Om Namo Venkatesaya

Om Namo Venkatesaya
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	K. Raghavendra Rao
Written by	J. K. Bharavi (story / dialogues)
Screenplay by	K. Raghavendra Rao
Produced by	A. Mahesh Reddy
Starring	Nagarjuna Anushka Shetty Saurabh Raj Jain Jagapathi Babu Sai Kumar Pragya Jaiswal
Cinematography	S. Gopal Reddy
Edited by	Gautham Raju
Music by	M. M. Keeravani
Production company	AMR Sai Krupa Entertainments
Release date	10 February 2017 (2017-02-10)
Running time	144 mins
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Box office	est. ₹20 crore[1]

Om Namo Venkatesaya is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language biographical film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by A. Mahesh Reddy on AMR Sai Krupa Entertainments banner.^[2] The film stars Nagarjuna as Hathiram Bhavaji, with Anushka Shetty, Jagapathi Babu, Saurabh Raj Jain, Sai Kumar, and Pragya Jaiswal. It has music composed by M. M. Keeravani. The film failed at the box office.^[1]

Plot[]

Rama (Akkineni Nagarjuna) born in Dalpatpur Uparhar village in Ayodhya, India, leaves the house in childhood itself in search of God and meets a saint Anubhavananda Swamy (Sai Kumar) who assures him, it will definitely happen and he also plays with him, so, he teaches Rama the dice game and later advises to meditate. After 15 years, Lord Venkateswara (Saurabh Raj Jain) appears in a form of child and disturbs his meditation when Rama asks him to getaway. After that, he reaches back to the hometown where his parents (Tanikella Bharani & Sudha) fixes his alliance with his cousin Bhavani (Pragya Jaiswal). Just before the marriage, Rama gets a call from his mentor in the dream that time has arrived to play with god. So, he immediately rushes towards him when he says that the boy appeared to him is none other than the Lord Venkateswara. So, heads towards Tirumala Hills. At Tirumala, Krishnamma (Anushka Shetty) is another ardent devotee who believes herself as the wife of Lord Venkateswara and dedicated her entire life to his service. Govindarajulu (Rao Ramesh) the temple administrator performs a lot of illegal activities, misuses the temple funds and makes the workers as his slaves.

Meanwhile, Rama reaches Tirumala and calls the Lord in the name of Balaji out of love and affection. But Rama is not allowed into the temple, so, Rama sits outside for 7 to 8 days without having food and sleep. Govindarajulu orders his men to remove him up and they beat him very badly when the temple elephant rescues him. Later Krishnamma treats him in her Ashram. In her guidance, Rama learns regarding Sthala Puranam (History of the temple) and decides to begin a new horizon at Tirumala by campaigning it to the pilgrims to make them aware regarding the true nature of the Lord. He also encounters Govindaraju by protecting pilgrims & employees from his atrocities. Now Rama constructs a new Ashram at the hilltop and starts cultivating their own flowers & fruits and growing byre (Goshala) for milk products to the temple. Here Govindarajulu provokes King Giridhara Rayalu (Sampath Raj) against Rama. But he recognizes the original facts and honesty of Rama. So, he allocates the temple authority to Rama and demotes Govindarajulu as a sweeper. In a short while, Rama makes many changes in the temple by introducing a new form of prayers (Poojas), services (Seva) such as offering Harathi with butter (Navaneetha Harathi), everyday marriage (Nitya Kalyanam) to the god, amenities for devotees and make sure that the temple flourishes with all rituals as per the Holy Scriptures.

Lord Venkateswara is impressed by it and lands on earth to play dice with Rama. Henceforth, every day the Lord visits to spend some time with Rama. In the beginning, the Lord loses a ring in the bet which is given by Goddess Lakshmi (Vimala Raman) as a token of love, but Rama is still under dichotomy whether the event occurred or not. Later on, he craves for another glimpse of the lord, the exact moment Venkateshwara appears before him and plays the dice, in which the Lord loses his entire jewellery. The next day, when the temple doors are opened, the Lord's statue is found with no jewellery adorning it and they are identified at Rama's Ashram. King Giridhara Raaya arrives to conduct interrogation when Rama says that Lord himself has given it to him. But no one believes it, so the King keeps a test to Rama to prove his innocence by locking him in a prison with full of sugar cane, and asks him to eat every bit before dawn otherwise he will be sentenced to death. Soon, Lord Balaji appears in the form of an elephant and finishes it off, and disappears. In the morning, the king is surprised to learn the miracle in which the jewellery returns to Venkateshwara. There onwards, Rama is adored by the name of Hathiram Bhavaji and the pilgrims start visiting him, before seeing the god. Rama gets fed-up and decides to leave Tirumala. Noticing this, Balaji follows and takes an oath that the former not leave the hill when Rama insists to be buried alive (Sajeeva Samadhi) at the hilltop, as per the vow the Lord has given him. Afterward, his wives Padmavati & Bhudevi (Ashmitha) blame him for the deed. The Lord replies that Hathiram Bhavaji is immortal in the day to day services offered to him at the temple.

Cast[]

Soundtrack[]

The music was composed by M. M. Keeravani and released on Lahari Music Company. The Audio launch held at Hitex N-Convention Centre, in Hyderabad, on 8 January 2017, coinciding with Mukkoti Ekadasi. Akkineni Naga Chaitanya and Akhil Akkineni has launched the audio, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Amala Akkineni, K. Raghavendra Rao, M.M.Keeravani, Jagapathi Babu, Dil Raju, Anushka Shetty, Pragya Jaiswal and several other members of the film industry attended the event.^[3]

Critical reception[]

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu said, "Watch the film for Nagarjuna who comes up with another memorable performance. As you watch the story of a devotee who puts his love for the Lord above everything, it might make you go a little deeper and understand faith beyond rituals".^[4] A reviewer from The New Indian Express wrote, "The grandeur on display is unquestionable and the film is certainly a visual treat. But the actors, in their fine splendour, seem to dully run through the motions and the film fails to strike a chord overall."^[5]

References[]

External links[]

• Om Namo Venkatesaya at IMDb