The film was officially launched on 15 February 2013 in Hyderabad.[6] After altering the bound script twice, the film's principal photography commenced at Annapoorna Studios in Hyderabad in October 2013. Majority of the film was shot in and around Hyderabad while significant portions were shot at Alleppey in Kerala. The songs were shot in the locales of Japan, Dubai and Italy apart from the sets built in Hyderabad. After completion of a few action sequences at Gachibowli Aluminium Factory in Hyderabad, the film's principal photography came to an end on 14 June 2014.[7]
The film released worldwide on 25 July 2014.[8] Upon release, the film was met with mixed reviews, with critics naming the film a commercial entertainer. While they praised the cast performances(Sreenivas and Samantha), and Brahmanandam's and Prakash Raj's supporting performances, they were unsupportive of the film's predictable narrative and placement of the song numbers. Even though the critics called it a "commercial entertainer," the film failed to recoup its budget at the box office, grossing under ₹39 crores worldwide. Later the film was dubbed in Hindi as Mard Ka Badla (2019).[9][10] Sai Srinivas won Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South.[11] Later the film was dubbed into Malayalam as Aliyan Sreeni and Tamil as Mappilai Seenu.
Plot
Seenu, better known as Alludu Seenu, lives with his uncle Narasimha in a village where both are in great debt. One day, they run away to Chennai, hoping to fly to Dubai and earning a lot of money and clearing their debts. They mistake their train and they end up in Hyderabad. They land in a lodge where Seenu discovers that he is in Hyderabad, but to his horror, the city's don Bhai resembles his uncle Narasimha very much. He uses his uncle's face to earn a lot of money, and by fooling Dimple, Bhai's right hand. He also manages to make Bhai's stepdaughter Anjali fall in love with him, when she mistakes him to be her fiancé, Rohit. When Bhai gets to know that someone is faking him in the city, he plans to get him killed and ends up discovering that the faker is his identical-twin brother Narasimha.
Bhai catches Seenu and Narasimha and their fellows, and orders his men to kill them. Seenu manages to escape with them. Narasimha now tells Seenu that he was the chief of his village and the identical-twin brother of Bhai. Years ago, when Narasimha had collected some projection funds from villagers and was going to submit it to a superior, Bhai attacked his car, which he and his wife Nandini and daughter Anjali were all in. Anjali survived the attack and was later adopted by Bhai, who wanted only the heritage of her father. Bhai told everyone that Narasimha killed his own family and escaped with the money, making all people hate him, including Anjali.
Narasimha is shocked to learn that his blood daughter Anjali is still alive. Meanwhile, Anjali learns Seenu is not his fiancé Rohit but only pretending to be, so she starts to hate him and leaves with Bhai for Sharjah to marry real Rohit—son of the don in Sharjah—Bhanu. Seenu and Narasimha also arrives Sharjah to stop the wedding.
In Sharjah, Seenu somehow kidnaps Bhai, keeps him captive and makes Narasimha disguise as him to fool others to execute his plan—to call off the wedding, unite Seenu and Anjali, and reveal the truth to her. With some plans, they swindle some money from Bhanu, and tell Anjali the real story of her father Narasimha and stepfather Bhai, making her fall in love with Seenu again. After that, they escape from Sharjah and fly to India, while Bhai also escapes from captivity and tells Bhanu they've all been cheated.
Bhanu and Bhai all fly to India to kill them, but all their men are defeated by Seenu with Seenu managing to kill Rohit, Bhanu’s son. Seenu, not only brings them to justice as Bhai and Bhanu are taken to jail, but also clears his uncle's accused crimes. The village apologizes to Narasimha and welcomes him again.
