Manam

Manam (meaning “Us”) is a 2014 Telugu-language fantasy comedy drama written and directed by Vikram Kumar and produced by the Akkineni family under the Annapurna Studios banner. It brings together three generations of the family, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya, alongside Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Shriya Saran. Spanning a hundred years up to 2013, it deals with rebirth and eternal love. It was Nageswara Rao’s last film, and it has since gained a cult following and is often counted among the greatest Telugu films.

Story

Nagarjuna plays Nageswara Rao, a wealthy businessman who lost his parents in a car accident as a child. Thirty years later he meets a young man and woman who look exactly like them, and sets out to bring the pair together so that they get the happy ending his parents never had. At the same time, an elderly man named Chaitanya, played by Akkineni Nageswara Rao, recognises the businessman and a doctor as the lookalikes of his own long-dead parents, and quietly tries to unite them. Past and present lives overlap as both men try to set right an old tragedy; the film keeps its twists for the second half.

Cast

• Akkineni Nageswara Rao as the elderly Chaitanya
• Nagarjuna as Nageswara Rao, a businessman, and in the 1920s as a zamindar
• Naga Chaitanya, as a father in the 1980s and a college student in 2013
• Shriya Saran, as a poor farmer in the flashbacks and a doctor in the present
• Samantha Ruth Prabhu, paired with Naga Chaitanya

The film also has cameos from Amitabh Bachchan, in his first Telugu film, Amala Akkineni, Akhil Akkineni as himself, Lavanya Tripathi, Raashii Khanna and Neetu Chandra.

Development

After 100% Love, Nagarjuna wanted to act in and produce a film with his father and his son, and Nageswara Rao urged him to start soon. After rejecting many scripts, Nagarjuna heard Vikram Kumar’s story on the advice of Nithin’s father, and agreed after watching Kumar’s Ishq. On K. Raghavendra Rao‘s advice the script was simplified, and at Nageswara Rao’s suggestion a comic thread between grandfather and grandson was added; he also chose the title Manam over Hum and Trayam. Reliance Entertainment co-produced and distributed the film.

Production

The film was launched on 3 June 2013 and shot in and around Hyderabad, Coorg and Mysore until mid-April 2014. According to the source, it was made on a budget of ₹28 crore. P. S. Vinod was the cinematographer, Prawin Pudi the editor, Harsha Vardhan wrote the dialogue and Anup Rubens composed the music. Nageswara Rao died on 22 January 2014, during production; knowing his health was failing, he had asked to finish dubbing his role before his surgery. The film was promoted as a tribute from his son.

Release and reception

Manam was released worldwide on 23 May 2014 to positive reviews and was a commercial success; the source puts its lifetime collection at ₹62 crore. It was screened in the Homage to ANR section of the 45th International Film Festival of India on 29 November 2014.

Awards

The film won five Filmfare Awards South, including Best Film – Telugu and Best Director – Telugu for Vikram Kumar, as well as the Santosham Best Film Award.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.