Malli to take care of Mahi. Then, Mahi's parents decide to have Mahi marry a relative, Raahul, who is to arrive from the US. This advice is given by a saint known to Mahi's family. On his arrival at the airport, Andhakaasura kills Raahul in the washroom, kills him, and possesses his

dead body A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stude ...

. Andhakaasura, now in Raahul's form, enters Mahi's home and kills the three dogs who guard Mahi. The demon also paralyzes Mahi's father, when he learns the truth about him. He also tries to kill Malli and Mahi, on their way to a temple, but Lord Siva intervenes by sending his divine vehicle,

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...

, who saves Malli. This infuriates the demon, who feels that Lord Siva has not kept his promise. He challenges the Lord, to which he replies that it was his duty to protect his devotee. The demon then decides to oppose Lord Siva, so he kills the

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

known to Mahi's family, impersonates him, and convinces Malli, Mahi and others that Saambayya is not a good person by faking his death at the hands to Saambayya. This makes Malli angry at Saambayya, and he returns the ring of friendship given to him by Saambayya. Finally, Malli convinces Mahi's family that Rahul is Andhakaasura. Then, the demon carries Mahi to the spot of sacrifice and prepares for the ritual. Meanwhile, Malli is advised by the Aghora chief to worship Lord Siva, and he tells Malli about his purpose of birth to destroy the demon and the means to do it, as he was the reason for the tragedy in Malli's childhood and Lord Siva saved him as Saambayya. Malli confronts the demon and is initially defeated, but he heads skyward to get a blessing from Lord Siva and finally destroys Andhakaasura by piercing him with the

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

given by Lord Siva.

Cast

as Mallikarjuna / Malli *

as Maheswari / Mahi *

/ Sambayya *

Ravi Sankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

asura

Rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma whe ...

Ganesh Venkatraman Ganesh Venkatraman is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. He had acted in Radha Mohan's ''Abhiyum Naanum'' (2008), before working in '' Unnaipol Oruvan'' (2009) and ''Kandahar'' (2010). Career Ganesh began his ac ...

as Rahul *

Brahmanandam Kanneganti Brahmanandam (born 1 February 1956), known mononymously as Brahmanandam, is an Indian actor, comedian, impersonator, and voice actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is particularly known for his comic performa ...

as Rudraksha *

M. S. Narayana M. S. Narayana (16 April 1951–23 January 2015) was an Indian actor and comedian who worked in Telugu cinema. He died on 23 January 2015 due to organ failure in Hyderabad, India. Career Narayana has over 750 films to his credit. His debut film ...

as Vankara Satyam * Devan as Visvanadham *

Avinash Avinash Yelandur (born 22 December 1959) is an Indian actor who stars predominantly in South Indian language films, notably in the Kannada and Tamil film industries. He has been in the industry for two decades and has acted in over 200 films. Kn ...

as Kaapaalika's chief *

Brahmaji Brahmaji (born 25 April 1965) is an Indian actor best known for his work in Telugu cinema. He is a regular actor in director Krishna Vamsi's films. Brahmaji appeared in an important role in Krishna Vamsi's debut film as a director, '' Gulabi''. ...

as Visvanadham's brother *

Priya Priya may refer to: * Priya (given name), a given name of Indian origin * Priya (actress) Karpagavalli better known by her stage name Priya is an Indian actress who worked on South Indian movies. She was a prominent lead actress during the ...

as Mallikarjuna's mother *

Sameer Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...

as Mallikarjuna's father *

Geetanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' ( bn, গীতাঞ্জলি, lit='Song offering') is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature, for the English translation, Gitanjali:''Song Offer ...

as Mallikarjuna's grandmother *

Giri Babu Yerra Seshagiri Rao, popularly known as Giri Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who primarily woks in Telugu films. His son, Raghu Babu, is a notable actor-director. Career Giri Babu hails from a middle class agricultural famil ...

as Mallikarjuna's grandfather *

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 Goke Ring Raju *

Krishna Bhagavan Krishna Bhagavan (), (born 2 July 1965) is an actor in Tollywood, who has appeared in more than 350 films, mostly as a comedian. He is also well known as a writer. Early life Krishna Bhagavan was born Veeraraju Paparao Chowdary in Kaikavolu ...

as Colony President *

Thagubothu Ramesh Ramilla Ramesh, better known as Thagubothu Ramesh, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Telugu films. He is a recipient of Nandi Award for Best Male Comedian. He got the moniker "Thagubothu" as he portrayed several roles as a drunkard. ...

as Full Bottle Vasu * Pragati as Rajeshwari *

Abhinaya Abhinaya (Sanskrit ''abhi-'' 'towards' + ''nii-'' 'leading/guide') is the art of expression in Indian aesthetics. More accurately it means "leading an audience towards" the experience (') of a sentiment ('). The concept, derived from Bharata Mun ...

as Sailaja / Sailu * Jeeva as Maayi * Pruthviraj as Ad Film Director *

Duvvasi Mohan Duvvasi Mohan is an Indian actor who is know for acting in comic roles, primarily in Telugu films.. He is from Jagityal. He entered Tollywood as a producer and financier, but later turned to acting with comedy roles in over 350 films. Partial f ...

* Ajay * Kavitha *

Satya Krishnan Satya Krishnan is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Telugu films. She was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. She worked as a hotel management professional and entered the film industry with the film ''Dollar Dreams''. Mostly sta ...

Rajitha Rajitha is an Indian actress who works in Telugu films. She has been active since the late 1980s. Career Rajitha made her debut in film industry at the age of 18 with the Telugu movie, ''Brahma Rudrulu'' in which she portrayed Akkineni Nage ...

