Lion (2015 film)
Lion is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language action film produced by Rudrapati Ramana Rao under SLV cinema banner and directed by debutant Satyadev. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Trisha Krishnan and Radhika Apte in the lead roles with music composed by Mani Sharma.[1] A first look teaser of the movie was released on 31 December 2014. The audio released on 8 April 2015, and the film released on 14 May 2015. The film received mixed reviews upon its release. It is loosely based on the 1990 film Total Recall.
Lion | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Satyadev |
Produced by | Rudrapati Ramana Rao |
Written by | Satyadev |
Starring | Nandamuri Balakrishna Trisha Krishnan Radhika Apte Prakash Raj |
Music by | Mani Sharma |
Cinematography | Venkata Prasad |
Edited by | Gautham Raju |
Production company | Sri Lakshmi Venkateswara Cinema |
Release date |
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Running time | 156 mins |
Country | India |
Language | Telugu |
Plot
The film opens in a hospital at Mumbai, where Bose (Nandamuri Balakrishna) has come out of a coma after 18 months. As soon as he recovers, Bose is identified as Godse by everyone around him. He is surprised when an elderly couple, Bhoopathi (Chandra Mohan) and Malathi Devi (Jayasudha), claim to be his parents. Bose tries to convince everyone that he is not Godse and that he has his own story. Soon, he comes to Hyderabad in search of his true identity and bumps into Mahalakshmi (Trisha), who he believes is his lover. When she tells him that it is a case of mistaken identity, Godse is taken aback. He meets a similar fate when he meets his parents (Chalapathi Rao & Geetha). Suddenly, a girl named Sarayu (Radhika Apte) arrives as Godse's wife and tries to remind him of their married life, which creates a lot of confusion. Later, Godse finds out that it was all a ruse set up by Bharadwaja (Prakash Raj), Chief Minister of the state. It is also revealed that his real name is Bose. It is later disclosed that Bose is a sincere and powerful CBI officer on a mission to crack the suspicious death of former Chief Minister of State, Achyuta Ramayya (Vijayakumar). Bose learns that an influential person, sitting CM Bharadwaj, is behind the death of the former CM. Bose tries to prove him guilty. The rest of this movie deals with why the CM wanted Bose alive and why he set him up with a new identity.
Cast
- Nandamuri Balakrishna as Godse / Bose
- Trisha as Guggilla Mahalakshmi / Manjula
- Radhika Apte as Sarayu
- Prakash Raj as CM Bharadwaja
- Pradeep Rawat as Dhooli Krishna
- Chandra Mohan as Bhoopathi
- Jayasudha as Malathi Devi
- Chalapathi Rao as Bose's father
- Geetha as Bose's mother
- Kota Srinivasa Rao as Murugan
- Vijayakumar as Ex-CM Achutharamaiah
- Ali as Ambali
- Adithya Menon as Benerjee
- Suresh as CBI Chief Kesava Prasad
- Indraja as CBI Deputy Chief Indrani
- M. S. Narayana was Gokineni Lingam / Goli Mama / Rahul
- Posani Krishna Murali as Police Inspector
- Ravi Prakash as Ravindra
- Ranganath as Doctor
- Giri Babu as Balarama Krishnaiah
- Sameer as Sameer
- Appaji Ambarisha Darbha as Doctor
- Siva Balaji as Special Appearance
- Archana as Special Appearance
Soundtrack
Lion | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 9 April 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2015 | |||
Genre | Soundtrack | |||
Length | 21:39 | |||
Label | Lahari Music | |||
Producer | Mani Sharma | |||
Mani Sharma chronology | ||||
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Music was composed by Mani Sharma. Audio CD was released on Lahari Music Company. Audio was launched on 9 April 2015, held at Hyderabad Shilpakala Vedika by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.[2]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "One & Only Lion" | Ramajogayya Sastry | Rahul Sipligunj, Geetha Madhuri, Pranavi | 4:02 |
2. | "Akasam" | Bhaskarabhatla Ravi Kumar | Vijay Prakash, Srinivasa Sarma, Pranavi | 4:31 |
3. | "Pilla" | Bhaskarabhatla Ravi Kumar | Simha, Sudhamayi | 4:25 |
4. | "Aisa Ambani Pilla" | Sri Mani | Sweekar Agasthi, Uma Neha | 4:18 |
5. | "Anaganaga" | Ramajogayya Sastry | Madhu Balakrishnan | 4:23 |
