''Veera Simha Reddy'' is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by

Gopichand Malineni Gopichand Malineni (born 13 March 1980) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. After working as an assistant director in many films, Malineni made his directional debut in 2010 with the action comedy film ''Don ...

and produced by

Mythri Movie Makers Mythri Movie Makers Pvt. Ltd is an Indian film production company established by Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar, and Mohan Cherukuri, in 2015. It mainly produces and distributes Telugu films. Notable films produced by the company include '' ...

. It stars

Nandamuri Balakrishna Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960), simply known as Balakrishna or Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, producer and politician. He appeared in more than 100 Telugu films over forty years in a variety of roles and established himself as ...

in a dual role along with

Shruti Haasan Shruti Haasan (born 28 January 1986) is an Indian actress and playback singer who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Born in the Haasan family, she is the daughter of actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan and actress Sarika Thakur. ...

Varalaxmi Sarathkumar Varalaxmi Sarathkumar (born 5 March 1985) is an Indian actress who appears in Tamil and Telugu films, in addition to Kannada and Malayalam films. She made her debut with the Tamil film ''Podaa Podi'' (2012). Early life and family Varalaxmi w ...

, Honey Rose, and

Duniya Vijay B R Vijay Kumar, who is professionally known as Duniya Vijay and Duniya Viji, is an Indian actor who appears in Kannada films. He began his career playing small roles until he got his big break in '' Duniya'' (2007). He is noted for his perform ...

. The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

and

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

were composed by S. Thaman.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

commenced in February 2022 and ended in December 2022. ''Veera Simha Reddy'' was released on 12 January 2023, coinciding on the

Sankranthi Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...

weekend. The film received mixed reviews from critics and performed well at the box-office, grossing ₹134 crore worldwide.

Plot

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Meenakshi runs a restaurant of '' Rayalaseema Cuisine'' and lives with her son Jai Simha Reddy, who owns a car dealership. Through a scuffle at his dealership, he gets acquainted with a tone-deaf wannabe singer named Isha and falls in love with her. Jai goes to Isha's home along with Meenakshi for a marriage proposal, where he meets her father Jayaram, who is a

tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

. While the talks are proceeding, Meenakshi discloses to Isha's aprets about Jai's father, Veera Simha Reddy who is a leader in Pulicherla,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. Veera Simha Reddy is the arbiter, who efforts towards eradicating the infamous factionalism. He is at odds with fiend faction leader Pratap Reddy that aims to assassinate him. At a plurality of times, Pratap Reddy tries to finish Veera Simha Reddy, but all his attempts go in vain, which enrages his wife Bhanumati as she wants to avenge her miseries caused by Veera Simha Reddy. Pratap Reddy decides to demolish a factory owned by industrialist Raj Gopal, which was constructed 30 years ago by the aim of Veera Simha Reddy to bring employment to the region. He conspires with his uncle Peddi Reddy, a minister to carry out his evil plan. They resolve to meet at a land and to lay a foundation stone for a new factory to which several prominent politicians are arriving. Immediately, Raj Gopal proceeds to Veera Simha Reddy's aid. Veera Simha Reddy gallantly encounters their convoy at a

