Donga (film)
Donga (transl. Burglar) is a 1985 Indian Telugu-language action film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy and produced by T. Trivikrama Rao under his banner Vijayalakshmi Art Pictures. The film stars Chiranjeevi and Radha while Rao Gopal Rao, Allu Ramalingaiah and Gollapudi Maruti Rao play the supporting roles with music composed by Chakravarthy.[1][2] Released on 14 March 1985, the film was a commercial success.[3]
| Donga | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | A. Kodandarami Reddy |
| Produced by | T. Trivikram Rao |
| Written by | Paruchuri Brothers (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | A. Kodandarami Reddy |
| Story by | Vietnam Veedu Sundaram |
| Starring | Chiranjeevi Radha |
| Music by | Chakravarthy |
| Cinematography | V. S. R. Swamy |
| Edited by | Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 145 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
Plot
Phani (Chiranjeevi) commits thefts just to help the poor. He loves Kodandaramayya's daughter Manju Latha (Radha), but he seeks revenge against Kodandaramayya (Rao Gopala Rao) for killing his father. He also wants his sister Malathi (Rajyalakshmi) to marry Rajesh (Raja), son of Anjaneyulu, but he needs Rs.50,000 for her dowry. At the same time, Vishwanatham (Sridhar), an income tax officer, wants his sister Rekha to marry Rajesh. With the help of the police, Phani succeeds in liquidating Kodandaramayya's gang and has his revenge. He also acquires enough money to arrange his sister's marriage with Rajesh.
Cast
- Chiranjeevi as Phani
- Radha as Manjulatha
- Rao Gopal Rao as Kodandaramayya
- Allu Ramalingaiah as Rama Subbaiah
- Gollapudi Maruthi Rao as Anjineelu
- Rajendra Prasad as Inspector Ravi
- Nutan Prasad as Ranga
- Sridhar as Viswanath
- Raja as Rajesh
- P. L. Narayana as Chandra Shekar Rao
- Chalapathi Rao
- Bheemiswara Rao
- Chitti Babu
- Silk Smitha
- Rajyalakshmi as Malathi
- Poornima
- Shubha
- Mamatha
- Athili Lakshmi
- Jhansi as Duragamma
Soundtrack
| Donga | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | 1985 | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 28:14 | |||
| Label | AVM Audio | |||
| Producer | Chakravarthy | |||
| Chakravarthy chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music composed by Chakravarthy. Lyrics were written by Veturi Sundararama Murthy. The music released on AVM Audio Company.[4]
| Song title | Singers | length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Golimaar" | SP Balu | 4:23 |
| 2 | "Sari Sari" | SP Balu, P. Susheela | 4:53 |
| 3 | "Donga Donga" | SP Balu, P. Susheela | 5:11 |
| 4 | "Andhama Ala" | SP Balu, S. Janaki | 4:42 |
| 5 | "Thappanaka" | SP Balu, S. Janaki | 4:54 |
| 6 | "Idhi Pandhem" | SP Balu, S. Janaki | 4:11 |
Reception
Giddaluri Gopalrao reviewing for Zamin Ryot on 22 March 1985, has criticized the film for its poorly-written screenplay and needless action sequences while mentioning that Chiranjeevi was the only sigh of relief.[1]
C. S. V of Andhra Patrika writing his review on 29 March 1985, appreciated the performances of the lead cast and Chakravathy's music.[2]
Legacy
- The film's musical number Golimar ( transl. Shoot the bullet) has choreography and elements heavily inspired from the music video for Michael Jackson's song "Thriller."[5] The sequence which is often referred as "Indian Thriller", became a viral video;[6]
- A further parody of the scene by Mike Sutton (Buffalax) titled "Indian Thriller with English lyrics" added subtitles to the video phonetically approximating the original lyrics as English sentences; resulting in "Golimar" being misinterpreted as "Girly man", and producing such lines as "Nippley man I met, he ate my motorboat!", "I'll eat wasabi on my dude", and "You'll be pumping Ovaltine."[6] He has also produced similar spoofs with other songs, including "Benny Lava", a similar edit of a number from the Tamil film Pennin Manathai Thottu.[6]
- American dubstep producer Skrillex sampled "Golimar" in a mashup with his song "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" entitled "Scary Bolly Dub"—which includes clips of the scene as visuals during live performances.[7]
- The film's titled has been adopted to the Telugu dubbed version of Tamil film Thambi (2019) starring Karthi.[3]
See also
- Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki is a 1984 Bollywood film which also parodies Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video.
References
- Gopal Rao, Giddaluri (22 March 1985). ""చెత్త ది గ్రేట్" చిత్రం దొంగ" (PDF). Zamin Ryot (in Telugu). p. 9. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- V., C. S. (29 March 1985). "చిత్ర సమీక్ష: దొంగ" [Film review: Donga]. Andhra Patrika (in Telugu). p. 8. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- "Karthi's Chiranjeevi connection". Deccan Chronicle. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- "Donga (Songs)". Cineradham.
- "4 Reasons Why You Should Watch Chiranjeevi's Desi Thriller Again. And Again. And Again". NDTV.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- "Buffalax Mines Twisted Translations for YouTube Yuks". Wired. 6 November 2007. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- Grandy, Eric. "Skrillex and M83's Bigger-Than-Key-Arena Electro, and Other Thoughts on Bumbershoot Monday". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2016.