Ala Modalaindi

Ala Modalaindi (meaning “That is how it started”) is a 2011 Telugu romantic comedy written and directed by B. V. Nandini Reddy in her debut, under the Sri Ranjith Movies banner. Nani stars with Nithya Menen, in her Telugu debut, and Sneha Ullal; Kalyani Malik composed the music, Arjun Jena shot it and Marthand K. Venkatesh edited it. Released on 21 January 2011 to favourable reviews, it was a commercial success that ran 100 days, and Film Companion lists it among the 25 greatest Telugu films of the decade.

What the story is about

The film opens with an accident and with Gautam being abducted by a stranger, John Abraham, who makes him tell his story on the drive. In flashback, Gautam was about to propose to Simran when a cricket ball hit by a girl named Nithya sent him to hospital, where Simran fell for his doctor and married him. At the wedding Gautam, drunk and heartbroken, runs into an equally drunk Nithya, who it turns out was in love with the same doctor, and the two spend the night singing and dancing before going their separate ways. When chance brings them together again, Gautam starts tagging along on Nithya’s daily errands and realises he is falling for her, only to learn that she is already engaged.

Cast

• Nani as Gautam
• Nithya Menen as Nithya
• Sneha Ullal as Kavya
• Ashish Vidyarthi as John Abraham
• Rohini as Gautam’s mother and Pragathi as Nithya’s mother
• Chaitanya Krishna as Deepak, Nithya’s fiancé
• Kriti Kharbanda as Simran and Kamesh Sista as Dr. Anand (cameos), and Nandini Reddy in a cameo

Music

Kalyani Malik composed the songs and score. For the Malayalam dub, Jassie Gift adapted the tunes, with lyrics by Siju Thuravoor.

Box office

The film’s success was reported by Rediff.com and by The Times of India, which marked its 75-day run. According to Business Standard, it grossed ₹150 million (₹15 crore) on a budget of ₹40 million (₹4 crore). The Malayalam dub, Angane Thudangi, released on 28 July 2011, was the first Malayalam film, albeit a dub, to be made available online on its release day.

What critics said

Rediff gave it four stars, calling it “a fun ride” and praising Nani and Nithya as “at their natural best”. Sify also gave four out of five, saying Nandini Reddy’s twisting screenplay made a simple plot “a pleasant watch”, and Idlebrain.com and Greatandhra both rated it four and praised the lead pair.

Awards and remakes

Nandini Reddy won the Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director and the SIIMA Award for Best Debut Director – Telugu. The film was remade in Tamil as Yennamo Yedho (2014), in Kannada as Bhale Jodi (2016) and in Bangladeshi Bengali as Olpo Olpo Premer Golpo (2014).

Where to watch Ala Modalaindi

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for Ala Modalaindi on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Ala Modalaindi and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; Wikidata; our own cast and crew records.