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Khaleja

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2010 film directed by Trivikram Srinivas

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 time164 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹30 - 32 crore

Khaleja (transl. Courage) is a 2010 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Anushka and Prakash Raj, while Shafi, Sunil, Sameer Hasan, Amit Tiwari, Subbaraju, Tanikella Bharani, Brahmanandam and Ali play supporting roles. The plot follows Raju (Mahesh Babu), a cab driver who gets hailed as God in a remote village and ends up facing GK (Prakash Raj), a powerful industrialist, to save the village. The film deals with illegal-mining in India, and related environmental damage. 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 positive reviews from critics and audience alike but was declared a box office failure. Despite the debacle, the film won two Filmfare South awards for Best Male Playback Singer and Best Lyricist. Over the years the film has undergone re-evaluation and has achieved a cult following as it was deemed ahead of its time in terms of story telling and technicality. The film was listed in the Film Companion's "25 Greatest Telugu Films of the Decade."

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 in Hyderabad, Raju, a short-tempered taxi driver, is left with heavy damage to his taxi in an 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 in Rajasthan. 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 as a deity and fails to convince them otherwise. Although he is initially apathetic towards their troubles, 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 Mani Sharma. The music was released on 27 September 2010. The starcast of the movie, including Mahesh Babu, actress Anushka Shetty, music director Mani Sharma and director Trivikram Srinivas released the audio at Radio Mirchi FM radio station in the Hyderabad. Mahesh Babu's wife Namrata Shirodkar was also present. The album contains six songs and the lyrics are written by Ramajogayya Sastry and Sirivennela Sitaramasastri.

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."Sada Siva"Ramajogayya SastryRamesh Vinayagam, Karunya,4:57
2."Bhoom Shakana"Ramajogayya SastryRanjith, Sravana Bhargavi4:26
3."Piliche"Sirivennela SitaramasastriVedala Hemachandra, Shweta Mohan4:27
4."Makathika"Ramajogayya SastryKarthik, Saindhavi3:55
5."Sunday Monday"Ramajogayya SastryVedala Hemachandra, Malavika4:21
6."Taxi"Ramajogayya SastryRanjith4:49
Total length:29:16

Reception

Sify rated 3 out of 5 explained "No doubt, Mahesh is the cynosure of the movie, shouldering the entire responsibility." MSN rated 3 out of 5 and described the film as "just an above average venture", commenting, "Mahesh Khaleja is worth a watch for Mahesh's strong screen presence and charisma. Mahesh carries off his role with elan and looks superb too. Anushka looks pretty but doesn't share a good on-screen chemistry with Mahesh. The first half of the film is dull. It does pick up pace in the second half but the narration is inconsistent and tedious. The climax is little better. 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.

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."

Awards

Filmfare Awards South
Won
Nominated

Release

Khaleja was released on 7 October 2010

Home media

Khaleja was available on Sun NXT and Amazon Prime Video

Notes

  1. Also known as Mahesh Khaleja

References

  1. "Mahesh Babu's Kaleja likely on his birthday". 16 May 2012.
  2. "Tollywood takes divine path with its themes". The New Indian Express. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  3. ^ "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. ^ "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.
  11. "Watch Khaleja (Telugu) Full Movie Online | Sun NXT". www.sunnxt.com. Retrieved 13 October 2024.

External links

Films by Trivikram Srinivas
Films directed
Written only
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