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

and backfires their plan by single-handedly obliterating all of them. Later, Veera Simha Reddy receives a phone call from Meenakshi who invites him to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. Upon reaching, Veera Simha Reddy unites with Jai, who is unbeknownst to him is his son. He thanks Meenakshi for respecting his decision years ago to walk out on them. They meet Jayaram, who happily gives his acceptance to Jai and Isha's union. After their departure, Jayaram is frightened as he is the investor in the factory whose construction is blocked was previously blocked by Veera Simha Reddy. Hurriedly, Jayaram dials Pratap Reddy and indicates the presence of Veera Simha Reddy in Turkey. After a long fight, Bhanumati arrives with Pratap and finishes Veera by deceiving. It is then revealed that Bhanumati is Veera Simha Reddy's sister. Jai attempts to save Veera Simha Reddy, who stops him saying that he can die repeatedly for Bhanumathi. Before leaving his breath, Veera Simha Reddy instructs Jai to perform his final rights in his motherland. As per guidelines, Jai carries his father's corpse to Rayalaseema and conducts the funeral. Following, Jai questions the underlying reason for Bhanumati's enmity against her brother when Siddhappa, Veera Simha Reddy's trusted lieutenant divulges the past. Bhanumati was the illicit child of Veera Simha Reddy's father, yet he idolized and dedicated his life to her. Meenakshi was his cross-cousin who endeared him from childhood and was betrothed to him. He asked her to wait until the accomplishment of Bhanumati's marriage, but unfortunately they consummated. Their adjacent village Musali Madugu, was in constant torment under Gangi Reddy who was Pratap Reddy's father. Once, a child from Musali who was a victim of Gangi's atrocities, approached Veera Simha Reddy to liberate them from his evil clutches. Forthwith, Veera Simha Reddy charged onto the village and a fight ensued, and culminated with Veera decapitating Gangi Reddy while Pratap watched helplessly. In the interim, Bhanumati loved Siddhappa's son Shekar. Learning this, Veera Simha Reddy heartfully gave his approval and engaged them. Out of anger, Pratap Reddy heckles a drunk Shekar who inadvertently indulges in gunfire and kills a villager Suri. Veera uprights piety and ostracizes Shekar, who later commits suicide. Heartbroken, Bhanumati pledged to seek vengeance. On that account, she married Pratap Reddy and commanded him not to touch her before Veera Simha Reddy's death. Thus, Veera Simha Reddy leaves Pratap Reddy alive for his sister and decided to renounce all comforts as a penalty for Shekar's death, and requests Meenakshi to quit his life. She relucantly agrees and hides her pregnancy. Back to the present, Jai challenges Pratap to enter without his aunt's background. Infuriated by Jai's comment, Pratap Reddy smacks Bhanumati asserting that he is the one who instigated vengeance in her mind. He reveals that he had killed Shekar and staged it as a suicide. Distraught, Bhanumati meets Jai and apologizes to him, where she kills herself by slitting her throat. During the time of her cremation, Pratap Reddy attacks Jai. However, Jai manages to kill Pratap Reddy and merges his aunt's ashes in his father's grave, where he continues his father's legacy.

Cast

in a

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

as Pulicherla Veera Simha Reddy and Jai Simha Reddy *

as Isha Jayaram, Jayaram's daughter and Jai's love interest *

as Bhanumathi, Pratap Reddy's wife, Veera Simha Reddy's half-sister, and Jai's aunt * Honey Rose as Pulicherla Meenakshi, Veera Simha Reddy's girlfriend and Jai's mother *

as Musali Madugu Pratap Reddy, Veera Simha Reddy's rival, Gangi Reddy's son and Bhanumati's husband *

Lal Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...

as Siddhappa, Veera Simha Reddy's right-hand man * Naveen Chandra as Shekhar, Siddhappa's son and Bhanumati's ex-fiancé * Ajay Ghosh as Addibakula Peddi Reddy, Pratap Reddy's uncle *

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 recognitio ...

as Jayaram, Isha's father * John Kokken as Pratap Reddy's cousin * P. Ravi Shankar as

Home Minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...

Krishna Reddy * B. S. Avinash as Musali Madugu Gangi Reddy, Pratap Reddy's father * Pammi Sai as Sai Reddy, Peddi Reddy's PA *

Sachin Khedekar Sachin Khedekar (born 14 May 1965) is an Indian actor and director known for his work in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Gujarati language films. His well-known films include '' Kaksparsh'', '' Astitva'' and Shyam Benegal's '' ...

as Rajagopal, Factory Owner *

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 Bhanumati's suitor's father *

Sapthagiri Sapthagiri which is also called Tirumala Hill is situated in hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. This hill is 853 m above sea level and is about in area. It comprises seven peaks, represent ...

as Jai's supervisor *

Rajeev Kanakala Rajeev Kanakala (born 13 November 1968) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu films and television. He started his career in television serials and short films, where he not only acted but also produced and directed. He is marrie ...

as Suri, a villager * Sekhar as Veeranna, Suri's brother-in-law * Easwari Rao as Siddhappa's wife *

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 Veera Simha Reddy's father *

Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the diffic ...

as Veera Simha Reddy's grandmother *

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 Nag ...

as Veera Simha Reddy's relative * Rajashree Nair as Meenakshi's mother * Naga Mahesh as Varada Reddy, a villager * Goparaju Ramana as head priest *

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 ...

as a priest * Ananth Babu as a priest * Chammak Chandra * Archana Ananth as Isha's mother * Aruna Bhikshu as Isha's grandmother * Harika Koyilamma as Isha's sister * Siva Krishna as Ramgopal Reddy * Meena Kumari as Veera Simha Reddy's relative *

Chandrika Ravi Chandrika Ravi is an Australian actress, model and dancer of Indian origin. She was born and raised in Australia before moving to Los Angeles for her acting and modelling career. She became known for her role in the 2018 Indian film ''Iruttu A ...

