''Masala'' () is a 2013 Indian

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 fam ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by

K. Vijaya Bhaskar K. Vijaya Bhaskar is Indian film director who works mainly in the Telugu film industry. He won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for ''Nuvve Kavali'' (2000). He is an alumnus of Sainik School, Korukonda. Filmography Awar ...

. It is produced by

D. Suresh Babu Daggubati Suresh Babu (born 24 December 1958) is an Indian film producer, studio owner and distributor who serves as the managing director of Suresh Productions. In 2012, he received the Andhra Pradesh state Nagireddy–Chakrapani National Awa ...

and

Sravanthi Ravi Kishore Sravanthi Ravi Kishore is an Indian film producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. He owns the film production company "Sri Sravanthi Movies", known for presenting hit romantic comedy films. Red was his 30th film production venture, while h ...

Suresh Productions Suresh Productions (also known as Suresh Movies, Vijaya Suresh Combines) is an Indian film production and distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 1964 by D. Ramanaidu. It is one of India's largest film p ...

and

Sri Sravanthi Movies Sri Sravanthi Movies is an Indian film production company established by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore and located in Hyderabad. It is one of India's largest film production companies with over 30 years of contribution to Telugu cinema. Its first fil ...

. The film stars

Venkatesh Venkatesh is a given name and family name from the Indian subcontinent derived from Venkateswara, a Hindu deity. Notable persons with the name include: * A. Venkatesh Naik (born 1936), member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India * A. Venkatesh (directo ...

, Ram Pothineni, Anjali and

Shazahn Padamsee Shazahn Padamsee is an Indian actress and model who primarily worked in Hindi films. Daughter of noted actors Alyque Padamsee and Sharon Prabhakar, she made her first film appearance in the 2009 Hindi film '' Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year ...

with music composed by

S. Thaman Ghantasala Sai Srinivas Thaman (born 16 November 1983), known professionally as Thaman S, earlier as S S Thaman, is an Indian music composer, professional drummer, and playback singer who predominantly works in Telugu films and Tamil films. Th ...

. It is a remake of the 2012 Hindi film ''

Bol Bachchan ''Bol Bachchan'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Ajay Devgn & Dhillin Mehta under Ajay Devgn FFilms and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Limited respectively, with Fox Star Studios ser ...

'' The film released worldwide on 14 November 2013. Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics with appreciation to the cast performances.

Cast

as Venkata Raja Narasimha Balaram * Ram Pothineni as Rehman/ Ram (Fake Name) * Anjali as Sania / Sarita / Savitri ortrait*

Jaya Prakash Reddy Jaya Prakash Reddy (8 May 1946 – 8 September 2020) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Telugu films. Born in Sirvel of Andhra Pradesh, he came into the limelight with the film ''Samarasimha Reddy'' (1999) where he played the ro ...

as Eddulu Kameshwar Rao *

as Meenakshi *

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 Narayana Rao *

Kovai Sarala Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress and comedian, who prominently plays supporting roles in Tamil and Telugu films. She has won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian three times, for her performances in '' Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995), '' ...

as Anjali Devi / Chintamani *

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 ...

as Suri *

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 Nagaraju * Suman Shetty as Suri's Drama mate *

Master Bharath Bharath Kumar (born 9 April 1995), professionally known as Master Bharath, is an Indian actor who works prominently in Tamil and Telugu films. He entered the film industry through his first film '' Naina'' (2002) starring Jayaram. Since then he ...

as Suri's friend * Venu Madhav as Census officer *

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 ...

Ramjagan Ramjagan is an Indian television, drama and movie actor. Filmography # ''Maharshi'' (1988) #'' Siva'' (1989) # ''Patha Basti'' (1995) # Ooru ki monagadu (1995) #'' Deyyam'' (1996) #'' Preyasi Rave'' (1999) # '' Annayya'' (2000) #''Shock'' (2 ...

Soundtrack

Music composed by

. Lyrics were written by

Krishna Chaitanya Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna ...

. The music released on ADITYA Music Company. The Music received a positive response from both critics and audience alike.

Production

Development

The film had its formal pooja ceremony on 13 March 2013 at

Ramanaidu Studios Suresh Productions (also known as Suresh Movies, Vijaya Suresh Combines) is an Indian film production and distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 1964 by D. Ramanaidu. It is one of India's largest film p ...

in Hyderabad. The event had the crew of the film in full attendance and Ram clapped for the muhurat shot. Since Venkatesh was out of town and he couldn't attend the film's launch. Though Initially it was named "Garam Masala", it was officially renamed as "Gol Maal", which was confirmed by the Producers. Later on the titles "Ram – Balaram" and "Masala" were considered. Finally, the title was confirmed as "Masala" after the first look poster was released in September 2013.

