Arya is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film written and directed by Sukumar in his directoral debut. Produced by Dil Raju under Sri Venkateswara Creations banner, the film stars Allu Arjun, Anu Mehta, and Siva Balaji. The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad and cinematography was by R. Rathnavelu. The plot revolves around Arya, an outgoing and free-spirited boy falling in love with Geetha, an introverted girl who is on the shield of another person Ajay.
| Arya | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sukumar |
| Written by | Sukumar |
| Produced by | Dil Raju |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | R. Rathnavelu |
| Edited by | Marthand K. Venkatesh |
| Music by | Devi Sri Prasad |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Sri Venkateswara Creations |
Release date |
|
Running time | 151 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹4 crore |
| Box office | est. ₹30 (equivalent to ₹114.48 in 2023)crore[1] |
Arya was released on 7 May 2004, the film received positive response and was commercially successful, grossing ₹30 crore worldwide.[1] It has developed a cult following[2] over the years. A dubbed version in Malayalam was released in 2006. The film was partially remade in Bengali (Bangladesh) as Badha (2005), in Tamil as Kutty (2010).[1] A spiritual sequel titled Arya 2 was released in 2009.
Arya is considered one of the best films of Allu Arjun and provided a major breakthrough in his career as an actor and brought recognition for Sukumar as a director in Telugu cinema.[3][4]
Plot
editGeetanjali a.k.a. Geetha, a college student, goes to Kanyakumari on a trip. She finds a poem in a diary left on a beach and signs in it, saying that she wishes the poet will succeed in his love. Later on, her anklet falls into the ocean, and a guy jumps into the water in front of her eyes, but no one sees him resurfacing. However, Geetha did not see who jumped in the ocean. She dreams about the incident frequently thinking that the guy who jumped has died, but her friends ask her to forget it.
Back to the present in Vishakhapatnam, here comes Ajay, a spoiled college student and the son of the local MP Avataram. He likes to flirt with beautiful girls and wants them to be his girlfriends. One day he sees Geetha and proposes to her. When she refuses, he threatens to jump from the top of the college building. Being afraid of being held responsible for a death, Geetha accepts the proposal with the thought that as some guy has already died for her, and she doesn't want someone to get hurt because of her and starts dating him. Arya is a happy-go-lucky guy who enjoys his life with friends and kids. On his first day to the college, he sees Geetha, who was just confessing her love to Ajay, who was at the top of the college building, threatening her. Charmed by her beauty, Arya falls in love with her and proposes to her. One day Avataram arranges a party in his house, and it so turns out that Ajay introduces Geetha to his father and persuades him to fix their marriage. Ajay's father, who initially pretended to accept his son's marriage with Geetha, turns tables upside down by introducing another girl Lalasa and announces that his son is going to marry Lalasa. He threatens his son not to marry anyone except Lalasa. Being embarrassed by the situation and helpless, Ajay sits down and starts to get frustrated. Arya, who loves Geetha so much that he never hesitated to help her, decides to bring Ajay to Geetha and helps them elope. On their way, they are followed by Avataram's henchmen. They eventually find a train and get into it.
When they get down of the train in the night, they are shocked to see the leader of Avataram's henchmen, who forces Geetha to come with him, defying his boss' order. On the other hand, Ajay remains helpless, while Arya fights all the men and finally defeats them, rescuing Ajay and Geetha. They walk on to the nearby town, which happens to be Arya's hometown. Being tired, the three go to bed.
The next morning they wake up and realize that Ajay is missing. Arya tries to convince Geetha that Ajay left to win over his father. This leaves private time for Arya and Geetha, and they grow close to each other. Geetha starts liking Arya and begins to understand him. When she tries to confess it to him, Ajay and his father return. Avataram agrees to get Ajay married to Geetha.
On the day of the wedding, Geetha finds out that Arya was the guy who dove into the sea for her anklet and realizes that he came into her life much before Ajay. She realizes that while Ajay blackmailed her into loving him; Arya just wanted to see her happy. Geetha also realizes that Arya truly loves her, while Ajay was just acting on his impulse of wanting what he couldn't have. She leaves the wedding hall in tears and confesses her love to Arya, and they both reconcile with each other, and this time he successfully throws the stone into the Plastic Coke Cup, indicating he truly succeeded in his love.