Tamannaah Bhatia in a performance in the special song "Labbar Bomma"
Production
Development
On 5 December 2008 as Bellamkonda Suresh celebrated his birthday at the Devnar School for the Blind in Begumpet at Hyderabad, V. V. Vinayak who came as a guest to the function revealed the first news of Sai Sreenivas' film debut. He said "I share an emotional bonding with Bellamkonda Suresh for a long time as he gave me the first break as a director. It was Bellamkonda Suresh who introduced me as a director. Now I want to direct Bellamkonda Suresh’s son Sai’s debut film. I wish to make Sai a nice hero."[12] Bellamkonda Suresh spoke "I would like to thank VV Vinayak for offering to introducing my son as a hero. My son Sai will be introduced as hero in 2011. I will send him to USA to learn more about acting. I am indebted to VV Vinayak for the favor he is doing to me."[13] On 15 February 2013 the film was officially launched at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad and along with the film's crew, celebrities like Venkatesh and Dasari Narayana Rao attended the event. On that day, Devi Sri Prasad was announced as the music director while Chota K. Naidu and Gautham Raju were selected as the cinematographer and editor of the film respectively.[14] In mid-May 2014, reports emerged that the makers were considering to title the film as Alludu Sreenu.[15][16] The same was officially confirmed by Samantha in her Twitter on 26 May 2014.[17]
Casting
In early February 2013, Samantha Ruth Prabhu was selected to play the heroine in this film as a part of the three-film deal she entered with Bellamkonda Suresh.[18] She stated that she accepted to be a part of the film only due to her good relationship with Bellamkonda Suresh when he helped her during the time when she was suffering with serious skin ailments. She said "Bellamkonda Suresh has stood by me during the toughest phase in my life and I am doing this film for him."[19] A photo shoot was conducted later on Samantha and Sai Sreenivas in the same month.[20] In mid-March 2013, it was reported that Tamannaah Bhatia was selected as the other heroine of the film and it was said that Bellamkonda Suresh offered her a huge remuneration for the film. She too confirmed the news that she is sharing the screen along with a debutante hero.[21] But since the previous two scripts were not accepted by Vinayak himself and after penning a fresh script, Tamannaah was no more a part of the film as the new one required a single heroine only.[22] In the end of January 2014, Prakash Raj reacted in his Twitter about the speculations that he would play a double role in Mahesh Babu's Aagadu that he is not playing a dual role in that film but he is playing a dual role in this film which he called an "interesting" one.[23] In the end of March 2014, it was reported that Tamannaah would do a special song in the film.[24]
It was said that she would participate in the shoot for this song in the end of April 2014 or early May 2014.[25] It was also said that the song would be the introduction song of the hero in the film.[26] But by the time the reports emerged into the media, Tamannaah wrapped up the shoot of the song in the film on 31 March and V. V. Vinayak thanked her for accepting the offer in his Facebook page.[27] The song, a romantic one, was shot in Hyderabad in a vineyard set for five days. In an interaction to Chennai Times, Tamannaah's father said "The primary reason why she agreed to do this song was because it is the most important song in the film. It is not an item song but a romantic number and the director narrated how he intends to shoot it. It is true that a year ago, when the script was first written, Tamannaah had chosen to be a part of this film. However, when the script was changed, we mutually agreed to part ways. But despite that, both Tamannaah and Vinayak have mutual respect for each other and that is why, when Vinayak requested Tamannaah to do this one song for him, she agreed."[28] About his character, Brahmanandam spoke "I played Dimple in this film and it is a very different character from my previous films. Prakash Raj played a dual role in this film and I played an assistant to one of his characters. But I get confused with both of them and talk about one with the other. It generates a lot of entertainment."[29]
Filming
The film's first schedule of shooting started at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad in the end of October 2013 due to delay in script work and a song on Samantha and Bellamkonda Sreenivas was shot there.[30] After completing the first schedule silently, the film unit proceeded to Japan to shoot a song on Sai Sreenivas and Samantha in the exotic locales of that country.[31] The regular shooting continued for some time after the unit's return from Japan and after a brief gap, the shooting continued from 19 February 2014 at Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad where some street scenes were shot on Sai Sreenivas and Samantha.[32] Later again after a brief gap due to Samantha's busy schedules, the filming continued at Fort Grand in Hyderabad which was known for its picturesque setting.[33] Later it was reported that the film's shoot would continue in Dubai after a song was filmed on the leads in Hyderabad.[34][35] After completion of the Hyderabad schedule of Kaththi, Samantha joined the sets of the film on 1 April 2014.[36] She left the sets after completing her part in the schedule and joined the sets of Kaththi again and took a break from there in the first week of May.[37] Later she joined the sets of this film at Alleppey in Kerala.[38] After returning from there, Samantha tweeted in the second week of May that the team would go to Italy for filming a song on Sai Sreenivas and herself.[39] After filming few sequences of a song there, the team returned to Hyderabad on 11 May.[40] Later the shoot continued at Aluminium factory at Gachibowli in Hyderabad.[41] The film's shoot came to an end on 23 June 2014 which was confirmed by Samantha in her micro-blogging page.[7]