* Sravan * Kamal * Prabhu * Ramaraju * Vijaya Rangaraju * Apoorva * Kalpana * Lakshmi * Aruna * Amurtha Gowri * Sruthi * Archana * Anitha * Nandini * Nancy * Master Gaurav as Young Malli * Charmy as Sakkubai (

item number In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and Be ...

)

Production

Casting

The film sees

and

playing the leads.

P. Ravi Shankar Pudipeddi Ravi Shankar (born 28 November 1966), also known as Sai Ravi, is an Indian actor, dubbing artist, director and writer. He predominantly appears in Kannada films, in addition to Telugu language, Telugu and Tamil language, Tamil films. ...

Pradeep Rawat Pradeep Rawat may refer to: * Pradeep Kumar Rawat, Indian diplomat *Pradeep Rawat (politician) (born 1956), Indian politician *Pradeep Rawat (actor) Pradeep Rawat (born 21 January 1952) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu, Hi ...

Krishna Bhagavaan Krishna Bhagavan (), (born 2 July 1965) is an actor in Tollywood, who has appeared in more than 350 films, mostly as a comedian. He is also well known as a writer. Early life Krishna Bhagavan was born Veeraraju Paparao Chowdary in Kaikavolu ...

, Ahuti Prasad,

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

, Venu Madhav,

M.S. Narayana M. S. Narayana (16 April 1951–23 January 2015) was an Indian actor and comedian who worked in Telugu cinema. He died on 23 January 2015 due to organ failure in Hyderabad, India. Career Narayana has over 750 films to his credit. His debut film ...

and Jeeva are in the cast. Editing is by Gautham Raju, art is by Ashok, cinematography is by

and music is by

., Times of Ap reported that

Lakshmi Rai Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

was set to shake legs with Nagarjuna for the introduction song in this movie. The makers then have decided to set Charmy in the place of Lakshmi Rai for the introduction song in this movie. Nagarjuna had shown his six-pack abs for the first time in the movie.

Filming

The shooting of the film began on 25 April 2011. The first schedule of the film was in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where Nagarjuna would romance Anushka Shetty to the choreography of

Raju Sundaram Basuva Raju Sundaram is an Indian dance choreographer, actor and director, who works primarily in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. He appeared as an actor in films such as but not limited to: ''Jeans'' (1998), '' 123'' (2002), ''I Love You Da' ...

. On 29 September 2012, The theatrical trailer of this socio-fantasy film has released with the movie Rebel, which graced the theatres that day. According to the producer Dr Venkat, the trailer has received a huge response from the film goers. This movie is the first Telugu film ever with over 70 minutes of special effects. A team of visual effects experts at Firefly Creative Studio have been working on the movie for over a year now. Firefly, the company which worked on special effects for films like Anji, Arundathi,

Magadheera ''Magadheera'' () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by Allu Aravind's Geetha Arts, on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Ram Charan, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal and Dev Gill. ...

and

Anaganaga O Dheerudu ''Once Upon a time there was a warrior'' () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language fantasy adventure film written and directed by Prakash Kovelamudi in his first mainstream film. It is produced by Walt Disney Pictures with veteran director K. Raghaven ...

. Vyshnavi Films purchased the overseas theatrical rights.

Release

After much delays the film was released on 23 November 2012

Critical reception

idlebrain.com jeevi gave a rating of 3/5 stating "First half of the film is good, Plus points of the film are Nagarjuna and the grandeur". Great andhra also rated 3/5 DNA India gave the film 2.5 and Times of India gave 3.5 ratings. Reddif also rated 3/5 and said "This socio-fantasy is one-of-its-kind in today's times and can be watched once for the stunning visuals".

Accolades

Soundtrack

Music was composed by

. Music was released on

Aditya Music Aditya Music India Private Limited is a music company in India, which owns the label Aditya Music. It produces music for the Telugu cinema industry and is headquartered at Hyderabad, Telangana. Overview The company was founded by Umesh Gup ...

. The audio release was held on 10 September 2012 at

Shilpakala Vedika Shilpakala Vedika is a terracotta auditorium and convention centre located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The auditorium is in area. "Shilpa" means sculpture, ''kala'' means art, and ''vedika'' means platform. Hence it is an art sculpture pl ...

in Hyderabad. Devi Sri Prasad scored the music and there are 10 songs for which lyricists

Jonnavittula Jonnavithula Ramalingeswara Rao is an Indian film lyricist and a poet known for his works in Telugu Cinema. He is also known for his parody songs. He won Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist – Telugu for the film ''Sri Rama Rajyam'' (2011). He w ...

, Chandra Bose, Sahithi and Bhaskara Bhatla have penned the lyrics. entertainment.in.msn.com gave a moderate review stating "Devi Sri Prasad's 50th album is unique from his usual run-of-the-mill compositions, but not his best. As a fan of the composer, the listener will be satisfied, but as a music lover, one doubts if this album would live up to listeners' expectations." telugu.way2movies.com gave a positive review stating "Damarukam has the mix of devotional tracks on Lord Siva along with the romantic duets and a mass track. The devotion numbers are highly appealing and catch your attention while the duets are likeable with the repeated listen. Sakkubai will be instantly liked by masses. DSP scores well with his 50th album Damarukam." Musicperk.com rated the album 8.5/10 quoting "A must-listen album by DSP. Not a song to be left out".

References

External links

* {{Srinivasa Reddy 2012 films 2010s Telugu-language films 2010s fantasy action films Indian fantasy action films