Cast
edit- Allu Arjun as Arya
- Anuradha Mehta as Geethanjali aka Geetha
- Siva Balaji as Ajay
- Rajan P. Dev as MP Avataram, Ajay's father
- Subbaraju as Subbu
- Sunil as "Punch" Falaknama, Train Ticket Examiner
- Venu Madhav as Ajay's friend
- Sudha as Geetha's mother
- Vidya as Shanti
- J. V. Ramana Murthi as Priest
- Shravya as one of Arya's young friends
- Babloo as Arya's friend
- Sandra Jaichandran as Geetha's friend
- Devi Charan
- Jogi Naidu
- Krishnam Raju
- Srikanth Addala
- Prudhviraj as Reddy (cameo)
- Abhinayasri in item number "Aa Ante Amalapuram"
Production
editSukumar began working on the script of his directorial debut Arya (2004) in Vishakhapatnam before joining the sets of Vinayak's Dil. Its producer Dil Raju assured that he would produce the film if Dil becomes a commercial success.[5] Sukumar chose to narrate the story of a boy who confess his love to a girl right in the beginning, opposed to films like Darr (1993), Kabhie Haan Kabhie Naa (1994), and Kaadhal Kondein (2003) where the protagonist's love/obsession for the female lead is revealed towards the end, as he found that idea an "obsolete" one.[6] Raju was impressed with Sukumar's script and Allu Arjun was selected as its protagonist after considering Ravi Teja, Nithin, and Prabhas. Anuradha Mehta and Siva Balaji were chosen for the other two lead roles.[7] R. Rathnavelu and Devi Sri Prasad were chosen as the film's director of photography and music director respectively; they both collaborated with Sukumar in many of his future projects.
Soundtrack
edit| Arya | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album to Arya by | ||||
| Released | 16 April 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 30:42 | |||
| Language | Telugu | |||
| Label | Aditya Music | |||
| Producer | Devi Sri Prasad | |||
| Devi Sri Prasad chronology | ||||
| ||||
The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad. The success and popularity of the song "Aa Ante Amalapuram" song eventually led to its adaptation in the 2012 Hindi film Maximum.[8]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You Rock My World" | Viswa | Shaan, Premji Amaren | 5:00 |
| 2. | "Edo Priya Ragam Vintunna" | Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry | Sagar, Sumangali | 5:08 |
| 3. | "O My Brotheru" | Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry | Ravi Verma | 5:04 |
| 4. | "Thakadimithom" | Surendra Krishna | Tippu | 5:31 |
| 5. | "Feel My Love" | Chandrabose | KK, Clinton Cerejo | 4:55 |
| 6. | "Aa Ante Amalapuram" | Veturi | Malathy, Ranjith | 5:04 |
| Total length: | 30:42 | |||
Malayalam (Dub)
Music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad and lyrics were penned by Mankombu Gopalakrishnan and Rajeev Alunkal
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Etho Priya Ragam" | Madhu Balakrishnan | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Thakadhimithom" | Jassie Gift | 4:59 |
| 3. | "Aa Kande Alakapuram" | Reshmi, Devi Sri Prasad | 4:59 |
| 4. | "You Rock My Love" | Afsal, Devi Sri Prasad | 4:39 |
| 5. | "Etho Priya Ragam" | Shivani | 5:09 |
| 6. | "Oh My Brothere" | Alex | 4:49 |
| 7. | "Aarya Proud of Youth" | Anwar Sadath, Sayanora Philip | 3:37 |
| 8. | "Feel My Love" | Vidhu Prathap | 4:57 |
Reception
editCritical reception
editArya received highly positive reviews from critics. idlebrain.com gave a review stating, "You feel like you are watching a Mani Rathnam film. There is a soul in the film and you end up having a thin layer of tears in your eyes while leaving the theater. This film announces the arrival of Sukumar – director – a class apart. 'Aarya' is a must watch film for all Telugu film lovers. Don't miss it" and rated the film 4/5, calling the film "A class apart".