A Aa - Anasuya Ramalingam Vs Anand Vihari

A Aa (full title A Aa – Anasuya Ramalingam vs Anand Vihari) is a 2016 Telugu-language romantic comedy family film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by S. Radha Krishna under Haarika & Hassine Creations. It stars Nithiin, Samantha and Anupama Parameswaran. Loosely based on Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani’s novel Meena, it was one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of 2016, and Samantha won a Filmfare Award for her performance.

Story

Anasuya Ramalingam is a 23-year-old woman from Hyderabad who lives under the control of her strict, wealthy mother, Mahalakshmi, while sharing a close bond with her father. When her mother goes away on a business trip, her father quietly sends her to the family’s ancestral village of Kalavapudi, near Vijayawada, to meet relatives the family has long been estranged from.

She is escorted there by her cousin Aanand Vihari, a chef who is struggling to clear his late father’s debts and arrange his younger sister’s wedding. In the village, Anasuya enjoys the warmth of her extended family, bickers with Aanand and slowly falls for him. Back in the city, her mother has already arranged an engagement for her, and an old quarrel between the two sides of the family stands in the way. How that rift came about, and whether it can be healed, is where the film goes next.

Cast

• Samantha as Anasuya Ramalingam
• Nithiin in the male lead
• Anupama Parameswaran as the second heroine
• Ananya as Bhanumathi, the sister of Nithiin’s character

Nadhiya, Srinivas Avasarala and Naresh also play key roles.

The source novel

The story draws loosely on Meena, a novel by Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani. The same novel had already been filmed in 1973 as Meena, directed by Vijaya Nirmala and starring Krishna.

Development and casting

The project was announced in August 2015, with Trivikram directing Nithiin and Samantha. On 10 September 2015 the makers revealed the title A Aa along with the tagline Anasuya Ramalingam vs Anand Vihari, which echoes the names of the two lead characters. The film was launched on 24 September 2015 at Ramanaidu Studios in Nanakramguda, Hyderabad.

It was Samantha’s third film with Trivikram, after Attarintiki Daredi (2013) and S/O Satyamurthy (2015). Anupama Parameswaran joined in mid-September, and Ananya, who first turned down the role of Bhanumathi, later accepted it once she understood the scope of the character.

Filming and music

Principal photography began in October 2015 and ended in April 2016. The film was initially announced with Anirudh Ravichander as composer, which would have been his first Telugu film, but he left the project because of his schedule, and Mickey J. Meyer composed the score and soundtrack instead.

Release and reception

After several postponements, the film was released on 2 June 2016. It did well commercially and was one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of the year.

Samantha’s performance as Anasuya brought her several honours, including the Best Actress award at the 64th Filmfare Awards South and Best Performance in a Leading Role at the 2nd IIFA Utsavam Awards.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.