C/o Kancharapalem

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C/o Kancharapalem
C-o Kancharapalem.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Venkatesh Maha
Written byVenkatesh Maha
Produced byPraveena Paruchuri
Rana Daggubati (presenter)
Starring
CinematographyVarun Chaphekar
Aditya Javvadi
Edited byRavi Teja Girijala
Music by Sweekar Agasthi
Production
company
Paruchuri Vijaya Praveena Arts
Distributed by Suresh Productions (India)
Weekend Cinema (Worldwide)
Release dates
Running time
151 minutes [1]
Countries
  • India
  • United States
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹44–70 lakh [a]
Box officeest.₹7 crore [5]

C/o Kancharapalem (pronounced as Care of Kancharapalem) is a 2018 Telugu-language slice of life anthology film written and directed by debutant Venkatesh Maha. [6] [7] It was produced by American filmmaker Praveena Paruchuri and distributed by Rana Daggubati under the banner of Suresh Productions. [8] The film features a cast of over 80 non-actors, most of them native to Kancharapalem, a neighbourhood of Visakhapatnam where the film is set. [9] [10] The plot follows four unconventional love stories in parallel, all set in the neighbourhood of Kancharapalem.

Contents

C/o Kancharapalem premiered in May 2018 at the New York Indian Film Festival. [11] The film was released theatrically in India on 7 September 2018. The film received positive reviews from the audience and a majority of the film critics. [12] The film won Best Critics Movie award at 2019 Zee Cine Awards Telugu. [13] It was also screened at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. [14] It was honoured with "Best Film Award" at the "Critics' Choice Festival of Indian films" in Mumbai, [15] the "Caleidoscope Indian Film Festival" in Boston, where the lead actor Subba Rao received the "Best Actor" honour, [16] and Film Companion's "25 Best Telugu Films of the Decade". [17] The film was remade in Tamil as C/o Kaadhal (2021), in Kannada as Monsoon Raaga (2022) and in Malayalam as Kadha Innuvare (2024). [18] [19] [20]

Plot

The story focuses on four couples cutting across age, religion, caste and class barrier in the small area of Kancharapalem in Visakhapatnam city. It also shows how life and time plays a significant role in the fate of the four couples who break social norms for the sake of love.

Cast

Production

Development

The idea of C/o Kancherapalem struck director Maha while he was visiting an old friend living in the neighbourhood of Kancharapalem. After interacting with the local people and closely observing their lifestyle, Maha decided to make an independent film about the locality and its people. [21]

Maha later happened to meet Praveena Paruchuri, an Indian American cardiologist who was looking to make a film in India. Maha showed Parachuri a pitch video of his story, for which she was instantly impressed and told him, "This is made for Cannes." Parachuri offered to produce the film and paid Maha ₹3,000 as an initial amount. [22]

Casting

Maha recruited most of his cast, nearly 80 non-actors, who are from the town itself. [23] While no one in the town took seriously that he was making a film, they had shown great enthusiasm to act nonetheless. Maha also cast Paruchuri for a role when she flew down from U.S. to visit the sets. [24]

Principal photography

The film was shot for 62 days over two schedules in Kancharapalem and Bheemili suburbs of Visakhapatnam. [25] [23]

Post production

Post production work of the film is done at Ramanaidu Studios where its owner D. Suresh Babu happened to watch the film. Babu acquired the distribution rights of the film immediately. [25]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack and background score was scored by Sweekar Agasthi, and the audio was released on 8 September 2018 on Aditya Music.


C/o Kancherapalem
Soundtrack album by
Released6 September 2018 (2018-09-06)
Recorded2018
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length15:53
Language Telugu
Label Aditya Music
Producer Sweekar Agasthi
Sweekar Agasthi chronology
Bangaram
(2016)
C/o Kancherapalem
(2018)
Middle Class Melodies
(2021)
External audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg Audio Jukebox on YouTube

All music is composed by Sweekar Agasthi

Tracklist
No.TitleLyricsArtist(s)Length
1."Patti Patti" (Additional Vocals: Master Srikar)Raghukul Sweekar Agasthi 4:48
2."Sotta Buggala O Sinnadi" Vishwa Anurag Kulkarni 1:05
3."Asha Pasham" (Additional Vocals: Sweekar, Damini)VishwaAnurag Kulkarni4:20
4."Yemi Janmanu"Classical Telugu song by Yedla Ramadasu Kishore Polimera4:25
5."Kalakatta Kali"Folk SongKishore Polimera1:15
Total length:15:53

Release

The film premiered at the New York Indian Film Festival in May 2018. [26]

Reception

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu called it a "small film with a large heart", further appreciating it by remarking "a rare Telugu film that takes us beyond the habitual cinematic settings to familiarize us with the sights, sounds and lives of people of a locality." [27]

Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South reviewed, "A deeply moving romantic drama," and added "The format may suggest we are watching Love, Actually set in a village, in the midst of “what will people say?” considerations and drunks singing a Telugu song to the tune of Gori tera gaon bada pyara. But C/o Kancharapalem is a slow burn that builds and builds, and it goes far beyond the Love, Actually template. Yes, it’s cute and charming and very funny. But it’s also… real. [...] There’s a lot of mindfulness in the writing.[...] It’s been a while since a film showed us a side of love that’s so expansive, so generous, so attuned to the fact that love means… not just romantic love." [28]

Srivathsan Nadadhur of The Times of India rated it a "4/5" and reviewed, "C/O Kancharapalem raises a toast to sincere, uncinematic storytelling, gives power to those unheard regional voices and does its part in undoing the stereotypical portrayal of community-specific stories in Telugu cinema." [29]

Box office

At the US Box office, the film collected $36,000 on its first day, [30] and $185,000 in the opening weekend. [31]

By the end of theatrical run, C/o Kancharapalem grossed of ₹7 crore worldwide. [5]

Remakes

The film was remade in Tamil and Kannada as C/O Kaadhal and Monsoon Raaga respectively. The Tamil version was directed by debutant, Hemambar Jasti. [32] [33] Kadha Innuvare is the official remake of this in Malayalam.

Awards and nominations

Date of ceremonyAwardCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultRef.
5–9 September 2018Caleidoscope Indian Film Festival BostonBest ActorSubba Rao VepadaWon [16]
6 January 2019 Zee Cine Awards Telugu Best Critic MovieParuchuri Vijaya PraveenaWon [13]
Special Appreciation AwardSubba Rao VepadaWon
Radha BessiWon
22 April 2019Critics' Choice Festival of Indian filmsBest Film – TeluguC/o KancharapalemWon [15]
21 December 2019 Filmfare Awards South Best Film – Telugu C/o KancharapalemNominated [34]
Best Director – Telugu Venkatesh Maha Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Telugu Mohan BhagatNominated
Best Supporting Actress – Telugu Praveena ParuchuriNominated
Best Music Director – Telugu Sweekar AgasthiNominated
Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu Anurag Kulkarni Nominated

Notes

  1. While both Deccan Chronicle [2] and The News Minute [3] give a figure of ₹60 lakh, The Hans India estimates the budget to be between ₹44 and 70 lakh. [4]

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