[9] IndiaGlitz gave a review stating "To start with, the hype machine was at work incessantly before the release of the movie. And after watching the film you also feel that there is a movie that is every inch worth its pre-release hype. Not only Aarya is expected to lead the pack in the long summer of seemingly never-ending releases but also give the hero of the film, Allu Arjun, a new identity. Aarya is an unabashed package showcasing Allu Arjun and his dancing and fighting abilities. The thing it looks like it will work at the box-office", further calling the film "A cocktail of fun and more fun".[10] fullhyderabad.com gave a review stating "Aarya is not at all what you expect it to be. It is a special package that consists of fun, entertainment, laughs, frolic, merriment, high times, bashes and more. It has them all. Romance, eternal love, mush, flowers, embraces, sacrifices, sunsets. It has them ALL. Action, fights, stunts, feats, tricks, battles, blood, bullies, henchmen, chases. Did we mention that this has it all? Emotions, sentiments, passion, craze and feelings. See one. See all," and rated the film 7/10.[11]
Box office
editArya made on a budget of ₹4 crore, grossed about ₹30 crore.[1]
The film's dubbed version in Malayalam collected between ₹1.5–2 crore in Kerala. Owing to the film's success, Allu Arjun received major acclaim across the region and the Malayali people and earned him fanbase there.[12]
Release
editIn 2011, it was dubbed in Hindi as Arya Ki Prem Pratigya.[13] It was also remade in 2007 as Pagala Premi in Odia[14] and as Adaraye Namayen in 2008 in Sinhala.
Awards
edit- 2004 CineMAA Awards
- Best Director (Jury) – Sukumar
- Best Screenplay - Sukumar
- Best Editor - Marthand K Venkatesh
- Sensational Producer - Dil Raju
- 2004 Nandi Awards
- Best Screenplay Writer – Sukumar
- Special Jury – Allu Arjun
- Best Fight Master - Ram-Lakshman
- Best Male Playback Singer - Sagar
- Santosham Best Young Performers Award – Allu Arjun
- Best first film Director - Sukumar
- Best new Female Singer - Malathi
- Best Costumer - Kumar
- Best item Dancer - Abhinayasri
- 2004 Gemini TV Awards
- Best Director – Sukumar
- Best Actor – Allu Arjun
References
edit- ^ a b c d "16 Years for Aarya: Some of the interesting facts about the Allu Arjun starrer". The Times of India. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ Chigurupati, Krishna Prasad. "Allu Arjun reminisces 'Arya' as the youthful-drama completes 15 years at the box-office". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ "19 years for 'Arya': Fans rejoice as the Allu Arjun starrer completes another milestone". The Times of India. 8 May 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "17 Years Of Arya: COVID-Positive Allu Arjun Calls It The "Greatest Miracle" Of His Life". NDTV.com. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ Chinnarayana 2015, p. 10.
- ^ Kumar, Hemanth (6 May 2011). "Sukumar – The Reluctant Perfectionist". South Scope. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ^ Chinnarayana 2015, p. 11.
- ^ "Court stays release of 'Aa Ante Amalapuram' in the movie 'Maximum'". Firstpost. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ "Movie review – Aarya". idlebrain.com. Retrieved 7 May 2004.
- ^ "Aarya – A cocktail of fun and more fun". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 24 October 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2004.
- ^ "Aarya Review". fullhyderabad.com. Retrieved 7 May 2004.
- ^ "Bunny-Hot in Kerala!". Sify. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Arya (Arya Ki Prem Pratigya) Hindi Dubbed Full Movie - Allu Arjun, Anuradha Mehta, Siva Balaji". YouTube.com. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Pagala Premi". YouTube.com. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
Bibliography
edit- Chinnarayana, Pulagam (18 October 2015). సినిమా వెనుక స్టోరీ: ఫీల్ మై లవ్ [Behind the scenes: Feel my love] (in Telugu). Sakshi Funday. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.