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Kantri

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Kantri
Theaterical release poster
Directed byMeher Ramesh
Written byMeher Ramesh
Produced byC. Ashwini Dutt
Starring
CinematographySameer Reddy
Edited byMarthand K. Venkatesh
Music byMani Sharma
Production
company
Vaishno
Release date
  • 9 May 2008 (2008-05-09)
Running time
166 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu

Kantri is a 2008 Indian Telugu-language action film[1] written and directed by Meher Ramesh, a protégé of director Puri Jagannadh and who had earlier worked on Kannada films. Jr. NTR, Hansika Motwani, and Tanisha Mukherjee star in the lead roles, while Prakash Raj, Ashish Vidyarthi, Mukesh Rishi, Sayaji Shinde, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Venu Madhav, Sunil, Brahmanandam, Subbaraju, and Ali play supporting roles. The film has been produced by Vyjayanthi Movies and C. Ashwini Dutt. The film was initially scheduled to release on 28 April 2008. However, it was released 12 days later.[2][3] The film released on 9 May 2008. Upon release, Kantri received mixed to negative reviews and was a hit at box office [4]

Kantri is also the first Indian film to feature a 3D animated character based on an actor. [5] It was also dubbed in English under the title Jackal.[6]

Plot

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NRI Krishna returns to his village with his wife and child to work for the upliftment of the village folk. However, when the family along with his old father, is on its way home with the money, Pothuraju aka PR betrays everyone by killing them and running away with the money, leaving his wife and son behind. Pothuraju is the head of a business empire and is known for his nefarious connections and illegal dealings. He is supported at every step by his friend and partner Seshu. Enters Kantri who enters Pothuraju's gang to earn money for the orphanage where he grew up (he was orphaned at a very young age). Kantri falls in love with Varalakshmi. However, she initially does not like Kantri. An ambitious Kantri rises fast in life and meets Pothuraju in Hong Kong. However, an issue arises which separates Kantri from Pothuraju's gang. He takes money from Das to kill Pothuraju. Before he has his chance to do so, he is told that Pothuraju is his father. The hatred turns into attachment and Seshu's daughter Priya falls in love with Kantri. However, some differences arise between PR and Seshu. However, Kantri puts an end to all this and clears the confusion forming the rest of the story.

Cast

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Production

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Ramesh told Idlebrain.com in an interview that the Kantri's script and title was narrated to Puri Jagannadh in Manali during the shoot of Desamuduru, who registered the title and immediately registered it under the Vaishno banner.[7] C. Aswini Dutt came onboard as producer, while Jr. NTR was chosen to play the role of a 25-year-old tapori character after a single read-through. NTR's costumes were made before the shoot with none costing more than ₹1,500.[7]

The film's shooting started in October 2007 but was delayed for a month as cinematographer Sameer Reddy was busy with Athidhi. The film was mainly shot in Hong Kong and Dubai with a part also shot in Singapore, including places where The Dark Knight had been shot a few days earlier. The film extensively showcases the Hong Kong skyline and was also shot at the Hong Kong International Airport. Certain songs of the film were shot in Cape Town, the first Telugu film to be shot there after Badri.[7]

Music

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Kantri
Soundtrack album by
Mani Sharma
Released
29 March 2008 (India)
Recorded2008
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length27:49
LabelAditya Music
ProducerMani Sharma
Mani Sharma chronology
Pourudu
(2007) 		Kantri
(2008) 		Parugu
(2008)

Released on 29 March 2008,[8] Kantri's soundtrack was composed by Mani Sharma whilst lyrics were penned by five different lyricists: Meher Ramesh, Ananth Sreeram, Sirivennela, Veturi, and Ramajogayya Sastry. The hip-hop song "123" is based on "Get Buck" by Young Buck and was the first one to be composed when Sharma was in the US.[9] The song "Vayassunamy" was a remake of Sharma's previous song "Vasantha Mullai" from Pokkiri, which itself is remix of a song from Sarangadhara (1958).[10]

No Song Singer(s) Duration Lyricist
1 123 Nenoka Kantri N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Naveen Madhav, Karunya 04:31 Meher Ramesh
2 Ammaho Karthik, K. S. Chithra 05:16 Sirivennela
3 Vayasunamy Vedala Hemachandra, Sunitha Upadrashta 04:04 Veturi
4 I Go Crazy Rahul Nambiar, Jey 04:48 Anantha Sreeram
5 Janthar Manthar Ranjith, Rita 04:25 Anantha Sreeram
6 Raamare Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan 04:45 Ramajogayya Sastry

Reception

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Rediff gave two and half stars said "Meher has nothing new to offer. He does take the beaten path in making a hero-centric film with the theme of good versus evil and the usual masala elements. NTR stands out with his looks and talent. Hansika, as the lead heroine makes a pretty picture. In short Kantri is NTR's show all the way".[11] greatandhra and idlebrain rated three stars, with the former saying "The film is for mass cum class audiences. Technically the film stands on the summit. Leaving the length part and less-comedy part aside, the film is a well-made one", and the latter describing "The plus points of the film are NTR's energizing performance (dialogues, dances and emotions) and the first half. The twist towards climax is interesting".[12][13]

Awards

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Filmfare Awards South
Nandi Awards[14]
South Scope Awards
  • Best stylish actor – Jr NTR
  • Best stylish choreography – Raju Sundaram ("123 Nenoka Kantri")

Dubbed versions

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The film was later dubbed and released in Hindi as Ek Aur Qayamat (2009),[15] In English as Jackal (2011),[16] in Tamil as Pokkiri Paiyan,[17] and in Malayalam as Njananu Boss.

References

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  1. ^ "Kantri". British Board of Film Classification.
  2. ^ "Kanthri audio release postponed to April 7". Archived from the original on 7 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Telugu Box Office". Sify. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  4. ^ "Kantri still tops the box-office". Sify. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Making of 3D NTR Character for Kantri". Idlebrain.com.
  6. ^ "Jackal Full English Dubbed Movie HD NTR Hansika Sunil Kantri Telugu Movie". YouTube.
  7. ^ a b c Meher Ramesh – Telugu Cinema interview – Telugu film director. Idlebrain.com (13 May 2008). Retrieved on 2015-09-07.
  8. ^ "'Kantri' audio albums and trailer are out". Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  9. ^ "10 Songs Which Copied Their Tunes from Other Films | Telugu". Archived from the original on 27 June 2017.
  10. ^ Srinivas, Saraswathy (18 December 2006). "Pokkiri has racy music". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  11. ^ Radhika Rajamani. "Kantri: NTR's show all the way". Rediff. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  12. ^ "'Kantri' Review: An Action-Revenge Entertainer". greatandhra.com. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  13. ^ "Telugu Movie review – Kantri". idlebrain. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  14. ^ "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 21 August 2020.(in Telugu)
  15. ^ "Ek Aur Qayamat-Times of India". The Times of India.
  16. ^ Indian Films "Jackal Full English Dubbed Movie HD". YouTube.com. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2023. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  17. ^ "Pokkiri Paiyan Movie: Showtimes, Review, Songs, Trailer". The Times of India.
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