Sri Ramadasu

Sri Ramadasu is 2006 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of musician saint Kancharla Gopanna. A reboot of V. Nagayya's 1964 film Ramadasu; the film is written and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Produced by Konda Krishnam Raju the film starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Suman, Sneha  and music was composed by M. M. Keeravani. Cinematography and editing were handled by S. Gopal Reddy and Sreekar Prasad respectively. Upon release, the film got positive reviews.

Nagarjuna received appreciation for his portrayal in the title role and subsequently went on to win Nandi Award for Best Actor that year. Music director M. M. Keeravani also received rave reviews for his work. Along with being critically acclaimed, the film recorded as Blockbuster hit at the box office. The film won four Nandi Awards.

Plot
The film begins at Kali Yuga when Sage Bhadra is conducting a massive penance when Vishnu emerges. He invests him to be seated on his head as per his oath on Treta Yuga 's Rama Avatar. Thus, Vishnu transforms into Rama, seating Sita on his lap, with Lakshmana on the left and Shanka & Chakra on either side. After several centuries, Dhammakka, a devout servant, locates the whereabouts of idols in an anthill of Bhadrachalam. She looks after it with profound commitment and prays for an advent to build a temple.

The tale shifts to Nelakondapalli, where Kancherla Gopanna falls in love with his cousin Kamala. On the eve of her birthday, Gopanna inadvertently transgresses by caging a parrot as a gift. Agnihotraavadhanlu, Kamal's father, detests their bond because of Gopanna's financial status and fixes a prosperous alliance. Nevertheless, it calls off as astrologers predict jail access is inevitable for the one that splices Kamala. Despite this, Gopanna knits Kamala for which his maternal uncles Madanna & Akkanna, the true-blue ministers of Tanisha of Golkonda attend. They accompany Gopanna, introduce him to the Empire, and he acquires his credence. Thus, he delegates him as Bhadrachalam's Tehsildar, terminating his brother-in-law Matte Saiheb.

Forthwith, Gopanna forwards with Kamala when Matte Saiheb begrudges but waits for a shot. Gopanna hinders the crimes & barbarities therein. So, the blackguards backstab him, whom Dhammakka shields. After revival, he advances for thanksgiving her when witnessing Dhammakka's constant dedication; Goppana switches to an avid follower of Rama. By this, Vishnu walks from Vaikuntha in the form of Rama and steps at Parnasala with Sita & Lakshmana. At which, Anjaneya startles to view them again, and then Rama proclaims it's time for a tremendous accomplishment.

Consequently, Gopanna pledges to construct a temple for which he relinquishes his luxuries and resides under a tree with pregnant Kamala until its completion. Gopanna wakes spiritually publicly, collects assets, excluding Tanisha's taxes, and seeks his approval. Anyhow, the plot of Matte Sahib & his men falls short, and they snatch the tax amount. At that time, Kabirdas, whose means of life is Rama's chanting arrives. Spotting his eternal devotion, Gopanna affirms him as his mentor, and he preaches him with Srirama Taraka Mantram. Kabir announces that Rama has already consented to emplacement and fixes an auspicious time.

Years roll by, Gopanna triumphs in constructing a sublime temple, and the Lord blesses him with a son, Raghunatha. Kabir lands on the eve of the temple inauguration, but orthodox Brahmins expel him. Yet, with his idolization, Kabir proves his divinity. Tragically, Raghunatha dies while dropping into a well when Anjaneya is in Panchmukhi, recouping him on the mandate of Rama. Then Kabir states that the incident spread that region's holiness. Following this, Anjaneya is enthralled, beholding Rama's glory at the temple and calling Gopanna Ramadasu. Ergo, Kabir publicly nobilitates Gopanna Sri Ramadasu. as the Lord's ordinance in his dream.

Meanwhile, the heels tactically forge and accuse him of squandering govt funds and apprehend him. Hereupon, Kabir comprehends he is seeking a penalty for imprisoning the patriot. During the trial, Ramadasu encounters Tanisha lionizing his deed as sacred; as a result, he is behind bars in a secluded prison and subjected to torment. Ramadasu invokes the Lord with reverence, humility, eagerness, and notwithstanding anger, but in vain. Ultimately, he implores Sita, which stirs her, and she pleads with Rama to secure him. Rama & Lakshmana set foot at Golkonda and vanishes, clearing the debt. Tanisha is under a dichotomy when Kabirdas irradiates him with the fact. Therefore, Tanisha learns the eminence of Ramadasu and the foul play of knaves and acquits him. However, Ramadasu collapses due to the absence of Rama's holy appearance. With misery & great difficulty, he reaches Bhadrachalam, associating with Kamala. Now, Ramadasu solicits, and Rama arises by granting salvation, which he denies. At last, Ramadasu asks for a boon to make his soul immortal at his feet in the temple when the Lord bestows it. Finally, the movie ends happily, with Ramadasu's soul blessing the devotees who have been visiting the temple till today.

