Geethanjali (2014 film)
Geethanjali is a 2014 Indian Telugu comedy horror film directed by debutant Raj Kiran. The film was written by Raj Kiran along with Kona Venkat, Venkatesh Kilaru. It starring Anjali and Srinivasa Reddy in lead roles.[2] The film's soundtrack[3] and background score were composed by Praveen Lakkaraju.[4] The movie was remade in Kannada as Kathe Chitrakathe Nirdeshana Puttanna (2016).[5] Anjali received the Nandi Award for Best Actress for her performance at Nandi Awards 2014.[6]
| Geethanjali | |
|---|---|
Movie poster | |
| Directed by | Raj Kiran |
| Screenplay by | Kona Venkat |
| Story by | Raj Kiran |
| Produced by | M. V. V. Satyanarayana |
| Starring | Anjali Srinivasa Reddy |
| Cinematography | Sai Sriram |
| Edited by | Atkuri Teja |
| Music by | Praveen Lakkaraju |
Production company | M.V.V Pictures |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹4 crore[1] |
Plot
Srinivas alias Sreenu is a wannabe film director who wants to win a Nandi award for a story he has. He faces many ridicules from different producers, including one who tries to make him adulterate the story and another lady who tells that everybody in her family and outside including cooks and cleaners have to like the story if she has to produce it. He meets a businessman, Ramesh Rao with whom at first he has a fight for being late for an appointment, but eventually gets along with. He narrates the story to him. Rao also wants to do a film which will get a Nandi award as he wants to dedicate it to his father.
In the opening scene in an apartment in Hyderabad, a girl commits suicide. The death appears to be suspicious and it is being investigated by inspector Shravan who at first suspects the security guard, who was the first one to find out about the suicide. The next day, the owner of the house comes with a babaji who takes the spirit of the girl into a lemon but dies in a car accident on the way back. Then Sreenu tells Ramesh Rao about 3 months later. He also tells Ramesh Rao to imagine himself in place of the hero. In a bus from Vijayawada to Hyderabad, the hero meets a girl Anjali on the bus. Both of them become friends during the journey but the next morning, Anjali leaves without Sreenu knowing. After getting down from the bus, Sreenu goes to his friend Madhunandan, and now it is revealed that he had actually come to Hyderabad to meet producer Dil Raju and narrate to him a story he wrote. A house broker gets them a house in the same flat where the suicide took place. After a lot of persuasion, Sreenu agrees to stay there. There he meets Athreya and Arudra who claim to be assistants of Dil Raju although they are not and began to stay with Sreenu and Madhu. That night, the girl in the bus, Anjali comes there as she thought her friends who used to stay there were still there. Sreenu manages to persuade her to come in with a cup of coffee as coffee is her weakness. Soon she becomes a regular guest at the house. One day, two policemen come there and give Sreenu a bundle and tell him to put it in the prohibited room which belongs to the owners of the flat. When he keeps them inside, he sees a picture of Anjali in the room. Sreenu asks Venkatesh, the watchman about the photo and he tells Sreenu that it is a photo of the girl who committed suicide. Sreenu, Athreya and Arudra get frightened out of their wits when Venkatesh tells them that he hasn't seen any girl enter the apartment at night since a week. That night, The doorbell rings again but Sreenu does not open the door. Then next morning, he packs everything that belonged to him and runs away from the apartment. It is now revealed that whatever Sreenu told Ramesh Rao is his real-life story. Sreenu tells Rao that he just wanted to tell the story to somebody and he doesn't want to actually make it into a movie. And saying so, he leaves from there. On the way back, Sreenu encounters a friend of Anjali whose photo he had seen in the room. When he inquires with the girl, he finds out that Anjali had a boyfriend, Madhunandan who was in jail as people believed him to be the reason Anjali committed suicide. At first, Sreenu thinks it is his friend, Madhu but later finds out it is not. Madhu takes Sreenu, Athreya and Arudra to his uncle Shaitan Raj, a psychiatrist. Raj helps the three of them and they find out it is just a man who has been hiding there as he thought he will get a free house if they also run away. The 4 of them encourage the man to work for a living. That night, Anjali comes there to tell them the truth. She reveals to them that her name is Ushanjali and the one who died is her twin sister, Geethanjali. Geethanjali was in love with Madhu, but her boss, who is surprisingly Ramesh Rao, rapes her after she refuses to marry him. She commits suicide and Rao has Madhu blamed for the death. The gang decide to take revenge on Rao. Sreenu tells Rao that he went back to the flat and the girl's spirit was coming that night to tell him who killed her. Ramesh Rao tells Sreenu he too will come along and hear the spirit. Sreenu and the gang send Ushanjali to Shaitan Raj to take training of the language and body language of devils so that she can act as Geethanjali. That night, at Sreenu's house, Ramesh Rao reveals he knows everything and that the spirit who has come now is not Geethanjali but Ushanjali. In a fit of rage, Ushanjali kills Ramesh Rao and then goes away. Just after she leaves, she returns and apologises for being late and that she is ready. It is now revealed that Ushanjali got locked inside her house after her door got jammed and that the one who came was the real Geethanjali (who escaped from the lemon after it broke open). The ending scene shows all of them together celebrating Geethanjali's boyfriend, Madhunandan's birthday and after that a song.
