Zombie Reddy

Zombie Reddy is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language action zombie comedy film directed by Prasanth Varma, and stars Teja Sajja, Anandhi, and Daksha Nagarkar. Produced by Apple Trees Studios, the film is marketed as the first zombie film in Telugu cinema. Set in the district of Kurnool, the film is partially based on COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released on 5 February 2021. following its acquisition on Aha it premiered on 26 March 2021.

Plot
Mario is a game designer from Hyderabad. He develops a game along with his friends Bhadram and Maggie. Although it is a success, they later discover a bug that causes the game to crash at higher levels. Mario calls his friend Kalyan, the programmer, but Kalyan tells them that he is getting married. He invites them to Kurnool district for his wedding, promising to fix the code.

Kalyan's father-in-law Bhooma Reddy is a chieftain who rules the village of Rudravaram. He plans hides his violent ways and weapons until Kalyan is married off to his daughter Pushkala. Meanwhile, Nandini Reddy, the daughter of Bhooma's close aid Bukka Reddy, also arrives at the wedding. As Mario and his friends drive to Rudravaram, they accidentally hit a man on the road who bites Bhadram. An old man immediately arrives and takes him away. Further on their trip, the trio run into Veera Reddy, Bhooma's arch-rival, who tries to kill them, but they escape. Mario finds out that Veera Reddy plans to kill Kalyan after his marriage. Despite multiple warnings, Kalyan does not believe Mario.

Meanwhile, Bhadram's condition begins to worsen as he transforms into a zombie. He bites a household maid, who in turn bites a laborer, spreading the zombie virus even further. Bhooma Reddy and his men leave to investigate the virus. Mario's efforts to stop Kalyan's marriage are all foiled by Nandini, and in the end, he witnesses Veera Reddy's men kidnapping Kalyan on his wedding night. He finds Nandini and the two begin to quarrel until they both witness a zombie attack on one of Bhooma's workers. They lock themselves in the house along with Maggie and Kasi Reddy, and manage to escape by tricking the zombies.

The group tries to rescue Kalyan from Veera Reddy's house, where it is revealed that Nandini is actually Sailaja Reddy, Veera Reddy's daughter, who was sent as a spy. The group manages to escape with Kalyan, and Veera Reddy and Sailaja follow. When Veera Reddy is attacked and swarmed by a crowd of zombies, a grief-filled Sailaja joins forces with Mario. In the fight that follows, Kasi is trapped up palm tree, and Maggie is bitten because she was unable to shoot Bhadram. A heartbroken Mario is forced to flee.

Mario remembers Bhadram getting bit on the road and decides to confront the old man from earlier. They find the original zombie, trapped in a glass cage along with a hidden lab. The old man reveals that he was once a world-famous virologist but the government banned him, citing his practices as unethical and inhumane. Desperate to recover his former reputation, he began developing a vaccine for COVID-19 and tested it directly on humans, leading to the creation of the zombie virus. The old man tries to show Mario the location of the cure in his camera, but the caged zombie breaks free, killing the old man. The others are rescued by Bhooma Reddy. Mario manages to see that the cure is near a symbol in a temple

On their way to the temple, Sailaja realizes she was scratched by the original zombie, but Mario brings her inside despite her protests. While searching for the symbol, they come upon Veera Reddy, who is alive. Although Bhooma Reddy and Veera Reddy are initially furious, they eventually decide to forget their enmity and join hands to hold off the zombie while the others continue looking for the symbol.

When Sailaja begins to turn into a zombie, Mario accidentally discovers that the cure is in the water falling from the Shiva Lingam, which is where the Symbol is. Mario blows a conch to make the zombies chase him and jumps into a pond fed by the same water. As the zombies follow him into the water, they are cured. Mario is hailed as a hero for stopping the virus as both the families, a cured Maggie and Bhadram joyfully reunite.

Cast

 * Teja Sajja as Marripalem Obul Reddy a.k.a. Mario.
 * Anandhi as Sailaja Reddy/Nandini
 * Daksha Nagarkar as Maggie
 * Kireeti Damaraju as Bhadram
 * RJ Hemanth as Kalyan
 * Getup Srinu as Kasi Reddy
 * Lahari Shari as Pushkala Reddy, Kalyan's fiancée
 * Vinay Varma as Bhooma Reddy, Pushkala's father
 * Naga Mahesh as Veera Reddy, Sailaja's father
 * Hari Teja as Talambari, Veera Reddy's sister
 * Prudhvi Raj as Aagam Reddy, Veera Reddy's henchman
 * Harsha Vardhan as Pratap Reddy, Mario's father
 * Mamilla Shailaja Priya as Mario's mother
 * Annapoorna as Pushkala's grandmother
 * Vitta Mahesh as Masi Reddy
 * Raghu Karumanchi
 * Charandeep as Bhooma Reddy's henchman
 * Raghu Babu as young Prudhvi Raj (Cameo)
 * Tripuraneni Chitti as Mad Scientist
 * Keshav Deepak as Doctor
 * Vijay Ranga Raju as Sailaja's grandfather

Production
The film was officially announced on 8 August 2020 by releasing a motion poster of the film. The film is Prasanth's third film after Awe and Kalki. The music is composed by Mark K. Robin who is known for his works in 2019 film Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya. The film is Sajja Teja's debut film as a lead actor.

Soundtrack
IndiaGlitz stated about "GO Corona" single that "This song is 2020 in a nutshell. The rap draws material from some of the most popular memes of the year when the pandemic played havoc. The very title of the song is drawn from a notoriously funny slogan that a political leader gave. And there is a smattering of meme-worthy stuff like 'Aipayee', which was triggered by a spiritual sermon. Modi's call for lighting diyas and clapping for COVID warriors also gets a comical interpretation. The rap is enjoyable, while the singers immerse do their job well. Sri Krishna, Anudeep Dev, PVNS Rohit, and Hymath are the chorus singers. The female ones are Harika Narayan, Sahithi Chagunti, and Sony Komanduri."

Release
The film was released on 5 Feb 2021. It collected a gross of inr 22599999.999999996 on its first day of release.

Home media
The digital rights of the film were acquired by Aha, while the satellite rights were purchased by Star Maa. It was premiered on 28 March 2021, and registered an average TRP rating of 9.72.

Critical response
Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote that "In one stroke, director Prasanth Varma juxtaposes different worlds — a pandemic looming large, zombies, Rayalaseema faction rivalry — to hilarious effect. Zombie Reddy is a satirical potpourri replete with pop culture references at every turn."

Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India stated "Zombie Reddy does have its moments, and all the cast, including Teja, Anandhi and Daksha, seem to have fun with what they're offered. This is not a bad film by any means, if only Prasanth had not gone down the predictable route, it would've been something more." Hemanth Kumar from Firstpost gave 3 out of 5 stars and stated "Zombie Reddy is the first zombie film in Telugu cinema and to its credit, it does a fairly good job in simplifying the storytelling to the bare essentials." A review from The Hans India rated the film 3 stars of 5 and wrote: "Zombie Reddy makes a decent attempt to entertain the audiences."

Box office
The film collected a gross of inr 22599999.999999996 on its first day of release.

Sequel
After the success of the film, a sequel titled Zombie Reddy: Revenge of the Dead is in development.