Brahmotsavam (film)

Cast

Development

A source close to director Srikanth Addala told IANS in mid October 2014 that Addala would collaborate with Mahesh Babu for a film. Mahesh was impressed with Addala's new script and accepted to work with him after completing his existing commitments. Addala worked on the film's script for more than a year. The filming was expected to begin in May 2015 once Mahesh completes the shoot of Srimanthudu (2015). The film was tentatively titled as Brahmotsavam and Addala said in late December 2014 that it would be a family drama adding that he would begin the casting process soon.

Prasad V. Potluri accepted to bankroll the film under the banner PVP Cinema and wanted Mahesh to sign a three-film deal once he returns from his holiday in Dubai; this film being the first of the three and the remaining two in 2016. On 8 January 2015, Addala told IANS that the film is almost confirmed and added that it is too early to share any more information. Mahesh chose to act in this film disregard to the box office performance of Addala's previous film Mukunda (2014) and the film was expected to be a romantic entertainer. Mickey J. Meyer was signed in on to compose the film's music.

R. Rathnavelu was confirmed as the film's director of photography in early May 2015. A special logo of the film's title featuring both Venkateswara's feet and a poorna kumbham in addition was released on 30 May 2015, a day before the official launch ceremony. The poster confirmed A. Sreekar Prasad and Thota Tharani as the film's editor and art director respectively. An official statement from the makers confirmed that the film would be a bilingual shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil with the same title, marking Mahesh's first direct Tamil film. After opining that the script has the potential to commercially succeed in both the languages without making much changes, Mahesh accepted the proposal of a Telugu-Tamil bilingual. However, the plan was later on dropped.

Casting

The makers tried to approach Rajinikanth for a brief yet key role as per the film's script. They approached Rakul Preet Singh to play the female lead and she evinced interest to be a part of the film after the first round of discussions. The film's team announced a casting call on 4 March 2015 for male and female characters; the requirements being an age group of 15 – 50 years and four photographs — two full size and close up photographs each. A source from the film's unit reported Samantha Ruth Prabhu as one of the three female leads of the film in a statement to IANS on 15 April 2015, adding that Taapsee Pannu and Pranitha Subhash were called for a look test on the next day for the other two female lead roles.

Of the three female lead roles, the first two reportedly would have full-length roles while the third would pale in comparison. Sources close to the film's unit later added that parallel, wide open discussions were on regarding the female lead selection where a section of the technicians believe that fresh faces should be cast opposite Mahesh while a few opted for the inclusion of established female leads. A 30-day audition was held at Hyderabad from mid-April 2015. Mahesh, however, insisted that he would work with the actresses whose pairing with him received positive response from his fans. Rakul Preet Singh's manager confirmed her inclusion as one of the three female leads days later to the media. Though she denied signing the film during the promotions of Pandaga Chesko (2014), an official statement confirmed her and Pranitha as the female leads.

Jayasudha, Rao Ramesh and Tanikella Bharani were confirmed as a part of the film's supporting cast during the official launch ceremony. The makers chose Sathyaraj to play Mahesh's father in the film. The film's unit told IANS that his presence in a major role would appeal to Tamil audience as the film was promoted as a Telugu-Tamil bilingual. Mannara was rumoured to be approached by the makers for the second female lead role. The film's executive Producer Rajiv later revealed that Mannara was never approached for any character in the film. Rajiv added that her manager approached the makers for a role after the rumour began spreading and they rejected the proposal as no character suited her.

Samantha replaced Rakul Preet Singh in mid June 2015 after the latter failed to adjust her callsheet due to scheduling conflicts. Brahmaji's inclusion in the film's cast was confirmed in late June 2015. Kajal Aggarwal told IANS on 28 June 2015 that she has been signed as one of the film's female leads. At the same time, a press release confirmed the inclusion of Revathi and Naresh in the film's supporting cast. The former of the two was reported to play Mahesh's mother in the film. Also, Pranitha's character was reported to be a cameo appearance. Tulasi joined the film's supporting cast in early July 2015, and was chosen to play Kajal's mother in the film. Chandini Chowdary was signed to make a cameo appearance in late September 2015.

Pavani Gangireddy was signed to play Mahesh's sister in the film, which she called a "more than the typical token hero's sister". In December 2015, Kajal revealed that she would be seen as a Non-resident Indian in the film, adding that Brahmotsavam "is largely based on characters and not on leads" and that in the ensemble cast, each character is crucial in the film. At the same time, PVP Cinema announced another casting call for real life families who are interested in participating in the film's shoot. Saranya Ponvannan's inclusion in the film's cast was confirmed in mid-February 2016. In mid March 2016, Pranitha revealed that she plays a girl-next-door character of a traditional Telugu girl from a very protective family who consider herself a very bubbly girl who takes only the good from any situation that comes my way in life and will be seen sporting simple kurtis and patiala pants. She further revealed that it will be the typical bava-maradalu (cousins) connection that we find in a Telugu household.Samantha Ruth Prabhu who is collaborating with Mahesh Babu for third time in her career plays the lead heroine whereas Kajal Aggarwal who is collaborating with him for second time in her career plays the second heroine and Pranitha Subhash who is collaborating with him for first time in her career plays the third heroine.

Filming

Principal photography commenced on 31 May 2015. Mahesh allotted ninety days of call sheet without any lengthy breaks for the sulla which was expected to be wrapped up by December 2015. The filming was delayed as Mahesh was busy promoting Srimanthudu and was expected to resume from late August 2015. The regular filming commenced on 16 September 2015 with a song shot in a set erected by Tharani and a crew of 513 members at Ramoji Film City. Mahesh along with 21 other artistes participated in the song's shoot. Raju Sundaram choreographed the song on which ₹35 million was spent. The first schedule was wrapped up on 30 September 2015. The second schedule commenced on 5 October 2015 at Ramoji Film City in another set.