Cast
- Anjali as Geetanjali and Ushanjali (dual role)
- Srinivasa Reddy as Sreenivas (Sreenu)
- Madhunandan as Madhunandan (Shaitan Raj's nephew)
- Harshvardhan Rane as Madhunandan, Geetanjali's lover, Software Engineer
- Brahmanandam as Saitan Raj
- Ali as the haunted house owner
- Rao Ramesh as Ramesh Rao
- Satyam Rajesh as Rajesh/Athreya
- Shankar as Shankar/Arudra
- C. V. L. Narasimha Rao as Madhunandan (Harshavardan Rane)'s father
- Raghu Babu as film producer
- Jhansi as film producer
- Rajeev Kanakala special appearance throughout the song "Nee Viswaroopam"
- Prudhvi Raj as house broker
- Vennela Kishore as a patient of Saitan Raj
- Sravan as inspector Sravan (special appearance)
- Saptagiri as a ghost in the house
- Dil Raju as himself (special appearance)
- Harsha Vardhan as Venkatesh, watchman
Production
"'Geethanjali' will remain as a milestone in the career of Anjali as 'Arundhati' for Anushka Shetty and 'Chandramukhi' for Jyothika. The film will have unexpected twists and turns. It is a very different film from all the horror thrillers which have come till now."
—Kona Venkat[7]
Debutant director Raj Kiran, announced his first film featuring Anjali and Srinivasa Reddy.[2] He titled the horror comedy women-centric film as 'Geethanjali.The first look launch event of the movie was held in Hyderabad and V. V. Vinayak, who has attended as the chief guest, launched the first look.[8]
Soundtrack
| Geethanjali | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Praveen Lakkaraju | |
| Released | July 17, 2014 |
| Recorded | 2014 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 17:30 |
| Label | Shreyas Music |
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Coffee Song" | Ramya Behara, Sri Krishna | 4:00 |
| 2. | "Na Manasuni thakey" | Haricharan, Harini | 3:13 |
| 3. | "Raghuvansha Sudha" | Magharaj,Pranavi Acharya,Rahulp | 3:58 |
| 4. | "Shaitan Raj" | Baba Sehgal, Brahmanandam,Pranavi Acharya | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Vishwaroopam" | Shankar Mahadevan | 3:28 |
| Total length: | 17:30 | ||
Reception
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2021) |
The movie gained positive reviews all over and a box office hit with critics praising Anjali's performance.[citation needed] She received Nandi Award for Best Actress, SICA Award for Best Telugu Actress. Following the success of Geethanjali, she received many offers of women-centric films which she turned down all.[citation needed]
Awards and honours
| Year | Award Category | Winner | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Nandi Award for Best Actress | Anjali | Won | [6] |
| 2015 | SICA - South Indian Cinematographers Association Award | Anjali | Won | [9] |
References
- ^ . Archived from the original on 23 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Kona Venkat turns presenter". Times of India. 3 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ "Geethanjali Track List and Theatrical Trailer". News Boundary. 13 April 2014.
- ^ "Anjali turns Geethanjali". Times of India. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ "Priya Mani is doing this for the first time! - Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ a b "AP Government announces Nandi Awards". The Hans India. 11 November 2017.
- ^ "Anjali's 'Geethanjali' release in June". IndiaGlitz. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ^ . IndiaGlitz. 19 April 2014. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ "சீகா விருது விழாவில் நடிகை அஞ்சலி (படத்தொகுப்பு 4)". 11 January 2015.
External links
- Geethanjali at IMDb