Soggade Chinni Nayana

Soggade Chinni Nayana
File:Soggade Chinni Nayana poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kalyan Krishna
Produced by	Nagarjuna Akkineni
Screenplay by	Ram Mohan P
Story by	Ram Mohan P
Starring	Nagarjuna Akkineni Ramya Krishnan Lavanya Tripathi
Music by	Anoop Rubens
Cinematography	P. S. Vinod R. Siddharth
Edited by	Prawin Pudi
Production company	Annapurna Studios
Distributed by	Annapurna Studios
Release dates	15 January 2016 (2016-01-15)
Running time	145 min
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹15 crore (US$2.2 million)—₹20 crore (US$3.0 million)
Box office	₹70 crore (US$10 million) (50 days)

Soggade Chinni Nayana (English: This young man is a charmer) is a 2016 Indian Telugu-language supernatural drama film. Scripted by Ram Mohan P, the film was produced by Nagarjuna Akkineni and directed by debutante Kalyan Krishna. Nagarjuna plays a dual role as the film's protagonist while Ramya Krishnan and Lavanya Tripathi played his love interests. Production began on 19 November 2014 and was released worldwide on 15 January 2016 coinciding with Sankranthi.

The film collected ₹70 crore (US$10 million) at the global box office becoming the highest career grosser of Nagarjuna Akkineni. A sequel called Bangarraju was registered by Nagarjuna and is under production.

Plot

Dr. Ram Mohan (Nagarjuna Akkineni) is a nerdy cardiologist practicing in the United States. His wife Seetha (Lavanya Tripathi) feels lonely and finds no happiness in their marriage, as Ramu (Dr. Ram Mohan) gives very little attention to her due to his busy profession. Things worsen on Seetha's third birthday after their marriage and the duo decide to file a divorce. They leave for Sivapuram near Rajahmundry where Ramu's mother Satyabhama (Ramya Krishnan) lives. Satyabhama is shocked to know that Ramu and Seetha are contemplating divorce and yells at a portrait of her deceased husband Bangarraju (played by Nagarjuna Akkineni again), an inveterate flirt who passed away nearly 30 years ago in an accident.

Bangarraju's soul is in Naraka and he continues to flirt the females even there. Yama (Nagendra Babu), upon an order by Shiva, sends him back saying that there is a purpose only he can fulfill on the Earth. So, Bangarraju is sent as a soul who can be seen and heard only by Satyabhama to solve the problems his family is facing currently. Bangarraju comes to know about the strained relationship between Ramu and Seetha and tries to unite them. After a few futile attempts, on Ramu's birthday, Bangarraju possesses Ramu's body. Ramu with his father's spirit in him dresses just like the latter and meets Ramu's young, female cousins and invites them to his home.

On his way back, Bangarraju meets Suri (Posani Krishna Murali), a drunkard who assumes him to be Ramu. To free himself from guilt, Suri reveals that he murdered Bangarraju by hitting him with a lorry after being bribed. Without revealing the details completely, Suri dies in an accident and Bangarraju comes to know that his family is in danger. Back at home, Ramu meets his cousins and spends some quality time with them, which leaves Seetha jealous and frustrated.

Bangarraju is confronted by Satyabhama, who is unaware of the recent happenings. She asks him to advise her on how to unite Ramu and Seetha. As plans made with the former have failed, Bangarraju suggests her to offer some tips to Seetha to impress Ramu. Upon Satyabhama's advice, Ramu and Seetha go to a theatre to watch a film. When a gang of goons taunt her, Ramu (possessed by Bangarraju) fights with them, leaving Seetha pleasantly surprised, as Ramu failed to attack the same group when they comment on Seetha earlier. The couple slowly gets closer to each other and Seetha realises that Ramu does love her.

On the other hand, with the help of a Godman named Athmanandam, who can communicate with souls, Bangarraju comes to know that his uncle Rudraraju was the mastermind behind his murder. Further probing reveals that Raudraraju and his cousin wanted to steal the jewellery in a 1000-year old temple in their village dedicated to Shiva and to avoid complications, they murdered Bangarraju by bribing Suri as Bangarraju is an honest zamindar who developed the village using his ancestral wealth.

After Rudraraju's son dies due to a snake bite, a Malayali tantrik warns that only Bangarraju's descendants can open the lock and others who attempt to do so shall be killed by that divine snake. The tantrik captures Bangarraju's soul and gives a few threads to Rudraraju's grandson Sampath, instructing him to tie those to the hands of every member of Bangarraju's family which shall prevent his soul to communicate with them. After Sampath and others leave, the divine snake kills the tantrik and saves Bangarraju's soul.

