The Angrez () is a 2005 Indian Hyderabadi-language

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Kuntaa Nikkil. In this film, the word "Angrez" refers to

English people The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...

and non-resident Indians. The film was a trend-setter at that time, as it was one of the first to effectively and humorously, often resorting to the slapstick kind, portray the dialect of the Old City, Hyderabad and the Hyderabadi tongue. The film also portrays the fascination for American materialism, the hype around the IT industry and the lifestyle and culture it has spawned.

Plot

The movie revolves around three sets of people. # The Angrez – Two guys who come from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to serve in a call center company. # Ismail ‘Bhai’ & gang – A bunch of locals from the Old City Area # Mama a.k.a. Annaa & gang – Local gangsters Two NRI persons, Pranay and Rochak, come 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 ...

to take up jobs in their friend's company and settle in Hyderabad. Based in the old city, Ismail bhai (

Dheer Charan Srivastav Dheer Charan Srivastav also known as D. C. Srivastav (born 9 August 1967), is an Indian character actor, comedian and dialogue writer from Hyderabad, Telangana, who mostly appears in Hyderabad Deccani Urdu, Tollywood and Bollywood Films. He i ...

) and the gang meet up near Charminar and start their daily routine with gossips, babble and talks of bravery. Ismail bhai is apparently the gang leader and his gang comprises Saleem ‘Pheku’ (

Mast Ali Mast Ali (born 1980) is an Indian actor and dialogue writer who is known for his Hyderabadi dialect humour. He is widely known as Saleem Pheku from the movie '' The Angrez''. Although he was not the lead character, many considered him to be a ...

) - a habitual liar, Jahangir – a self claimed hardcore gangster, Gafoor and Chaus who all follow Ismail Bhai throughout the film. While visiting the old city, Pranay and Rochak meet Ismail's gang at a hotel in the old city. Ismail's gang gets into a spat with Pranay and Rochak. Rochak and Pranay are guided to safety by their guide as they are chased by the Ismail bhai gang. While Pranay and Rochak are engaged in love affairs in their office, Ismail bhai and his gang keeps planning a strategy to seek their revenge. Meanwhile, Ramesh, Pranay's cousin (who is also their butler) colludes with Mama, the typical gangster of the Hyderabadi underworld, to kidnap Pranay for ransom. Mama and his goons take up the assignment and the plan is set in motion. Ismail Bhai is still enraged as he believes that the harmless spat is now a matter worth dying for and is a matter of his ''Izzat'' (honour). On the other side of the town, Mama and his gang enter the residence of the NRIs, at the same time the Ismail bhai gang after sniffing out their whereabouts go into the NRI's house at night to seek their revenge and restore Ismail bhai's image. Mama and gang mistakenly

kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

Rochak. Ismail Bhai and gang return from their mission failing as usual. Rochak finds out the mastermind behind the kidnapping and bribes the guard and warns Pranai of his cousin's intentions. Ismail Bhai and Mama gang have a brush against each other. Pranay and Rochak succeed in making the two gangs fight against each other and manage their escape. As Mama and his gang is nabbed by the

Hyderabad Police Hyderabad City Police is the local law enforcement agency for the city of Hyderabad, Telangana and is headed by the Commissioner of Police. The city police traces its origins to 1847 under Hyderabad State. History 1847–1948 The Nizam of Hyde ...

, Ismail bhai and gang returns to Charminar after being heavily assaulted by Mama and his goons. And life, in Hyderabadi style, goes on as usual for the Ismail Bhai's gang.

Cast

* Kuntaa Nikkil as Pranai Nerella *

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 a ...

as Rochak Suddala *

as Ismail Bhai *

as Saleem Pheku * Aziz Naser as Jahangir *Kranthi Kiran Kamaraju as Prakash *

Raghu Karumanchi Raghu Karumanchi is an Indian actor who appears in Telugu films in comic and supporting roles. He acted in more than 150 films. He also appeared in several television shows, including ''Jabardasth''. Life He was born and brought up in Hyder ...

as Nerella Ramesh, Pranai's cousin * Jeevan Shekhar Reddy as Prasad, Pranai and Rochak's guide cum colleague * Tara D'Souza as Sheetal * Soumya Bollapragada as Tanya * RK as Mama *Shehnaz as Lotus

Pre-production

The director and writer of the movie, Kuntaa Nikkil, who also played the lead character 'Pranai' in the film, had already worked as an assistant director in the United States. He had worked on the

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

for 'The Angrez' for over two years. He met numerous people, investigated the culture of NRI's living in Hyderabad, and learned about the working conditions in call centres. To understand the culture of the old city he would secretly capture the expressions of people from the old city. When a half-hour promo was shot on DV camera nobody was willing to produce the movie. Then Sreedhar Rao stepped forward and decided to produce the movie since he felt that the movie had highlighted the core culture of the city.

Reception

Release

The movie was released initially only in four theatres in Hyderabad, but later on it was released in many theatres in Hyderabad and CDs/DVDs were released only after it completed 25 weeks by Hyderabad-based home video company SHALIMAR VIDEO. The producer petitioned the Department of Tourism to promote the film to raise interest in the Hyderabad area. The directors and producers believe that this movie covers the entire Hyderabadi culture, right from bonalu to baraat, from

biryani Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. It is made with Indian spices, rice, and usually some type of meat ( chicken, beef, goat, lamb, prawn, fish) or in some cases without any meat, ...

to the

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

life. The five-minute

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

song 'Hyderabadi Biryani' was shot in 77 different locations of Hyderabad like the Chudi Bazaar, Taramati Baradari and Tank Bund. The producers had to do a lot of running about since there were only a few takers. Released with just two prints, the film gradually headed for the fifth week and then was all set for a country wide opening. The film created a record by running to packed houses in a single theatre for over 25 weeks. And made a record sale of 5 million copies at the launch of VCD & DVD by Hyderabad-based home video company SHALIMAR VIDEO.

Impact on the movie industry

Though the movie failed to attract the mainstream film industry, it started off the infectious trend of making comedy movies based on the Hyderabadi culture. In a matter of a year and a half, there were about a half a dozen releases, like Kal ka Nawab, Hyderabad Nawaabs, Aadab Hyderabad, Hungama in Dubai among others. But none of them quite succeeded in creating the effect and the charm of the original, though these movies were popular among the Old City residents. The success of The Angrez can be attributed to the spontaneity of the humour whereas in the movies that followed, the humour looks forced. The film not only gained popularity in Andhra Pradesh and the other parts of India but also among the large diaspora in the Middle-East and the US, attributed to the Internet and availability of original as well as unlicensed DVDs. With unauthorized DVDs being released in huge numbers, several raids were conducted and lakhs of illicit copies were recovered.

Sequel

A sequel to the movie ''

The Angrez 2 ''The Angrez 2'' is a 2015 Indian slapstick comedy film written and directed by Kuntaa Nikkil. It is a sequel to his 2005 film '' The Angrez''. Actors Mast Ali and Dheer Charan Srivastav reprise their roles from the earlier film. Plot In a sequ ...

'' was released in the year 2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Angrez, The 2005 films Indian comedy films 2000s Hindi-language films Films set in Hyderabad, India 2005 comedy films English-language Indian films