Baanam

Baanam (“Arrow”) is a 2009 Telugu action drama written and directed by first-time filmmaker Chaitanya Dantuluri and produced by Priyanka Dutt under Three Angels Studio. It marked Nara Rohit‘s debut as a lead actor, opposite Vedhika, with Sayaji Shinde as his father. Mani Sharma composed the music. It was released on 16 September 2009 and won the Nandi Award for Second Best Feature Film.

What the story is about

In the town of Ranasthali in 1989, Bhagat Panigrahi is preparing to become an IPS officer. His father, Chandrasekhar Panigrahi, a former Naxalite, comes home after twenty years, having decided to “retire” from the movement, and questions his son’s ambition, since Bhagat’s mother was killed by a policeman. Bhagat wins him over. Meanwhile a local don, Shakti Patnaik, is building an empire by terrorising the police and anyone who stands in his way.

At a railway station Bhagat meets Subbalakshmi, a naive young Brahmin wife abandoned by her in-laws over an unpaid dowry. He takes her home, breaks the news of her father’s death, and encourages her to return to her studies and stand on her own feet. When her estranged husband seeks revenge by turning to Shakti Patnaik, Bhagat is set on a collision course with the gangster.

Cast and crew

• Nara Rohit as Bhagat Panigrahi
• Vedhika as Subbalakshmi
• Sayaji Shinde as Chandrasekhar Panigrahi
• Randhir Gattla as Shakti Patnaik
• Rajiv Kanakala as ACP Gudipudi Venkateswara Rao
• Bhanu Chander as the IPS officer who inspired Bhagat
• Sree Vishnu as an academy officer
• AVS as Bhagat’s neighbour and landlord
• Sivannarayana Naripeddi as Vedamurthy’s father
• Charandeep as a henchman

Writer and director: Chaitanya Dantuluri. Producer: Priyanka Dutt (Three Angels Studio). Music: Mani Sharma. Runtime: 110 minutes.

Release, reviews and box office

The soundtrack was launched on 24 August 2009, ahead of the 16 September release. Reviews were positive. Rediff felt that “Baanam, sans the formulaic pattern, makes for a decent watch and such films have to be encouraged by the audience”. The Times of India wrote that the debutant director “deserves kudos for dishing out an intense cop film”, and Idlebrain found Nara Rohit right for his character and Vedhika apt as a traditional Brahmin girl.

A 2009 hits-and-flops round-up by way2movies counted the film as a moderate box-office success; no collection figures are given. Besides the Nandi Award for Second Best Feature Film, Chaitanya Dantuluri was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Director (Telugu). The film was dubbed into Hindi as Jeo Aur Jeeno Do.

Where to watch Baanam

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for Baanam on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Baanam and the reviews and report it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.