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 ...

"Maa Bava Manobhavalu" *

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, ...

in a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

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 perfor ...

in a cameo appearance as Ismail, a judge in the "Voice of Europe" music show *

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 ...

in a cameo appearance as Darbar, a judge in the "Voice of Europe" music show *

Manisha Eerabathini Manisha Eerabathini is an Indian-American playback singer who works in the Telugu film industry. Career Her 2017 song "Arere Yekkada" was a major hit and brought recognition to her name and talent. In 2018, she sang with Roll Rida in the ...

in a cameo appearance as host in the "Voice of Europe" music show * Master Sathwik as a victim of Gangi Reddy

Production

The film was officially announced by

in June 2021 with the

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

''NBK107'' starring

and directed by

. The film was formally launched with a pooja ceremony on 13 November 2021. The film was reported to go on floors by the first quarter of 2022.

of the film commenced on 18 February 2022 in

Sircilla Sircilla (also spelled as Siricilla/Sirsilla) is a town and the district headquarters of Rajanna Sircilla district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is located on the banks of Manair river in the Sircilla mandal of Sircilla revenue divisio ...

and ended in December 2022. In October 2022, the film's official title was unveiled as ''Veera Simha Reddy''.

Music

The music of the film is composed by

Thaman S 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 ...

. The first single titled "Jai Balayya" was released on 26 November 2022. The second single titled "Suguna Sundari" was released on 15 December 2022. The third single titled "Maa Bava Manobhavalu" was released on 24 December 2022. The fourth single titled "Mass Mogudu" was released on 9 January 2023.

Release

Theatrical

''Veera Simha Reddy'' released on 12 January 2023, for the Sankranti weekend. Theatrical rights of the film were sold at a cost of ₹73 crore.

Home Media

The digital streaming rights of the film were acquired by Disney+ Hotstar for ₹14 crore, and was premiered on 23 February 2023. It was premiered on television on Star Maa on 23 April 2023.

Reception

Critical reception

'' 123Telugu'' gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "On the whole, Veera Simha Reddy is a decent action entertainer that has all the commercial elements to entertain Balakrishna fans." Manoj Kumar R 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 be ...

'' rated the film 3.25 out of 5 stars and wrote "The troubling part of Veera Simha Reddy, by that token most of Balakrishna's movies, is that it argues its okay to kill to solve a problem". 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 ...

'' gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Veera Simha Reddy is Balakrishna’s film through-and-through. However, where he triumphs as Veera, he fails as Jai. Whenever the man comes on-screen donned is black is when you feel like paying attention, his cakey makeup and lukewarm performance while playing the other character takes away from it." Janani K of ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...

'' gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and termed the film as "reeks of clichéd ideas", criticised the storyline while praised the performance of Balakrishna. Haricharan Pudipeddi of ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

'' wrote "The film thrives on violence and some exquisitely shot action sequences, which are a treat to watch. As the central character Veera Simha Reddy, Balakrishna holds the film together and its quite literally a one-man show." Bhuvanesh Chandar 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 "Violent scenes that bank on shock value, powerful antagonists, and an intriguing larger narrative worked well to complement the slow-motion chest-thumping moments. In Veera Simha Reddy, we have a loosely knit and archaic narrative told through a template screenplay."

Box office

''Veera Simha Reddy'' grossed ₹54+ crore worldwide on its opening day, including ₹36.2 crore from

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

combined. Thus, it became the highest opening grosser for Nandamuri Balakrishna. The film has grossed US$747,000 by the first day of its release in the United States. By the end of its theatrical run, ''Veera Simha Reddy'' grossed ₹134 crore worldwide including a distributors' share of ₹79.82 crore.

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/veera_simha_reddy 2023 films 2023 action films 2023 drama films Indian action drama films 2020s Telugu-language films Films directed by Gopichand Malineni Films scored by Thaman S Mythri Movie Makers films Indian action films Films set in Istanbul Films shot in Telangana Films shot in Andhra Pradesh Films set in Andhra Pradesh Fictional portrayals of the Andhra Pradesh Police