Power (2014 Telugu film)

Before release of the Gopichand Malineni's directorial Balupu, Ravi Teja listened to the script narrated by K. S. Ravindra, one of the writers of Balupu and finalized the film as his next project.[1] Director cum producer Y.V.S. Chowdary, who produced Ravi Teja's Nippu in the past was announced as the producer of the film. The film was launched on 1 September 2013 at Y.V.S. Chowdary's office in Hyderabad.[2] But because of financial problem, Y.V.S. Chowdary walked out of the project. Later prominent Kannada producer Rockline Venkatesh agreed to produce the film.[3] The film had a second opening ceremony on 11 December 2013 at Filmnagar in Hyderabad.[4] Kona Venkat, S. Thaman, Allan Amin and Gautham Raju were roped in as the dialogue writer, music director, fights choreographer and editor of the film respectively and coincidentally they all were a part of Ravi Teja's Balupu. Apart from them, Arthur A. Wilson, Brahma Kadali and A. Kumar Varma were roped in as the cinematographer, art director and production executive of the film respectively.[5] The film's launch made headlines on 11 December 2013 (i.e. 11/12/13), a special calendar date that comes once in every 100 years.[6] The film's title Power was declared on 24 January 2014. Incidentally, it was the title for Ravi Teja’s film under Meher Ramesh’s direction which never took off.[7]

After Ravi Teja was signed to play the lead role, Hansika Motwani was roped in to play the female lead opposite Ravi Teja marking her first collaboration with him. She confirmed the news in her Twitter. She added "I can't reveal much about the character as it's premature to comment on it. But all I can say is that my role would be very unique and something that the audience have not seen so far. All this while, I've been playing bubbly and chirpy roles. But this time, my role is a performance-oriented one and I'm looking forward to it."[8] Apart from them, Prakash Raj, Brahmanandam, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Brahmaji, Posani Krishna Murali, Mukesh Rishi, Ajay, Sampath Raj, Subbaraju, Sapthagiri, Surekha Vani and Jogi Brothers were said to be the other vital cast in the film during the press meet held on the second opening ceremony of the film.[9] It was also reported that Ravi Teja would play the role of a police officer in this film.[10] Soon after the launch of the film, reports emerged that the team is searching for an actress for the role of the second heroine and few actresses names were shortlisted.[11] It was also reported that the makers recruited popular Hindi Television actress Ragini Khanna as the second heroine which marks her South Indian debut.[12]

But Regina Cassandra was selected as the second heroine which she confirmed later.[13] In an interview to The Times of India in early March 2014, Regina, about her role in the film, spoke "It's a big project for me and I'm quite excited about it. I like experimenting with my looks in films and I got a chance to do something radically different in terms of my appearance in Power. Besides, I have a strong characterization in the film. I hope I can pull off the role and get the audience in tune with the emotion in the film. It's going to be a challenging task for sure".[14] After watching Suseenthiran's Pandiya Naadu, Harish Uthaman was selected for a negative role in the film by K. S. Ravindra. About his role, Harish said to the IANS that he would be playing the role of Sampath Raj's brother in this film. This marked his debut in Telugu cinema.[15] It was revealed later that Ravi Teja's character is named ACP Bal Dev while Regina's character is named Vaishnavi.[16][17]

The principal photography was planned for a start from 5 November 2013.[18] However it couldn't start then due to unknown reasons. It was said during the film's opening ceremony that the film would be extensively shot in Hyderabad and Kolkata from 11 December 2013.[19] After much silent shoot, it was reported that a song was shot on Ravi Teja and Hansika at Orion Mall, Rajajinagar at Bangalore.[20] The song was said to be a mix of Telugu and Hindi words in which the main phrase is Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. It was choreographed by Vishnu Deva and the song was shot for five days.[21] Later the film's shoot continued in Kolkata and Nagpur for a month.[22] After shooting for a couple of weeks in Hyderabad and Bangalore, it was reported that the unit would proceed to Bangkok to shoot some action sequences.[23] Meanwhile, the film's shoot continued in Hyderabad till Mid March and the next schedule started in Chennai from 17 March.[24] After the team returned from Chennai, Regina joined the sets of the film on 25 March in Hyderabad.[25] After completing shoot in locales of Hyderabad, the unit proceeded to Kolkata to start its next schedule of shoot from 6 April.[26] It continued later at a house set in Annapurna Studios where Manam was shot.[27] In the end of April, it was reported that the film's shoot would proceed later to Bangkok in the first week of May to shoot a fight sequence.[28] There, a heavy chase sequence was planned to be shot in the supervision of Allan Amin which was said to have costed around ₹2 crores.[29]

In the second week of May, the shooting continued at a police station set in Ramoji Film City where some crucial scenes were shot. Ravi Teja, Brahmaji, Ajay and Kota Srinivasa Rao along with few other fighters were involved in that shoot which lasted for 3 days.[30] Days later, some of the crucial scenes of the film was shot at Tagore House in Ramoji Film City on the lead pair.[31] By that time, it was said that the film is in its final stages of principal photography and may end soon.[32] In the fourth week of May, some key drama and sentimental sequences were shot at Hyderabad in which the lead star cast took part.[33] The next schedule started on 23 June at Hyderabad.[34] After a silent shoot at Hyderabad, the song Nuvvu Nenu Janta was shot on Ravi Teja and Hansika at Bulgaria in the second week of July 2014.[35] The pre-planned Bangkok chase schedule started on 22 July 2014 and lasted for 10 days.[36][37][38] On 28 July 2014 a car blast happened in the film's sets while shooting an action sequence at a forest area situated 100 kilometers away from Pattaya. Luckily, none were injured and the shooting schedule completed on that day.[39][40] Hansika cut short her vacation to join the film's sets for commencement of new schedule.[41][42] A song shoot was planned on Ravi Teja and Hansika at Ramoji Film City from 6 August to 10 August.[43] The song Notanki Notanki was shot there which completed on 14 August with which the principal photography came to an end.[44]

