“Athadu” has completed ten years today since its first release. A tribute to the film and its enduring appeal.
Ten years ago, on 12th August, 2005, “Athadu” was released starring Mahesh Babu, Trisha, Nassar, Sunil, Sonu Sood, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Tanikella Bharani, Giribabu, Dharmavarapu and Brahmanandam, directed by Trivikram Srinivas, the writer-turned director. It had great background score and hit songs by Mani Sharma, exceptional cinematography by KV Guhan, crisp editing by Srikar Prasad and great lyrics by Sirivennela. The film was a slow starter, got mixed reviews. Some of the most popular sites and newspapers of the day have rated it no more than 3.25/5. But ten years on, the movie has become a cult modern classic for today’s generation. The film, produced by Murali Mohan’s Jayabheri Productions, went on to collect around Rs.22 crores which included overseas collections and prints released India-wide. It became the first Telugu film in a generation to release in Chennai, and also got dubbed in other languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi. It got remade into Hindi with Bobby Deol and Nana Patekar but collected less than Rs.6.5 crores. It got remade into Bengali too and later, became the first Telugu film to be dubbed into Polish -which was received well there. The film brought the real Superstar status to Mahesh Babu and the titles also dropped the word “Babu” for the first time, announcing to the world that this “Babu” has grown up into a macho man who can make villains hit bricks when they see him. It’s another story that in the film even comedian Brahmanandam is given a knockout punch by Mahesh with a force that will bring down a wall of bricks!
Athadu was a coming-of-age film for both Trivkiram and Mahesh. Athadu with all its sub-plots and brought out the machismo of Mahesh on a scale never seen before by his fans. Despite comparisons with several Hollywood films like “Meet the Parents”, “Assassins” and “US Marshalls”, “Athadu” had a nativity and an evocativeness that made it connect well with the classes and masses. The film’s DVD is still one of the highest-selling DVDs in Telugu film history – this is because there is a timeless appeal, a fresh experience and an allure for the entire family to sit down and watch it together. Brahmanandam’s comedy scenes, the subtle romantic track between Mahesh and Trisha, the scenes of confrontation between Mahesh and Nassar, Mahesh and Kota Srinivasa Rao, Mahesh and Tanikella Bharani, Mahesh and Brahmaji, and the fights with Sonu Sood have all raised the halo effect of the film, along with the million-buck lines written by Trivikram – which are still considered a nonpareil. In the climax scene, when Mahesh leaves the family of Nassar to pursue the truth, Trisha says,”Nenuu Vasthaanu.”(I will also come). Mahesh assures her,”Nene Vasthaanu”. (I will come come back). Lines with puns like this reverberate throughout the film making it both fun and serious. The definition that Mahesh gives to what is the difference between cheating and lying has been explained beautifully by the master wordsmith Trivikram.
In many ways, the film was a coming-of-age film for both Trivikram and Mahesh. Because until this film, Trivikram has made a couple of rom-coms with funny one-liners and light-hearted content. Mahesh had done movies like “Murari” and “Bobby” before which didn’t bring out masculine fervor in the manner it could highlight him as a macho hero. “Athadu”‘s story of a professional assassin entering a village to atone for a co-passenger who was shot dead by the police actually looking out for him – resonated with everybody. Etched out well with all the sub-plots, it brought out the machismo of Mahesh on a scale never seen before by his fans. It had all the emotional chords striking gold with the family audiences as well making Trivkiram stand out as a capable director who can handle complex stories. The film also established the power of a Telugu film in connecting big time with the Indian diaspora in overseas markets – making film-makers eye the growing pie from box office collections overseas markets. It changed the equations of the valuation also forever on how such markets get bid and bought.
The satellite rights of the film was bought for Rs.1.5 crores by MAA TV which subsequently got renewed for another Rs.3.5 crores in 2012. Proof that the film garners great TRPs whenever aired on TV. It is one of the few films that even the team of Mahesh showcases to reach out to Bollywood heroines to cast them in his movies. It is on record, how almost all the heroines who starred with Mahesh in the past or are admirers of his charishma like Amrita Rao, Deepika Padukone, have said “Athadu” is his best film etc. No wonder, “Athadu” is a landmark film that created many firsts and history of sorts. In an age where it is difficult to zero in on modern classics, this film has stood the test of time in the first decade. Despite similarities and allegations of scenes copied from foreign films, the film is noted for its nativity and improvisation of content to suit the domestic audience. Hats-off to the makers of “Athadu” for giving us a film that belongs to the ages.
