''Krishnarjuna Yudham'' () is a 2018 Indian
Telugu-language
action comedy film
Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre.
Film
The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...
written and directed by
Merlapaka Gandhi
Merlapaka Gandhi (born Merlapaka Che Guevara) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works primarily in Telugu cinema. In 2013, he made his directorial debut with '' Venkatadri Express''. He later directed ''Express Raja'' (2016), an ...
and produced by Sahu Garapati & Harish Peddi under Shine Screens banner. The film stars
Nani,
Anupama Parameswaran,
Rukshar Dhillon
Rukshar Dhillon (born 12 October 1993) is an actress based in India who primarily works in Telugu films. Dhillon was born in London and brought up in India. She made her debut in 2016 with the Kannada '' Run Antony.'' She went on to star in Telu ...
in lead roles.
Nani played a dual role for the third time after
Janda Pai Kapiraju
''Janda Pai Kapiraju'' () is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language political action drama film. Janda Pai Kapiraju was written and directed by Samuthirakani, and features Nani and Amala Paul in lead roles. The film's soundtrack and score were composed ...
&
Gentleman. Part of the film was shot in
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oc ...
. The film opened worldwide on 12 April 2018 to mixed reviews, with praise for Nani's acting but criticism of the screenplay, lag in second half, its farfetchedness and its formulaic story.
Plot
Krishna and Arjun Jayaprakash are lookalikes hailing from
Akkurthi village in
Chittoor
Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popu ...
and the other from Prague, respectively. While the former is a happy-go-lucky individual, the latter is a rockstar and a flirt. Krishna falls in love with the village president's granddaughter Riya, a doctor. Arjun loves a traditional Indian girl Subbalakshmi, a
wildlife photographer
Wildlife photography is a genre of photography concerned with documenting various forms of wildlife in their natural habitat.
As well as requiring photography skills, wildlife photographers may need field craft skills. For example, some anima ...
. In the village, Riya's grandfather discovers her relationship with Krishna and sends her to
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, in the northern part of Southern India ...
, and Krishna follows her. Meanwhile, Subbalakshmi starts to hate Arjun because of his flirting nature. In a certain incident, her professional camera is damaged by Arjun's manager Brahmaji, which contains a rare photograph. Arjun realizes he really loves her and goes to her aunt's house to convince her, but she thinks it is one of his tricks to make her fall in love with him. Subbalakshmi leaves Prague and returns to India, and Arjun follows her. In Hyderabad, Riya and Subbalakshmi are kidnapped by a
trafficking
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
gang who plan on sending them to Dubai. Upon reaching Hyderabad, Krishna and Arjun realize that neither of the girls has reached home and begin searching for them. How Krishna and Arjun try to track down the traffickers to rescue the girls forms the climax of the story.
Cast
*
Nani as Krishna and Arjun Jayaprakash (dual role)
*
Anupama Parameswaran as Subbalakshmi
*
Rukshar Dhillon
Rukshar Dhillon (born 12 October 1993) is an actress based in India who primarily works in Telugu films. Dhillon was born in London and brought up in India. She made her debut in 2016 with the Kannada '' Run Antony.'' She went on to star in Telu ...
as Riya
*
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 Brahmaji, Arjun's manager
*
Devadarshini
Devadarshini is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil films, in addition to few Telugu films and television series. She began her career as a television anchor before venturing into acting, first in television and then in films. ...
as Dhinchak Roja, Subbalakshmi's aunt
*
Nagineedu as Riya's grandfather
* Ravi Awana as Bhai (Head of Woman Trafficking)
*
Prabhas Sreenu
Prabhas Sreenu is an Indian actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and televisio ...
as Shankar
*
Hari Teja as Shankar's wife
*
Vidyullekha Raman
Vidyullekha Raman (born 4 November 1991), also known as Vidyu Raman, is an Indian actress and comedienne who appears in Tamil and Telugu films. The daughter of actor Mohan Raman, Vidyullekha made her debut in Gautham Vasudev Menon's 2012 ''Ne ...
as Call Center Girl
*
Pooja Ramachandran as Nikki
* Alapati Lakshmi as Krishna's mother
* Kalpalatha as Riya's mother
*
Chatrapathi Sekhar
Chandra Sekhar, known professionally as Chatrapathi Sekhar, is an actor who primarily works in Telugu-language films and TV serials. He is known for his frequent collaborations with S. S. Rajamouli.
