| Sridevi | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | J. D. Chakravarthy |
| Produced by | Ram Gopal Varma |
| Starring | Anukriti Govind Sharma |
| Cinematography | Harsh Shroff |
| Edited by | Nagendra Adapa |
| Music by | J. D. Chakravarthy |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
Sridevi is an unreleased Indian Telugu film, about a teenaged boy's crush on a woman older than himself, starring Anukriti Govind Sharma in the title role. The original title of the film was Savitri. It is directed by J. D. Chakravarthy and presented by Ram Gopal Varma.
On 3 October 2014 Ram Gopal Varma announced that his next film was to be called Savitri. In a press release, he launched a contest named "Who is your Savitri?", asking for genuine stories of teenage crushes on teachers, neighbours, or other adults. He also released the poster of the film. [1] On 5 October 2014, Varma announced through a press release that the film's title had been changed to Sridevi and the posters were re-released with a change in the title. [2]
Anukriti Govind Sharma, a fashion model and actress, was selected to play the title role of the older woman who becomes the target of the boy's crush. [3]
A poster released on 3 October 2014 portrayed the bare stomach of a sari-clad woman, and a young boy looking at her navel. The poster was criticised both for its objectification of the woman's body, and for perceived sexualisation of the child. [4] [5] The State Child Rights Protection Commission recognised the matter suo motu and released a statement claiming that the poster was vulgar and violated children's rights under Section 292 sub-clauses (I) and (II) of the Indian Penal Code. [6] The Commission for the Protection of Child Rights issued notices to the Police Commissioner to prevent display of the poster, and the Censor Board and the director seeking an explanation. [7]
On 6 October 2014, members of the city committees of AIDWA, SFI, DYFI arranged a protest meeting where they burnt an effigy of the director and requested actions against him and against the censor board for allowing the film to be created in the first place. [8] One area of particular concern was the portrayal of female teachers in film. [9]
Varma responded to the protests, stating that the attraction of the child in the film for his teacher was a representation of the attraction he himself had held for his teacher when he was young. He claimed that he had discussed the issue with his former teacher, who did not object, and that the boy in the film had had his parents present while filming, and argued that this removed any allegations of impropriety. [10]
The State Child Rights Protection Commission filed a report with the police commissioner, asking for an explanation of the case. [11] Varma replied to the commission asking for the case to be closed. [12]
The film's original title Savitri was already registered by Neelima Tirumalasetti, who was producing a family drama film with this title starring Nara Rohit in the lead role and directed by Pawan Sadineni. The day after Varma announced his film, Tirumalasetti released a statement, where she reported that her team had requested that Varma's film should change its title. [13] Two days later, Varma changed the title to Sridevi and released new film posters reflecting the change. [14] The actress Sridevi protested against the new title, and her husband Boney Kapoor contacted Varma about it, sending a legal notice requesting that the name Sridevi not be used in the title of the film. [15]
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma, often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi and Telugu films. Varma has directed films across multiple genres, including parallel cinema and docudrama noted for their gritty realism, technical finesse, and craft. Regarded as one of the pioneers of new age Indian cinema, he was featured in the BBC World series Bollywood Bosses in 2004. In 2006, Grady Hendrix of Film Comment, published by the Film at Lincoln Center cited Varma as "Bombay's Most Successful Maverick" for his works on experimental films. He is known for introducing new talents, who eventually become successful in the Indian film industry.
Kshana Kshanam is a 1991 Indian Telugu-language road comedy heist film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film stars Venkatesh, Sridevi, Paresh Rawal, and Rami Reddy. The plot follows Satya (Sridevi), a young woman who is hounded by a gang of robbers headed by Nayyar (Rawal) and the police. With the help of a pickpocketer Chandu (Venkatesh), she escapes into the forests.
Bhoot (transl. Ghost) is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language supernatural horror film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and stars an ensemble cast of Ajay Devgn, Urmila Matondkar, Nana Patekar, Rekha, Fardeen Khan and Tanuja. It is the second horror film made by Ram Gopal Verma after Raat. The film was perceived to be different from a typical Hindi film as it did not feature the songs composed for it. The film was later dubbed in Telugu as 12 Va Anthasthu and remade in Tamil as Shock.
Naan Aval Adhu is an unreleased Indian Tamil-language horror film directed by Kona Venkat. Madhavan, Shamita Shetty and Sadha featured in the leading roles, while the film had songs and score composed by four music directors including G. V. Prakash Kumar and Dharan. A remake of the Hindi film, Darling (2007), the film was initially launched in 2006 as Ram Gopal Varma's production, but was eventually sold to Storm Pictures after Varma, Venkat and Madhavan had gone through creative differences. During post-production, the unit experienced further difficulties after the producer had failed to pay technicians, and subsequently the film did not have a theatrical release.
Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam Appalaraju is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language comedy film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. It stars Sunil and Swati Reddy in the lead roles, alongside Brahmanandam and Kota Srinivasa Rao. Sudhakar Reddy has handled the camera and Koti has composed the music.
Bejawada or Bezawada is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action crime film based on the Vijayawada Gang Warfare, directed by Vivek Krishna and produced by Ram Gopal Varma and Renny Johnson. The film stars Naga Chaitanya and Amala Paul. The movie was received negatively at the box office but positively at the television and OTT as it accurately depicted the historical gang war in Vijayawada. Later it was dubbed in Hindi as Hero: The Action Man (2013) and also in Tamil as Vikram Dhadha. It marked Amala Paul’s Telugu debut.
Bhoot Returns is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language 3D horror film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Ravi Shankar. The film was released on 12 October 2012 to mixed reviews.
The Attacks of 26/11 is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, based on the book Kasab: The Face of 26/11 by Rommel Rodrigues about Ajmal Kasab, perpetrator of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The film stars Sanjeev Jaiswal in his film debut, playing the role of terrorist Ajmal Kasab, with art direction by Uday Singh. It also features Nana Patekar in a pivotal role. A seven-minute promo of the film was released over the Internet on 23 November 2012.
Rowdy is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. It stars Vishnu Manchu and his father Mohan Babu with Jayasudha and Shanvi Srivastav in important roles. Sai Karthik composed the music for this film, while Satish Mutyala handled the cinematography. The principal photography commenced on 26 December 2013 and ended on 21 February 2014 in 30 working days. It was dubbed into Hindi by the same name.
Main Hoon (Part-Time) Killer is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language spoof film written and directed by Faisal Saif and produced by Mrs. Saroj under the banner of Varsha Production House. The film marks the Bollywood début of South Indian actor Adithya Menon.
Attack is a 2016 Telugu-language political thriller film written, and directed by Ram Gopal Varma and produced by C. Kalyan. It features Manchu Manoj and Surbhi, while Jagapati Babu, Prakash Raj, and Vadde Naveen play supporting roles. The music was composed by Ravi Shankar. The film was released worldwide on 1 April 2016.
Munna Kasi, also known as Venkata Surya Narayana Murthy Kasi, is an Indian film music composer.
Naina Ganguly is an Indian actress who appears in predominately Telugu films. She is known for her role in Meri Beti Sunny Leone Banna Chaahti Hai (2017) and Charitraheen.
Swathi Deekshith is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the Telugu and Tamil films. She starred in films such as Tor Naam (2012), Ladies & Gentlemen (2015) and Simba (2017). In 2020, she entered the Telugu reality TV show Bigg Boss 4 as a wild card contestant and is evicted on day 28.
Officer is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language action film produced and directed by Ram Gopal Varma on his R Company Production banner. The film stars Nagarjuna Akkineni, Myra Sareen in the lead roles and music composed by Ravi Shankar. The Tamil dubbed version, Simtaangaran was released on 1 January 2021.
Bhairava Geetha is a 2018 Indian Kannada-Telugu bilingual romantic action film jointly written by Ram Gopal Verma and Ram Vamsi Krishna while directed by Siddharth Thatholu. The film is produced by veteran Ram Gopal Verma and Bhaskar Rashi under the production banner Rashi Combines. It stars Dhananjay and Irra Mor in the lead roles.
Lakshmi's NTR is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language biographical drama film based on the life of former film actor and chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao from the perspective of his second wife, Lakshmi Parvati as well as Rao during his last days. It is co-directed by Ram Gopal Varma, and Agasthya Manju.
Anketa Maharana, credited as Apsara Rani, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Telugu films.
Amma Rajyam Lo Kadapa Biddalu, originally titled Kamma Rajyam Lo Kadapa Reddlu, is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language political satire film directed by Siddartha Thatolu and Ram Gopal Varma and produced by Ajay Mysore. The film stars Ajmal Ameer, Dhananjay Prabhune, Brahmanandam, and Ali.
Beautiful: An Ode to Rangeela is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Agastya Manju, and produced by Naresh Kumar T. The film stars Naina Ganguly, K. K. Binojee, and Parth Suri in pivotal roles. It was released on 1 January 2020, and simultaneously dubbed into Telugu language.