Total length: | 21:39 |
Pre-release business
The film Andhra Pradesh rights sold for ₹20.83 crore (US$2.9 million) by various distributors. The film Karnataka rights sold for ₹2.5 crore (US$350,000) by Kranthi. The film had total prerelease up to ₹23.83 crore (US$3.3 million) in India. The film overseas rights acquired by SLV cinema for good price.[3]
Release
The film received U/A certificate from Censor Board due to violence in second half. The film released on 15 May 2015 in 900+ screens worldwide. The film Satellite Rights acquired by Gemini TV for ₹6 crore (US$840,000).[4]
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. 123Telugu.com rated 3/5 and stated On the whole, Lion is a complete Balakrishna film right from the word go. His power packed performance is the major asset and will go down well with the masses. On the flip side, lack of proper handling of the subject and a predictable second half makes this film just an ok watch. Watch it only for Balayya.[5] Idlebrain rated 3/5 and stated Interval episode is interesting. Second half has many episodes that exhilarate fans. Lion is a film that completely revolves around Balakrishna and depends on his performance. A good screenplay and right buildups (elevating emotions while building up to the key scenes) would have done a world of good to the cinema. On a whole, Lion is NBK’s show![6] The Hindu stated Radhika wears a blank expression. There is another gem, a man confronts Balaiyya, “Natho matladataniki yentha dhairyam neeku” and the latter retorts “Neetho matladataniki dhairyam enduku...Iphone unte chaalu.” Lion takes plenty of retrograde steps. Mani Sarma too disappoints and the hero struggles with his steps. Time for Balakrishna to do some soul searching or his films would be just another addition to the number of films he has done.[7]
Box office
The film opened good response in AP. The film collected ₹5.5 crore (US$770,000) (Share) at the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (AP/T) box office on the first day. But the film failed to break the opening day record of Legend. The movie witnessed a huge drop of over 50 percent on Friday and it went down further on the following days. The film has collected ₹11.2 crore (US$1.6 million) (Share) in AP. The film collected ₹12 crore (US$1.7 million) (WW Share) in its extended first week end at the box office but it is below par.[8] The film collected average ₹15.8 crore (US$2.2 million) (WW Share) in its first week and gross would be ₹26 crore (US$3.6 million) at the box office.[9]
References
- RAVIPUDI PHANI's new film titled Lion? – The Times of India Retrieved 4 January 2015 Dated 30 December 2014
- Live streaming in HD: Lion. Myinfoindia.com (7 April 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-09.
- Lion movie Pre release Business | Balakrishna Lion movie Pre release Business Archived 21 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. English.tupaki.com (13 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-09.
- Nandamuri Balakrishna "Lion" Record Price for satellite Rights Archived 20 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Cinebucket.com. Retrieved on 9 June 2015.
- Lion Telugu Movie Review | Balakrishna Lion Movie Review | Lion Review and Rating | NBK Lion Review | Lion Cinema Review | Balakrishna Trisha Lion Movie Review | Lion Twitter Updates | Balakrishna Lion Live Updates | Balakrishna Lion Movie Rating | Lion Film Review | NBK Trisha Lion Review | Lion First Day Talk. 123telugu.com (14 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-09.
- Lion review by jeevi – Telugu cinema review – Balakrishna Nandamuri, Trisha, Radhika Apte, Indraja & Prakash Raj. Idlebrain.com (14 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-09.
- Lion movie review. The Hindu (17 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-09.
- 'Lion' (4 Days) 1st Weekend Collection at Box Office: Balakrishna Fails to Live up to Expectations. Ibtimes.co.in (18 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-09.
- Lion First Week Collections | NBK Lion First Week Collections Archived 24 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. English.tupaki.com (23 May 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-09.