Khaleja

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Khaleja
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTrivikram Srinivas
Written byTrivikram Srinivas
Produced by
    • Singanamala Ramesh Babu
    • C. Kalyan
    • S. Satya Rama Murthy
Starring
CinematographyYash Bhatt
Sunil Patel
Edited byA. Sreekar Prasad
Music byMani Sharma
Production
company
Kanakaratna Movies
Distributed byGeetha Arts
Release date
  • 7 October 2010 (2010-10-07)
Running time
164 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹30 crore[1]

Khaleja

action comedy film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Anushka Shetty and Prakash Raj, while Shafi, Sunil, Brahmanandam and Ali play supporting roles. The plot follows Raju (Babu), a cab driver who gets hailed as God in a remote village and ends up facing GK (Raj), a powerful industrialist, to save the village. The film deals with illegal-mining in India, and related environmental damage.[3] It marks Babu's return as an actor after a three-year hiatus in his second collaboration with Trivikram after Athadu
.

The film was released on 7 October 2010 to mixed reviews from critics and audience alike and was declared a box office failure.Despite the debacle the film won two

Film Companion's "25 Greatest Telugu Films of the Decade."[6]

Plot

A remote village in Pali is struck by a mysterious plague that consumes many lives, leaving the villagers terrified and devastated. The village priest prophesies a savior and sends his assistant, Siddha, in pursuit of him.

Elsewhere, Raju, a short-tempered taxi driver, is left with heavy damage to his taxi in a freak incident where his passengers are violently attacked and murdered. Consequently, his supervisor instructs him to deliver insurance money to one of the victim's families. While there, a gang of goons sent by GK, a ruthless industrialist, ambush Raju and mortally wound him. After he fends off his attackers, Raju is found by Siddha under circumstances described in the priest's prophecy. Siddha rescues him and takes him back to the village.

After recovering, Raju is shocked to find out that he is revered by the villagers a deity, and fails to convince them otherwise. Although he is initially uninterested in their problems, Raju is compelled by Siddha to help the villagers. Upon further investigation, he finds out that GK has been deliberately polluting the village's air and water to drive out its residents and extract precious ores from their land afterwards. He also learns that GK had ordered the hits on Raju's passengers, a geologist and a villager, and later on Raju to prevent them from interfering with his plans.

GK confronts Raju in the village, kills Siddha, and threatens to massacre the villagers for uncovering his ploy. A furious Raju assaults GK's goons and amputates his hand. GK wanders off panicking and meets his death as prophesized, ending the village's calamity.

Cast

Music

The soundtrack was composed by

Sirivennela Sitaramasastri.[5]

Khaleja
Soundtrack album by
Mani Sharma
Released27 September 2010 (2010-09-27)
Recorded2010
GenreSoundtrack
Length29:16
LabelSony Music
ProducerMani Sharma
Mani Sharma chronology
Kalyanram Kathi
(2010) 		Khaleja
(2010) 		Vastadu Naa Raju
(2010)
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Katuka Nallani Rathiri Vela"
Hemachandra, Karunya Kailash Kher
Sirivennela Sitaramasastri
Vedala Hemachandra, Shweta Mohan4:27
4."Makathika"Ramajogayya SastryKarthik, Saindhavi3:55
5."Sunday Monday"Ramajogayya SastryVedala Hemachandra, Malavika4:21
6."Taxi"Ramajogayya SastryDhanunjay4:49
Total length:29:16

Reception

Rediff gave a 3 out of 5 rating and noted "The duo of Mahesh-Trivikram delivers a product that is watchable, entertaining with good humour, couple of well-orchestrated action sequences and songs and with a bit to take home as well. It's Mahesh's show all the way, much to the delight of his fans. Mahesh is the soul of the movie, be it his dialogue delivery, his action, his dances or emotions, he is effortless.[9]

CNN-IBN gave a mixed review stating "The movie is all about Mahesh Babu and he occupies almost every frame in the movie. Back after a gap of 4 years, Mahesh looks great with stylish costumes. The movie deals with a serious theme but director Trivikram Srinivas mixes it with a lot of unnecessary situational comedy which dilutes the intensity of the movie."[10]

Awards

Filmfare Awards South
Won
Nominated

Notes

  1. ^ Also known as Mahesh Khaleja

References

  1. ^ "Mahesh Babu's Kaleja likely on his birthday".
  2. ^ "Tollywood takes divine path with its themes". The New Indian Express. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Movie Review:Mahesh Khaleja- Review". Sify. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  4. ^ 16reels.com. "Winners of 58th Idea Filmfare Awards 2010 (South)". Telugu.16reels.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b "Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Audio of Khaleja released". The Hindu. 28 September 2010. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  6. ^ "25 Greatest Telugu Films Of The Decade | Film Companion". www.filmcompanion.in. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  7. ^ Prakash KL (20 September 2010). "Mahesh Babu's Khaleja audio release on Sep 27". Entertainment.oneindia.in. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Watch 'Mahesh Khaleja' for Mahesh Babu's charisma – 2 – Reviews | South Cinema | MSN India Entertainment". Entertainment.in.msn.com. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Mahesh Khaleja: Mahesh Babu's show all the way". Movies.rediff.com. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Telugu Review: Khaleja fails to pack a punch – Reviews – Telugu reviews – ibnlive". Ibnlive.in.com. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2012.

External links

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