Ride (2009 film)

Ride is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language action romance film directed by Ramesh Varma and produced by Bellamkonda Suresh. The film stars Nani, Tanish, Aksha Pardasany, and Shweta Basu Prasad. The music was composed by Hemachandra with cinematography by Shyam K. Naidu and editing by Marthand K. Venkatesh. The film released on 5 June 2009 and was a box office success.

Plot
Arjun, an engineering college student, longs for a bike. However, his father does not fulfill his wish. Mahesh, hailing from a middle-class family, has two sisters. His father is a retired man, and his family survives on his pension. Mahesh wants to help his father and searches for a job. He gets a job in Kapil Chit Funds as a collection agent, but the manager puts a condition that Mahesh should have a two-wheeler. Mahesh's mother sells off some silver articles, and he purchases a bike to join the job.

One day, Mahesh's father suffers a stroke, and Mahesh loses his bike while bringing medicines. Though he lodges a police complaint, it is of no avail. Mahesh goes jobless without the bike. One day Mahesh finds Arjun riding his bike, and they fight with each other for the bike. Mahesh learns that Arjun has purchased the bike in a black market after winning a bike race. They finally come to an understanding on the advice of a pandit to use the bike to suit the convenience of each other by dividing the day. They keep their promise and use the bike judiciously.

One day, some goons attack Arjun and gravely injure him. Mahesh, who finds Arjun in an unconscious state, admits him in the hospital and informs the latter's parents. After that incident, both Arjun and Mahesh become friends. At this juncture, their bike goes missing again. Gaja, the person who stole their bike, calls them and plays tricks upon them. Arjun and Mahesh learn that Gaja is the brother of Arjun's girlfriend Puja and is in love with Mahesh's girlfriend Rani. Gaja tries to take revenge against the two men by playing with their bike.

In the climax, Arjun decides to participate in a motorcycle race and get the bike as a prize to present it to Mahesh as it is a necessity for him. Mahesh too wants to get back the bike from Gaja as Arjun has a passion for the bike. Each of them try in their own way and get two bikes. The film ends on a happy note as the problem gets solved, but they keep exchanging their bikes as usual and continuing their friendship.

Cast

 * Nani as Arjun
 * Tanish as Mahesh
 * Aksha Pardasany as Puja
 * Swetha Basu Prasad as Rani
 * Brahmanandam as Subbabhai Lambani / Subba Rao
 * Adarsh Balakrishna as Gaja
 * Ahuti Prasad as Arjun's father
 * Sudha as Arjun's mother
 * Y. Kasi Viswanath as Mahesh's father
 * Tulasi as Mahesh's mother
 * Praveen as Mahesh's friend
 * Satyam Rajesh as Chaiti
 * Narasimha as Arjun's friend
 * Shyamala as Rani's friend
 * Hema as Arundhati
 * Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Traffic police officer
 * Navdeep as Raj (cameo appearance)

Production
This was the second film of all four of the lead actors.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by singer Hemachandra, and the lyrics were written by Bhaskarabhatla and Ramajogayya Sastry. The audio launch was held on 14 May 2009 at Hotel Greenpark in Hyderabad.

Release and reception
The film was initially scheduled to release on 28 May 2009 coinciding with N. T. R.'s birthday, but the release was delayed to 5 June 2009.

A critic from 123telugu wrote that "It has 4 new stars and the usual; 6-song-5-fights routine. But the difference here is director Ramesh Varma’s presentation. What lets the movie down badly is a poor script. The “one-bike-sold-to-two-guys” is a wafer-thin premise for a storyline". Jeevi of Idlebrain.com rated the film three-and-a-quarter out of five and wrote that "Ramesh Varma did a better job compared to his last film, but it is not good enough!"

Awards

 * Fight masters Ram and Lakshman won Nandi Award for Best Action Sequences.