Career
Sekar is a regular in S. S. Rajamo ...
as Bhai's henchmen
* Mirchi Hemanth as TV Journalist
* Neelya Bhavani as Doctor
* Ruhika Dass as Jessy
* Sudhakar
* Rajeshwari Pamidighantam
* Mashesh Vitta as Karri Seenu
Soundtrack
The duo
Hiphop Tamizha composed the music for the film. This is their second Telugu film after
''Dhruva''. 'Turn This Party Up' is a peppy rock number. 'Dhaari Choodu' is a folk song which has typical Chittoor dialect. 'I Wanna Fly' is a soothing melody which has two versions composed parallelly. 'Ela Ela' is a heartbreak montage love song. 'Urime Manase' is yet another breakup number. 'Thaaney Vachhindhanaa' is a slow and pleasant melody.
Release
Marketing
Dil Raju
Velamakucha Venkata Ramana Reddy (born 17 December 1970), known professionally as Dil Raju, is an Indian film producer and distributor known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has also financed some Tamil and Hindi films and owns the productio ...
acquired distribution rights for the film in the Telugu states. In its pre-release business, the film earned Rs 35 crore from its global theatrical rights, Rs 7 crore from its satellite rights sold Star Maa, Rs 4.50 crore from its Hindi dubbing rights and Rs 50 lakh from its music and other rights.
Shine Screens distributed the film locally. Magnus Media acquired overseas theatrical rights for Rs 3.50 crore and arranged 600 shows in the US, on its release day.
Reception
Critical response
The film received mixed negative reviews from critics. Neeshita Nyayapati, from
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 se ...
rated the film 2.5/5 and wrote 'Walking away from the film, the only memories that one takes back happy is the vision of Nani dancing to ‘Dhaari Choodu’ with childish abandon, the humorous scenes that elevate the first half and the fact that his friend spells Riya's name as Royya. For a film that touches the subject of human trafficking, it sure bombs at making a point.'
Sangeetha Devi Dundoo from
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 ...
, while praising the acting performance of Nani as Krishna and the picturization of Dhaari Choodu song, also wrote, 'on the whole, Krishnarjuna Yuddham doesn’t get its rhythm right. There was a time, not long ago, when Nani's name was associated with films that stood out from the clutter. This one had the potential to be a fusion of global and local music, the way Arjun wanted it to be, but ends up a mess'.
Hemanth Kumar from Firstpost rated the film 2/5 and wrote, 'there's a notion that the film has all the necessary elements - vastly different characters, a conflict, an issue it tries to address - to make for an engaging drama, but on the other side, there's the image of me sitting in the cinema hall not knowing what to make of the film because it struggles to find its rhythm and doesn’t build the drama efficiently'
Box office
The film collected $162K from its US premiers. On opening day, the film collected Rs 4.58 crores in the Telugu states. This is the fourth biggest opening for Nani, falling behind ‘MCA’, ‘Ninnu Kori’ and ‘Eega’. MCA had reportedly raked in Rs 7.57 Cr on its opening day, ‘Ninnu Kori’ Rs 4.72 Cr and ‘Eega’ Rs 4.61 Cr.
The film was made on a budget of 30 crores and only recovered 14.50 crores. It could not even recover 50% at the box office, labeling it as Nani's first disaster since 2014.
References
External links
*
*{{Facebook, KrishnarjunaYuddhamTheFilm
2018 films
2010s Telugu-language films
Films scored by Hiphop Tamizha
Films shot in the Czech Republic
Films about child trafficking in India
Indian action comedy films
Indian romantic comedy films
2018 action comedy films
2018 romantic comedy films
Films directed by Merlapaka Gandhi