The first look poster was released on 24 January 2014.[66] The first poster showed Ravi Teja atop a Royal Enfield bike with the number AP 09 CM 9999 and he was shown wearing a police uniform and that first look poster received superb response from all the movie lovers.[67] On 26 January 2014, the teaser of 43 seconds was released on the occasions of Republic Day as well as Ravi Teja's birthday.[68] The teaser received high positive response and turned a grand hit in the social media just after its release[69] and received more than 0.4 million views in a short span of time marking a record for Ravi Teja in YouTube.[70] The audio release poster of the film was released on 4 August 2014.[71] The second teaser of 37 seconds was released on 6 August 2014.[72] The film's theatrical trailer was released on 26 August 2014.[73] The trailer received positive response from critics as well as audience.[74][75][76]

Sify wrote "There is nothing novel about the movie. We have seen each scene before. It is a concoction of several movies. Power doesn’t come with the expected punch. Ravi Teja and some comedy scenes are plus points. The second half of the film is a let down. Overall, a regular commercial potboiler."[77] Hemanth Kumar of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote "Directed by K S Ravindra, the film gives ample scope to Ravi Teja to flex his muscles, besides bring the roof down with his gags. For most part of the film, the seriousness with which he approaches both his characters keeps the proceedings going. And truth be told, it's a treat to watch him play the role of a serious cop, just like he did in Vikramarkudu" and added "It would seem that Ravi Teja cannot go wrong when he's in great form and his exuberance more than makes up for all that might have gone for a toss in the film. However, when it comes to his latest film, Power, there's a catch. The film is a fine example to show what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force. And the immovable object in this context is quite clearly the story, which is bogged down by the burden of multiple subplots it tries to carry".[78] Suresh Kavirayani of Deccan Chronicle rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote "He chooses a script which is an old formula, but he comes up with loads of entertainment. Though some of the scenes are typical film kind of, like wearing somebody’s khakhi uniform and solving cases like a police, but in the end it’s all entertainment. There are a few loopholes, but finally, ‘Power’ is a mass masala film with action, entertainment and glamour. It’s a typical Ravi Teja film."[79] Shekhar of Oneindia Entertainment rated the film 3 out of 5 and stated "Power is a powerful entertainer made to impress the fans of Ravi Teja. The film lacks freshness in story, but Bobby's amazing screenplay keeps you engrossed in the film. Apart from Mass Maharaja, Brahmanandam and Saptagiri will also rock the viewers. It is a paisa vasool entertainer for Ravi Teja fans."[80] IndiaGlitz rated the film 3 out of 5 and summarized "A promising film that has borrowed ideas from here and there. But the Kona effect and Ravi Teja's powerhouse act deliver the film. Comparisons with other films can harm the movie's prospects a bit, though one is sure to like it more than any of RT's movies in recent times".[81]

In contrast, Sridhar Vivan of Bangalore Mirror rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and wrote "To sum up; logically, the movie looks 'powerless', while comedy-wise, it is definitely 'powerful'. So, for those planning to watch a movie without any logic and purely for entertainment, then this may just be the right choice."[82] Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote "It takes a special kind of nonchalance to package a film with a string of sequences, one illogical than the other, and lull the audience into believing that they are being entertained. Power tries hard to amuse and has a hangover of Kick and Vikramarkudu. Ravi Teja does his part well but the film itself offers nothing new" and remarked "Absurd fun, repackaged. ‘Power’ is only in the title."[83] Behindwoods rated the film 1.75 out of 5 and stated "Astute editing, lustrous cinematography and Ravi's screen presence come as a relief to an easily predictable story with a slow screenplay. Brahmanandham's gimmicks, Ravi Teja's cute expressions and a relatively long story to narrate with a pacifying twist towards the end do grab our attention, but, it's too late."[84] Filmyflavour rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote "Power movie is a routine Telugu commercial film which has all the entertaining elements that you can try for this weekend" [85]

The film collected a share of ₹51.4 million (US$720,000) at the AP/Nizam Box office on its first day making it the biggest ever opener in Ravi Teja's career. The film collected a share of ₹38.6 million (US$540,000) on its second day.[86] The film earned a share of ₹150 million (US$2.1 million) by the end of its first weekend at the worldwide Box office out of which ₹120 million (US$1.7 million) was earned at AP/Nizam Box office.[87] The film's trade was affected on 19 September 2014 due to the release of Aagadu but it picked up from the next day. The film collected ₹163 million (US$2.3 million) at AP/Nizam Box office, ₹40 million (US$560,000) from other areas including Karnataka, the rest of India and the overseas markets taking its global first week total to ₹203 million (US$2.8 million).[88]