Bangarraju reaches the temple where Satyabhama cannot hear him and Ramu cannot be possessed by him. Rudraraju and Sampath attack Ramu and Seetha after the jewellery is brought from the room. Rudraraju instructs his henchmen to place the couple in a car along with the jewellery so that the villagers assume them as thieves. In the process, the thread to Ramu's hand is removed and Bangarraju possesses him. He fights with all of them and leaves Ramu, who operates Seetha in a nearby hospital.

Satyabhama removes the thread and is able to see Bangarraju. Ramu and Seetha unite, and Yama orders Bangarraju to come back as per Shiva's instruction. When Satyabhama requests Bangarraju to stay back, Yama gives him a chance to wipe her tears. Bangarraju asks her to keep smiling and live happily for his sake and goes back to Naraka.

Cast

• Nagarjuna Akkineni as Bangaru Raju & Dr. Ram Mohan (Dual Role)
• Ramya Krishna as Satya
• Lavanya Tripathi as Seeta
• Anushka Shetty as Krishna Kumari (cameo)
• Nassar as Rudraraju
• Sampath Raj as Sampath
• Brahmanandam as Athmananda
• Vennela Kishore as Ram Mohan's cousin
• Chalapathi Rao as Chalapati
• Nagendra Babu as Yama Dharma Raju
• Posani Krishna Murali as Suri
• Brahmaji as Ram Mohan's cousin
• Benerjee as Sampath's father
• Ramaraju as Rudraraju's in-law
• Saptagiri as Himagiri (Taxi Driver)
• L. B. Sriram as Priest
• Gundu Sudarshan as Dr. Aravind Swamy
• Kadambari Kiran as Teacher
• Ambati Srinivas
• Raghava
• Venu
• Duvvasi Mohan as Chitragupta
• Hamsa Nandini as Hamsa
• Anasuya Bharadwaj as Bujji
• Jhansi as Saraswathi
• Sana as Buggala Bagyam

Soundtrack

Soggade Chinni Nayana
Film score by Anup Rubens
Released	25 December 2015 (2015-12-25)
Recorded	2015
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	21:37
Label	Aditya Music
Producer	Anup Rubens
Anup Rubens chronology
Soukhyam (2015)Soukhyam2015 Soggade Chinni Nayana (2016)

Music composed by Anup Rubens. All songs are hit tracks. Music released on ADITYA Music Company.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Dikka Dikka Dum Dum"	Bhaskara Bhatla Ravikumar	Nagarjuna, Dhanunjay, Mohana Bhogaraju	4:07
2.	"Nee Navve"	Balaji	Shreya Ghoshal, Dhanunjay	4:27
3.	"Vasthane Vasthane"	Ramajogayya Sastry	Hariharan, Kousalya	4:41
4.	"Untale Untale"	Ramajogayya Sastry	Malavika	2:14
5.	"Addhira Banna"	Krishna Kanth	Anudeep Dev, Arun, Dhanunjay, Raghuram, Sampath, Prakash, Lokesh	2:03
6.	"Soggade Chinni Nayana"	Ananth Sriram	Satya Yamini, Nuthana, Vinayak	4:05
Total length:				21:37

Production

Development

Post Manam (2014), Nagarjuna announced his next film in late August 2014 which would be directed by debutante Kalyan Krishna and produced by himself and Ram Mohan P under the banner of Annapurna Studios. The film's title was confirmed as Soggade Chinni Nayana, a famous song from Aastiparulu (1966), starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao.

Casting

Nagarjuna was announced to play a dual role in the film and Ramya Krishnan was selected as one of the female leads. Nagarjuna revealed that the film will have a rustic backdrop and he would be seen sporting a proper panche kattu for one of the characters. He reportedly wanted to cast Pranitha Subhash as the other female lead but things did not work out. Sonal Chauhan was considered for the other female lead. The makers had a change of mind and finalized Lavanya Tripathi as the second female lead. It was known later that Nagarjuna will be seen as a father and a son in the film.

Lavanya said that she would play a traditional Indian girl paired opposite the son character and added that her role in the film has a romantic touch. Brahmanandam was confirmed as a part of the film's cast in mid December 2014. Hamsa Nandini was selected for a crucial supporting role and was also confirmed to perform a special song along with Nagarjuna. Anchor Anasuya was selected to play the role of Nagarjuna's cousin in the film and she was expected to join the film's sets in February 2015. This role was initially offered to Swati Reddy who backed out citing lack of dates.