Casting

and

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

were the first persons who were signed for this film in 2012. This film marks the third collaboration of Venkatesh with Vijaya Bhaskar after ''

Nuvvu Naaku Nachav ''Nuvvu Naaku Nachav'' () is a 2001 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar who co-wrote the film with Trivikram Srinivas. It is produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore under the Sri Sravanthi Movies studio. The fi ...

'' and '' Malliswari''. Venkatesh would sport a twirled moustache in the same way which he was last seen in Gautham Menon's Gharshana. Later Anjali and

were roped to play the siblings of Ram and Venkatesh in the film respectively. This film marked the second film of Anjali with Venkatesh after ''

Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu ''Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu'' (), also known by the initialism ''SVSC'', is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language family drama film written and directed by Srikanth Addala. It was produced by Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations, and stars V ...

'', which was also a multistarrer film. It also marked the second film of Bollywood Actress Shazahn Padamsee after the 2010 film ''

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

''. During the Thai Schedule of the film, Ram learnt Muay Thai, a famous boxing technique in Thailand.

and

were roped in to play important roles in the film.

Filming

The film's first schedule was held in Hyderabad and few scenes were shot on Ram and Anjali. Late it was reported in the end of March that After a major schedule in Bangalore, the film will also be shot in Panchgani, near Pune. Later, Anjali, who couldn't join the film unit in Bangalore after she went missing, had promised to join the film's shooting in Panchgani. During the shoot,

Rohit Shetty Rohit Shetty (born 14 March 1974) is an Indian film director, stuntman, producer and television host who works in Hindi cinema. He is one of the most recognised film director of Hindi Cinema. His movies are often mix genres of action, comedy a ...

, the director of Bol Bachchan visited the sets and wished the team for the movie's success. In June, a fight sequence was canned on Venkatesh and Ram at

Ramoji Film City Ramoji Film City is an integrated film studio facility located in Hyderabad, India. Spread over 1,666 acres (674 ha), it is the largest film studio complex in the world and as such has been certified by the Guinness World Records. It was estab ...

in Hyderabad amidst the principal star crew's presence. In July, the complete talkie portion was shot and it was reported that only two songs were left to shoot. Later a song on Ram and Shahzan Padamsee were shot at Thailand. A song on Venkatesh and Anjali was planned to be shot in Japan from 3 September 2013. The song was shot at Hokkaido, the second largest island in Japan. The title song was shot in October in which Venkatesh, Ram, Jayaprakash Reddy, Kovai Sarala and Ali took part in the shoot thus wrapping the film's shoot.

Release

AustraliaTelugu won the overseas rights for screening in Australia and New Zealand. The film had its worldwide theatrical release on 14 November 2013 to 1000 screens. The film was dubbed into

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

as ''Ek Aur Bol Bachchan'' in 2014 and released by S.N. Media Pvt. Ltd.

Reception

Critical response

The film received positive reviews on an average. 123telugu.com gave a review stating "Masala has a few good moments. Venkatesh and Ram have tried their best to carry the film with their comedy timing. But a stale plot and outdated screenplay hamper their efforts. Any Masala gets a perfect flavour and taste only when the ingredients are blended in the right proportions. Sadly, that is not the case with this Masala" and rated the film 2.75/5. Times of AP gave a review stating "Overall, an okay film. Nice enjoyable movie. As comedy plays a major role especially for Telugu audience, this film will get pass marks. It will run with good openings and may continue to a certain extent until another big movie comes for competition. Masala is a worth watching for all comedy lovers" and rated the film 3.25/5. way2movies.com gave a review stating "Masala had several clichés with confusion dramas that were seen in recent comedy releases, yet the screenplay packed with entertainment and silly gags works for the movie. Venkatesh, Ram's performances, Anil Ravipudi's dialogues and entertaining scenes are assets for the film while actions scenes, poor VFX works and weak climax are the negative points. Masala is decent enough to entertain comedy film lovers, provided you don't look for logic." gulte.com gave a review stating "Masala is a complete commercial formulaic film that sticks to the genre. It is more of a comedy entertainer with a touch of action. In a nutshell, Masala is for comedy movie lovers that don't care about the logics and other nuances of cinema. Content wise it is an average film and can be watched once for Venkatesh and Ram. It has enough to stay afloat at the box office and we have to wait and see if it can swim across to a safe zone or not" and rated the film 3/5 terming it a "Time pass 'Masala' fare!".

References

External links

* {{K. Vijaya Bhaskar 2013 films Telugu remakes of Hindi films 2013 action comedy films Indian action comedy films Films shot at Ramoji Film City Films shot in Japan Films shot in Bangalore 2010s Telugu-language films Films shot in Bangkok Films directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar 2013 comedy films Suresh Productions films Films scored by Thaman S