| Swetha Naagu | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Sanjeevi |
| Produced by | CV Reddy |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Diwakar |
| Edited by | Lanka Bhaskar |
| Music by | Koti |
| Production company | CV Arts |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 145 minutes (Telugu) 123 minutes (Kannada) |
| Country | India |
| Languages | Telugu Kannada |
Swetha Naagu is a 2004 Indian devotional horror starring Soundarya, Abbas, and Sarath Babu. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Kannada with the latter version titled Shwetha Naagara. Both versions had a slightly different supporting cast. The Telugu version was partially reshot and dubbed in Tamil as Madhumathi. It is the last film for Soundarya before her death on 17 April 2004.
Cast
| Cast (Telugu) | Cast (Kannada) | Role (Telugu) | Role (Kannada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soundarya | Madhumathi | ||
| Abbas | Praveen | ||
| Sarath Babu | Shankar Reddy | ||
| Jaya Prakash Reddy | Sarpararanya Dhora | Sarpa Kaadu Dhorey | |
| Abhinayashree | Naagini | ||
| Dharmavarapu Subramanyam | Dwarakish | Ashok Kumar | |
| Mallikarjuna Rao | Kunigal Nagabhushan | Madhumathi's guardian | |
| Sangeeta | Shridevi | Madhumathi's mother | |
| Raghunatha Reddy | Bank Janardhan | Praveen's father | |
| Brahmanandam | Sanketh Kashi | chief guest | |
| Karunas | Karibasavaiah | bus conductor | |
| Babloo Prithviraj | shapeshifting snake dancer (cameo) | ||
| Anand | tribal man | ||
Telugu and Tamil versions
- Kallu Chidambaram as a tribal man
- Karunas as "Black" Baba, a bus conductor (Tamil version)
- Pattabhi Ram as a tribal man
- Soundar as man at bus stand
Kannada version
- Meena as Praveen's mother
Production
The film was originally planned to be made simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. Many resources state that this was Soundarya's 100th milestone film and also her last proper film while still alive; she died two months later in that horrible helicopter crash and the latter had further two posthumous releases in the later part of the year. A white snake from Meghalaya was used in the film. Abbas who garnered acclaim with his debut in the Tamil film, Kadhal Desam was signed to play one of the leads in the film. The film began production in mid-2003.
Reception
Idlebrain gave the film a rating of two-and-three-quarters out of five and wrote that "Swetha Nagu is an average devotional film. And the USP (Unique Selling Point) is Soundarya". A critic from Sify noted that "The first half of the film is interesting, but the film peters out in the second half. However the plus point of the film is Soundarya".
References
- Ashish, Rajadhyaksha. "Swetha Nagu (2004)". Indiancine.ma. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Wonderful white snake". The Hindu. 22 July 2003. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023.
- ^ "Telugu cinema Review — Swetha Naagu — Soundarya, Abbas — Sanjeevi — CV Reddy". www.idlebrain.com.
- ^ "Abbas receives mafia threat | undefined News — Times of India". The Times of India. 4 July 2003.
- "Review". Sify. 24 February 2004. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017.
External links
- Swetha Naagu at IMDb