Ruler (film)

Ruler is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language action drama film, produced by C. Kalyan under CK Entertainments & Happy Movies banners and directed by K. S. Ravikumar and. starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Vedhika, Sonal Chauhan, Bhumika Chawla, and music composed by Chirantan Bhatt.

The film received negative reviews from critics and was a commercial failure.

Plot
The film begins in 1987 when the crime rate in Uttar Pradesh peaks. The Agricultural Minister, Veerandranath Tagore, resolves to reduce the crime rate by eradicating hunger. He calls for 500 farmers from Combined Andhra Pradesh, led by the wise Seetaramaiah. The Government allocates 5000 acres of land on lease for 30 years; after that, it will be their own.

Years rolled by, and Sarojini Naidu, a business tycoon, proceeded toward Uttar Pradesh to start her new industrial plant. On the way, she spots a stranger with multiple stab wounds. Sarojini Naidu admits him to the hospital, and within the next minute, she accompanies him to the ICU due to a heart attack. Here, Sarojini Naidu faces a severe threat from her brother-in-law, Durga Prasad, when the stranger miraculously wakes up from the coma and saves her. Learning that the person has completely lost his memory, Sarojini Naidu adopts him by giving him the identity of her deceased son, Arjun Prasad. After two years, Arjun Prasad became a famous I.T. magnate. Harika, the chairman of a rival company, tries to overpower Arjun Prasad when she falls for him. Meanwhile, the Telugu farmers in Uttar Pradesh are under severe hardship from local politician Bhavaninath Tagore.

Sandhya, shown as the love interest of Arjun Prasad in the past, files a complaint when the Govt appoints a special judiciary committee. Unfortunately, when they walk in, Bhavaninath Tagore falsifies the narrative by intimidating the villagers and claims Sandhya is insane. At the same time, Arjun Prasad is conscious of Bhavaninath Tagore's jeopardy of the Uttar Pradesh project, who also humiliated Sarojini Naidu. Now, enraged Arjun Prasad speaks against Bhavaninath Tagore and restarts his plant. At that moment, the henchmen of Bhavaninath Tagore attack Arjun Prasad, whose blood runs cold after seeing him. Simultaneously, all the Telugu villagers eagerly approach and claim him as Dharma. Thereupon, the villagers start narrating the past, and Dharma is a powerful police officer, the son of Seetaramaiah, who stands for justice. Niranjana Prasad, daughter of Veerandranath Tagore, loves and marries a lower caste guy, which her father heartily welcomes. During their wedding reception, Bhavaninath Tagore, the younger brother of Veerandranath Tagore, murders the bridegroom and attempts to kill pregnant Niranjana Prasad using his racism and vote bank. All at once, Dharma arrives, rescues, and shields them in the village through Telugu farmers as gratitude. Meanwhile, they avenged Bhavaninath Tagore's clouts and issued a G.O. to repeal the lease agreement. Veerandranath Tagore abides in the farmers' agony, so they leave the village. First, he asks Niranjana Prasad to stand by at the railway station and approach Bhavaninath Tagore with an appeal to cancel the G.O.

However, a bloodthirsty Bhavaninath Tagore kills him and orders his henchmen to eliminate Niranjana Prasad. Tracing her whereabouts, Dharma arrives on a train on time. In the fight, he is severely injured and wiped out when Sarojini Naidu witnesses him. In a flash, the story turns to the present when Sarojini Naidu affirms him as Dharma, but he cannot recall his memory. Nevertheless, he encounters Bhavaninath Tagore when his heart is filled with joy, knowing that the villagers safeguard Niranjana Prasad and she has given birth to a baby boy named Dharma. At last, Dharma / Arjun Prasad knocks out Bhavaninath Tagore, permanently allows the lands to the farmers, and declares Niranjana Prasad as the original heir of the Tagore dynasty. Finally, Sarojini Naidu departs with Harika, bequeathing Dharma / Arjun Prasad, as his necessity is more to the public than her business empire.

Cast

 * Nandamuri Balakrishna as Dharma / Arjun Prasad
 * Bhumika Chawla as Niranjana Prasad, Veerendranath Tagore's Daughter
 * Shataf Figar as Bhavaninath Tagore
 * Vedhika as Sandhya
 * Prakash Raj as Veerandranath Tagore
 * Sonal Chauhan as Harika
 * Jayasudha as Sarojini Naidu
 * Sayaji Shinde as Durga Prasad
 * Nagineedu as Seetaramaiah
 * Chalapathi Rao as Subba Rao
 * Raghu Karumanchi as Arnold
 * Dhanraj as Jackie Chan
 * Srinivasa Reddy as Krishna Reddy
 * Jhansi as Village member
 * Raghu Babu
 * Saptagiri
 * Parag Tyagi as Bhavaninath's Henchmen
 * Rajiv Kumar Aneja as Police Commissioner

Production
The principal photography of the film started in July in Bangkok. The second schedule was completed in Ramoji Film City in October 2019. A melody Song is picturized on Balakrishna & Vedhika in November at Munnar.

Soundtrack
Music was composed by Chirantan Bhatt. Music released by Aditya Music Company.

Release
The film released on 20 December 2019. The first look teaser on 21 November 2019 and trailer on 8 December 2019. The first single song  Adugadugo Action Hero is released on 1 December 2019. Accordingly, the pre-release event held on 14 December 2019, at the MGM Grounds, VUDA Park, Visakhapatnam.

Reception
Ruler received negative reviews from critics. Y. Sunita Chowdary of The Hindu stated that the film was purely for the fans. "Balakrishna fans will like him in any form and indeed made some effort to look different, gives Vedhika returns after a long time to perform in a better role. The hero gets elevated at each level and it becomes a tale of heroic exploits and nothing else," she added. The Times of India critic Suhas Yellapantula gave 1.5/5 stars and called it a "disappointing fare." He wrote: " A non-existent plot, poor characterization, and amateurish filmmaking ensures this film is a big miss. 123telugu.com also gave the same rating and wrote: "The concept is old school and unnecessary scenes, the second half could be avoided totally. The director, KS Ravikumar, has been stuck in a time warp and cannot move on from his outdated concepts. Although Balayya impresses with his posh look, the angry cop look is underwhelming with the horrible wig, which disappoints the general audience. A reviewer from The Hans India affirmed that the film doesn't have a proper storyline, "Director KS Ravikumar used the same commercial formula for this movie and even the story and screenplay are also not that gripping," they wrote.