After taking a two-week break, Mahesh joined the film's sets in Hyderabad in early November 2015. The makers wanted to complete most of the film's shoot in the fresh schedule commenced, as many actors and actresses were involved. Filming continued at Ramoji Film City and Sathyaraj joined the film's sets in mid November 2015. Few scenes on Mahesh and Kajal were filmed at Chilkur before wrapping up the schedule. A fresh schedule commenced from 28 November 2015 again at Ramoji Film City. Upon its completion, filming continued at Ooty from 12 December 2015. After filming scenes on Mahesh, Sathyaraj and Pranitha, a song was filmed on the principal cast in a set erected by Tharani. The schedule was wrapped up by the end of December 2015.

Apart from the Ambattur industrial estate, the film was shot in and round Chennai from 11 to 15 January 2016. By then, 60% of the film shooting was wrapped up. The next schedule commenced from 19 January 2016 at Hyderabad. Brahmotsavam was later filmed in Varanasi from 1 March 2016, to 13 March 2016 before shifting to New Delhi and Udaipur for further shoot. The completion of the schedule meant wrapping up the principal photography, except for a song and few patchwork scenes which were planned to be filmed in Hyderabad. This North India schedule was wrapped up on 14 March 2016.

Themes

The film was considered to be a film glorifying Mahesh's on screen image as a lovable boy and a responsible son. During the film's official launch ceremony, Addala spoke about the film's theme by stating, "There would be beauty and happiness if some people are together. If there is a family with many members and if they celebrate every moment like a Utsavam, it is a Brahmotsavam", adding that the film's story would be on the lines of his previous directorial Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013) which featured Mahesh and Samantha in the lead roles along with Daggubati Venkatesh and Anjali.

A source from the film's unit revealed that Brahmotsavam is all about family values and celebrating traditions. The bonding between the protagonist and his father along with the backdrop of his mother's family are the centerpiece of the film. The three female leads play an important role in the manner in which the protagonist realises the value of family when they go out on a journey exploring the family lineage and their place in the larger scheme of family links.

Music

Mickey J. Meyer was signed to compose the film's Soundtrack and background score. In early March 2015, Meyer recorded a song whose vocals were provided by Abhay Jodhpurkar. Later, the team approached Gopi Sundar to score the background music for this film. The film's audio was launched in a grand ceremony on 7 May at JRC Convention Center.

A suit for damages of Rs. 25 lakhs was filed against the makers for copying the first 36 seconds of the Tulu song A...lele...yereg madme by Dr. Vamana Nandaavara found in the Deepanalike CD composed for Siri channel. The song was used in the movie in a sequence involving the lead actor who while accompanying his family on a tour dances to the tune of the hit Tulu song.

Release

The makers aimed for a Dusherra release in the film's pre-production stage clashing with Ram Charan's Bruce Lee - The Fighter, and Nandamuri Balakrishna's Dictator, his 99th film as an actor. Later, Addala announced a worldwide release of Sankranthi 2016 in an interview with IANS in early May 2015. In November 2015, the film's release was postponed to 8 April 2016. Shortly, the film's release date was altered to 13 May 2016. The film is now scheduled to release on 20 May 2016 and the songs were released on 7 May.

Critical reception

The Hindu gave it a 2.5/5 and calling it as a "discomforting monotony". Deccan Chronicle gave it a 3/5 saying that "Mahesh Babu is the saving grace". India Today gave it a 2.5/5 saying that "if Srikanth had chosen to stick with the Genre 'family drama', the fate of Brahmotsavam would have been fine. But he chose to treat a feel-good road trip which has resulted in an absolutely chaotic screenplay". Behindwoods gave it a 2.5/5 calling it a "hackneyed family drama that rides on the shoulders of Mahesh Babu!". CNN-News18 gave it a 2.5/5 calling it "A Family Drama That Falls Short of Expectations". The Times of India gave it a 3/5 saying that "the end result needn't necessarily be a good film".

Social media response

The film has been mocked on social media for various reasons, and it carried the trending hashtag #FlopUtsavam for several months on different social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. It marked the first time in Telugu cinema history where a film trended globally with such a tag to express a negative response.

One of the most criticised aspects of this film has been the song sequence of Bala Tripuramani. While the song by itself was well-received prior to the film's release, and major hype was generated for the sequence in the film, it received a mediocre reaction following its release; although the production design was praised, Babu's dance performance in the song was the subject of mockery and negative reactions. A sequence of steps that he does in this song has become a viral sensation and a tool used to troll the actor on social media. There have been numerous social media videos of common people parodying and mocking the choreography. Even celebrities, such as director Ram Gopal Varma, have joined in to mock Babu and his dancing in the song.

Box office

Brahmotsavam collected ₹23 crore at the worldwide box office, with nearly ₹16.7 crore from AP/Telangana box office. Brahmotsavam grossed ₹42.63 crore in its first weekend worldwide with a share of ₹28.75 crore. Brahmotsavam collected nearly ₹ 9.10 crore on its weekdays and collected a total gross of ₹51.7 crore on its first week run worldwide and returned nearly 50% of its global share of ₹33.73 crore. Brahmotsavam collection dropped down on the following days also, the film collected nearly ₹9.74 crore on its 2nd weekend taking, the total collection to ₹61.44 crore worldwide on its 10 days with a share of ₹38.52 crore. By the end of its second week, Brahmotsavam had collected approximately ₹63.70 crore worldwide.

Overseas

The film was released on over 200 screens in the United States, where it collected an estimated US$1.15 million after ten days.