Filming

The film was announced to be shot in and around Rajahmundry in late September 2014. The film was formally launched on the morning on 19 November 2014 at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad. Few hours after the launch, the film's principal photography began at a set in the same studio. Few key scenes on Nagarjuna and Brahmanandam were shot at Ramoji Film City in mid December 2014. After completing a couple of shooting schedules, a fresh one began on 11 February 2015. Filming continued at Mysore from 10 March 2015 after completing most of the filming in Rajahmundry. Few scenes were shot at a 1500-year-old Vishnu temple in Mysore.

Reception

Critical reception

Soggade Chinni Nayana received positive reviews from the critics. Suresh Kavirayani of Deccan Chronicle gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and called it a film that has been "wonderful overall". Kavirayani added, "This is a big debut for director Kalyan Krishna — Full marks to him to come out with a family entertainer and a successful formula. The director is clear about what he wants to show the audience". Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and called it a film that is set in a "familiar, comfort zone" and "guarantees a lot of fun". Dundoo added, "It doesn’t take much to identify the conniving mastermind who wants to wreck havoc on Bangarraju’s family. Yet, the subplot of the temple jewellery and a protecting snake are engaging".

Pranita Jonnalagedda of The Times of India too gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated, "There are two ways of watching a film. One, nitpicking and looking at what could have made it better. Two, just soaking it in as it goes forward, without any judgement. And Soggade Chinni Nayana is a film which falls in the latter category". She added that the film is a "very simple yet enjoyable film that makes your festival celebratory" and that it is "so uncomplicated, unfussy and unpretentious that you'd just get hooked to its simplicity". Sify gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and called it a "simple movie told in entertaining manner" and a "Nagarjuna’s show all the way", adding, "One should mention the talent of director Kalyan Krishna. Though he is a newcomer and the story is not new, his handling of the storyline is what made the movie worth a watch. He has talent for handling entertainment and that is clearly visible".

Behindwoods gave the film 2.75 stars out of 5 and called it a "well-made family fantasy entertainer" with an "[i]nteresting supernatural main plot" and a "weak subplot". The reviewer added that the film has a "tight screenplay that grabs the attention of the audience throughout". L. Ravichander of The Hans India stated, "In the midst of all this, Nagarjuna, with his energy and the cultivated star status tries hard to keep things going. The lone bright spot is Ramya Krishna – all grace, charm and vigour".

Box office

Soggade Chinni Nayana debuted with an average occupancy of 70 percent and grossed ₹5.5 crore (US$820,000) (with a distributor share of ₹3.9 crore (US$580,000)) at the AP/Nizam box office on its first day. In three days, the film grossed ₹13 crore (US$1.9 million) and collected a distributor share of ₹8.5 crore (US$1.3 million) at the AP/Nizam box office. The three-day global gross figures crossed ₹20 crore (US$3.0 million) and the global distributor share figure stood at ₹14.1 crore (US$2.1 million). According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Soggade Chinni Nayana grossed US$535,183 (₹3.92 crore (US$580,000)) at the United States box office in its first weekend; it became Nagarjuna's second-highest grossing film in the country after Manam. In five days, the film grossed US$629,303 (₹4.29 crore (US$640,000)) at the United States box office after facing a significant decline. In its first week, Soggade Chinni Nayana grossed ₹34.74 crore (US$5.2 million) globally and collected a distributor share of ₹22.83 crore (US$3.4 million).

After losing out 30 screens to Airlift, Soggade Chinni Nayana grossed US$776,940 (₹5.27 crore (US$780,000)) in ten days at the United States box office. By the end of its second week, Soggade Chinni Nayana grossed ₹55.96 crore (US$8.3 million) globally and collected a distributor share of ₹35.73 crore (US$5.3 million); it became Nagarjuna's highest grossing film ever. In its third week, after losing many screens due to new releases, the film retained 19 screens at the United States box office and grossed US$827,918 (₹5.62 crore (US$840,000)) in 17 days. By earning a distributor share of ₹3.8 crore (US$560,000) on an investment of ₹65 lakh (US$97,000), Soggade Chinni Nayana became Nagarjuna's highest grossing film in the country. In 20 days, the film grossed ₹63.88 crore (US$9.5 million) globally and collected a distributor share of ₹40.48 crore (US$6.0 million); it became one of those limited Telugu films to cross the ₹40 crore (US$5.9 million).

Soggade Chinni Nayana retained 7 screens in its fourth week at the United States box office and grossed US$837,089 (₹5.69 crore (US$850,000)) in 24 days.

External links

• Soggade Chinni Nayana at IMDb