Cast

 * Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Kabirdas
 * Akkineni Nagarjuna as Kancharla Gopanna /Ramadasu
 * Suman as Rama / Vishnu
 * Sneha as Kamala
 * Veda Sastry as Sita / Lakshmi
 * Sujatha as Dammakka
 * Meka Srikanth As Thyagaraju Swamy
 * Nassar as Abul Hasan Qutb Shah
 * K.Naga Babu as Ravana
 * Brahmanandam
 * Sunil As Ramana Sastry
 * Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Seshabhisha Sastry
 * Tanikella Bharani as Kamal's father
 * Venu Madhav
 * AVS
 * Ali
 * Raghu Babu
 * Sameer Hasan as Lakshmana
 * Sarath Babu as Sage Bhadra
 * Vindu Dara Singh as Hanuman
 * Jaya Prakash Reddy as Mathisahib
 * Ranganath as Gopanna's father
 * Raghunatha Reddy as Madanna
 * Subbaraya Sharma as Akkanna
 * Ananth Babu
 * Chitti Babu
 * Duvvasi Mohan
 * J. K. Bharavi
 * Sudha as Gopanna's mother
 * Siva Parvathi as Kamala's mother
 * Hema as Tanisha's wife
 * Apoorva
 * Master Sajja Teja as Raghunathudu (Ramadasu's son)

Production
It was announced that Nagarjuna would do a film, produced by Konda Krishnam Raju on Aditya Movies banner and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao.Jyothika was roped in to play the female lead, but refused the offer due to her marriage preparations. Then she was replaced by Sneha later.

Soundtrack
Music was composed by M. M. Keeravani. Lyrics are written by Veturi, Chandrabose, Suddala Ashok Teja, Sri Vedavyasa, J. K. Bharavi and Siva Shakthi Datta while vocals are given by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Chitra, Shankar Mahadevan, M. M. Keeravani, Vijay Yesudas, Devi Sri Prasad, S. P. B. Charan, Madhu Balakrishnan, Hariharan, Sunitha, Malavika and Pranavi. Music was released on Aditya Music Company.

Release and reception
Sri Ramadasu was released in 229 screens including 173 in Andhra Pradesh 18 in Karnataka, two in Chennai, one in Mumbai and 25 overseas.

Upon release, the film was met with positive reviews. The lead actor Nagarjuna and music director M. M. Keeravani received extremely positive appreciations for their respective works in this film. Particularly, Nagarjuna's performance was highly praised by most of the critics.

Telugu movie reviewing website idle brain gave 3.75 out of 5 and wrote, "He (Nagarjuna) did extremely well in the title role. His histrionics in the last reel where ‘Dasaradhi’ song comes are extraordinary. Nobody knows how Sri Ramadasu looks like and whenever we think about Sri Ramadasu in the future, the image of Nagarjuna becomes the visual aid. The first half of the film is decent. The emotional graph starts growing up from ‘Antha Ramamayam’ song and goes to the peak by the film reaches climax. The second half of the film is very good. The plus points of this film are Nagarjuna's histrionics, Keeravani's music, K Raghavendra Rao's direction of J. K. Bharavi's script. Sri Ramadasu film comes as fresh breeze when we are bombarded with routine and formula flicks. I recommend this devotional flick to everybody."

Another reviewing website India glitz gave an extremely positive review and praised Nagarjuna's performance, in particular, stating, "Nagarjuna is a revelation in a role that calls for nuances and skill. It is no romp for him. He has put in hard labor both in terms of looks as well as body language. The triumph of this role lies in the fact that Nags got the subtleties right. An award is just round the corner for him. Keeravani in a sense is the other hero of the movie. There are 19 songs, each dipped in his own devotion to his art. Like in Annamaiya (Annamayya), he has delivered more than he has been asked for. His songs create the right mood and momentum for the film to proceed. The bhakti rasa is splendidly brought out."

The Hindu praised Nagarjuna and M. M. Keeravani and wrote, "Nagarjuna steals the show as Ramadasu. After playing the role of his lifetime in Annamayya, Nagarjuna comes up with another winner in Sri Ramadasu. Nag (Nagarjuna) once again proves he is equally at ease portraying epic characters apart from playing mass, sentiment and glamor roles. The highlight of the film is the performance of Nagarjuna in the prison episode. Keeravani gives a musical chartbuster and both songs as well as background score and re-recording is excellent and takes the audience into a musical journey. Graphic works are superb."

Box-office
The film had a 100-day run in 67 centres and collected over 30 crores.

Awards

 * Filmfare Awards - 2006
 * Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer - Telugu - S.P. Balasubramaniam
 * Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer – South - S. Gopal Reddy


 * Nandi Awards - 2006
 * Best Home-viewing Feature Film - Konda Krishnam Raju
 * Best Actor - Nagarjuna
 * Best Makeup Artist - Ramachandra Rao
 * Best Costume Designer - Basha