Devi Sri Prasad composed the music and background score for the film reuniting with V. V. Vinayak after Adhurs (2009). The audio launch of the film was initially slated to be held on 7 June 2014,[42] but the audio release was postponed to 21 June 2014.[43] On 15 June 2014, the makers confirmed that the audio release will happen on the said before date,[41] at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad, on Aditya Music label.[44] It was reported that N. T. Rama Rao Jr. was invited as the chief guest for the audio launch.[45] The official track list featuring 6 songs was released before the soundtrack album's launch on 19 June 2014.[46] The event was aired live on MAA Movies starting from 7:30 pm.[47] While N. T. Rama Rao Jr. did not attend the function turning the reports as rumors, Venkatesh, S. S. Rajamouli and Pranitha Subhash attended as the chief guests.[48]
The audio received viral response and all the songs in the soundtrack were praised by the audience.[49] Reviewing the album, The Times of India wrote "Devi Sri Prasad seems to have dished out a standard edition album with a little bit of everything. All in all, it's the kind of album that's good to listen to but will not exactly make you go for a repeat listening" and rated the album 3 out of 5.[50] Indiaglitz rated 2.5 out of 5, stating "Alludu Seenu is an album that manages to dish out average music. The lyrics come with flashes of creativity here and there."[51]
The soundtrack album had a record number of sales for which Aditya Music thanked Devi Sri Prasad and the film makers, one of the representatives from the company stated that "Devi Sri Prasad, who has given many super hit albums in his career, has provided beautiful songs for 'Alludu Seenu' and it has been creating sensation regarding sales, from the day it was released. All the songs are received well by the listeners and we thank DSP once again for the superb score."[8]
In a press meet held on 15 June 2014 the makers officially declared the film's release date as 24 July 2014.[52] On 5 July 2014 a press note was issued which stated that the film would release a day later i.e. on 25 July 2014 in theaters.[53] The film was awarded an 'A' certificate with few cuts by the Central Board of Film Certification on 23 July 2014.[54][55]
Marketing
The first look posters were also released on the same day itself but none of them featured the title of the film.[14] New posters were released after the shoot at Japan but they too didn't bear the title of the film. But Sai Sreenivas and Samantha were appreciated for their looks in those posters.[56] The title logo of the film was revealed on 6 June 2014.[57] The first look poster bearing the title and few stills were released on 21 June 2014.[58][59] Those stills received positive response and Samantha's glamour in those stills received a strong positive response.[60] The theatrical trailer and video promos of the songs were released on 29 June 2014 and they received positive response in which Sreenivas was appreciated for his dances, looks, acting and fighting skills; Samantha and Tamannaah were appreciated for their glamour show.[61] Particularly, Tamannaah's item number received great positive response which generated good buzz for the film.[49]
Home media
On 28 June 2014 reports emerged that Gemini TV secured the satellite rights of the movie for an undisclosed price.[62][63]
Reception
Box office
India
The film opened to 80%–90% occupancy in both single screens and multiplexes.[64] The film collected ₹2.85 crores at both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh box offices on its first day which was called a Good start by the Trade Analysts for a debutante's film.[65][66] By the end of its first weekend, the film collected an aggregate of ₹7.6 crores in both the states thus concluding on a good note.[67] During its 3-week run, Alludu Seenu is managed to collect more than ₹38.7 crore (US$4.8 million) Share. It occupies 6th position in the highest-grossing Telugu films from 2014 till date.[68]
Other territories
The film had a great start at the Overseas Box office, collecting $48,497 on its first day.[69] The film collected an aggregate of ₹3.80 crores at the Overseas Box office in three days.[67][needs update]
Critical response
The film received positive reviews from critics. Deccan Chronicle gave a review stating "Vinayak has chosen a safe subject for the debutant. The story is not new but director Vinayak handles it very well. This film is a great launch for a debutant. Vinayak, known for his mass films, has once again provided entertainment for masses. Brahmanandam’s comedy and Samantha’s glamour quotient may also help the film" and rated the film 3/5.[70]123telugu.com gave a review stating "Alludu Seenu is a tailor made launch pad for Bellamkonda Sreenivas. He makes an impressive debut and enthralls everyone with his dances and fights. Samantha’s glamour, V V Vinayak’s routine but entertaining commercial aspects, and Brahmi’s hilarious comedy makes this film a wholesome entertainer" and rated the film 3.25/5.[71]IndiaGlitz gave a review stating "'Alludu Seenu' is Gopi Mohan-meets-VV Vinayak in a blistering way. A full-on commercial film where comedy scenes, songs, fights and sentimental scenes come in the expected measure" and rated the film 3.25/5.[72]
On the flip side, The Times of India gave a review stating "There's a term which is often used to describe films like Alludu Seenu in one word – 'package'. It has a little bit of everything, although the sum of these bits isn't necessarily fulfilling in the end."[73]The Hindu gave a review stating "Director V.V. Vinayak, adept at handling commercial entertainers involving established stars, has attempted to do something similar with a newcomer. The silliness that tries to pass off as comedy is numbing, and by the time these scenes play on screen, viewers have already been conditioned not to expect anything intelligent."[74]Oneindia Entertainment gave a review stating "Alludu Seenu is a hit that deals with fresh concept.it promises to be a good commercial entertainer. It is a good launch pad for debutant Srinivas. It can be watched twice" and rated the film 3/5.[75]
