Gandeevadhari Arjuna
Poster
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPraveen Sattaru
Written byPraveen Sattaru
Abhijeeth Poondla
Produced byB. V. S. N. Prasad
StarringVarun Tej
Sakshi Vaidya
Vinay Rai
Nassar
CinematographyMukesh G.
Amol Rathod
Edited byDharmendra Kakarala
Music byMickey J. Meyer
Production
company
Distributed byGoldmines Telefilms
Release date
  • 25 August 2023 (2023-08-25)
Running time
136 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹56 crore[2]
Box office₹1.6 crore[3]

Gandeevadhari Arjuna (transl. One who wields the Gandiva) is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film directed by Praveen Sattaru. The film stars Varun Tej, Sakshi Vaidya and Nassar while Vinay Rai, Vimala Raman, Manish Chaudhari, Ravi Varma and Roshni Prakash play supporting roles.

Gandeevadhari Arjuna was released worldwide on 25 August 2023.[4] The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb.[5]

Synopsis

Arjun Varma, an ex-RAW operative now living in London, is assigned to protect Adityaraj Bahadur, the Indian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, by ESSAY, the largest security service agency in the world. Bahadur has become the prime target for an assassination by the CEO of C&G, Ranveer, who also happens to be his ex-son-in-law.[6]

Cast

Soundtrack

Mickey J Meyer composed the soundtrack and musical score for the film. The first single "Nee Jathai" was released on 1 August 2023.[7]

All lyrics are written by Rehaman

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Nee Jathai"Elvya, Nakul Abhyankar3:54
2."Gandeevadhari"Harika Narayan3:01
Total length:6:55

Release and reception

The film was released on 25 August 2023.[8] A critic from The Hindu wrote that "Watching Gandeevadhari Arjuna is like being privy to a polished mission that never soars. It is a well-intended thriller drama that could have benefited from smarter writing".[9] A critic from The Indian Express rated with 2/5 stars and wrote that "Gandeevadhari Arjuna is a technically competent, soulless action movie. It may be a good watch for action fanatics only".[10] Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India gave the film 2/5 stars, calling the story predictable and unexciting, while complimenting the cinematography.[11] The review from 123Telugu.com also gave a mixed review, criticizing the writing and directing, but felt Tej was a "perfect fit" for his role and felt the visual effects were "impressive", giving 2.5 stars out of five.[12] The movie began streaming on Netflix on 24 September 2023.[13]

Ichthyosis controversy

In a scene of the character Adityaraj emotionally explaining how exposure to toxic waste affects children, the movie included an unauthorized portion of a documentary on Evan Fasciano, a child with harlequin-type ichthyosis, which causes extremely dry skin to form plates with deep cracks. Prompted by a petition from the Foundation for Ichthyosis & Related Skin Types, production company Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra apologized for depicting children with ichthyosis as products of toxic waste exposure when the condition is typically hereditary.[14] Rather than accepting the petition's demand to have the movie removed from Netflix's streaming catalog, the film was edited to remove the images of ichthyosis patients.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Crisp runtime locked for Gandeevadhari Arjuna". 123Telugu. 20 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Makers opens up on the budget spent on 'Gandeevadhari Arjuna'". The Hans India. 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Varun Tej : మూడు రోజులకే క్లోజైన గాండీవధారి అర్జున.. బడ్జెట్ ఎంత.. వచ్చింది ఎంత." News 18 Telugu. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Gandeevadhari Arjuna Review: 'గాండీవధారి అర్జున' మూవీ రివ్యూ". Sakshi (in Telugu). 25 August 2023. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "'Gandeevadhari Arjuna' trailer: Varun Tej Konidela shines in Praveen Sattaru's spy action extravaganza". The Times of India. 10 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Gandeevadhari Arjuna: Varun Tej and Sakshi Vaidya sizzle in the soulful track 'Nee Jathai'". The Times of India. 1 August 2023. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Varun Tej's Gandeevadhari Arjuna To Hit Cinemas On This Date". News18. 18 August 2023. Archived from the original on 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  9. ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (25 August 2023). "'Gandeevadhari Arjuna' movie review: Slick and well intended, albeit tepidly". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023.
  10. ^ Bandi, Raghu (25 August 2023). "Gandeevadhari Arjuna review: Varun Tej, Praveen Sattaru film misses the target". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  11. ^ Nyayapati, Neeshitha (25 August 2023). "Gandeevadhari Arjuna Movie Review : The scraps of this action drama don't make for a coherent watch". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Review : Gandeevadhari Arjuna – Routine action drama". 25 August 2023. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Gandeevadhari Arjuna OTT Release Date Confirmed". Deccan Chronicle. 21 September 2023. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  14. ^ "An Open Letter to Netflix". Foundation for Ichthyosis & Related Skin Types. 2 October 2023. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  15. ^ Vargas, Theresa (14 October 2023). "Take Down That Movie, Kids With Rare Condition Urge Netflix". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

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