Arundhati

Arundhati is a 2009 Telugu fantasy horror-action film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna and produced by Shyam Prasad Reddy under Mallemala Entertainments. Anushka Shetty plays the title role, with Sonu Sood as the villain Pasupathi, Arjan Bajwa, Sayaji Shinde, Manorama and Kaikala Satyanarayana. Koti composed the music. Released on 16 January 2009, it was a major hit that, according to Wikipedia, turned Anushka into a star overnight, and it won ten Nandi Awards and two Filmfare Awards South.

What the story is about

Arundhati, a young woman engaged to be married, travels with her family to their ancestral estate in Gadwal. Strange things begin to happen around an abandoned mansion nearby: relatives are lured inside, her grandfather is injured, and a local fakir, Anwar, warns her to leave. The family’s old caretaker then tells her the story of her great-grandmother, Jejamma, a fearless princess of Gadwal, and of the cruel Pasupathi, who learned black magic to take revenge on her. The past and the present collide in the mansion, and the film builds to a showdown between good and evil that is best seen without knowing more.

Cast

• Anushka Shetty as Arundhati and her great-grandmother Jejamma
• Sonu Sood as Pasupathi
• Sayaji Shinde as Anwar, the fakir
• Arjan Bajwa as Rahul, Manorama as the caretaker Chandramma and Kaikala Satyanarayana as Bhupathi Raja, Arundhati’s grandfather

How it was made

Shyam Prasad Reddy said he got the idea while receiving National Awards for Anji (2004), and that he was inspired by films such as Chandramukhi and The Exorcist, making it a woman-centred story with classical dance on a grand scale. He wanted a tall heroine who would “look royal” riding horses and elephants, and Anushka was suggested to him. He chose Sonu Sood for Pasupathi after seeing him in Ashok (2006), and cast Sayaji Shinde as the fakir after his first choices were unavailable. Shooting took around 250 days, with interiors at Annapurna Studios and exteriors at the Banganapalle fort in Kurnool. The drum dance, choreographed by Sivashankar, took 45 days to film. K. K. Senthil Kumar was the cinematographer and says the film was the first in Telugu to use a motion-control camera. Rahul Nambiar was the creative director and visual effects supervisor, and P. Ravi Shankar dubbed Sonu Sood’s voice.

Music

Koti composed four songs and three instrumentals, and called it the personal best of his 30-year career. “Jejamma” was sung by Kailash Kher, “Bhu Bhu Bhujangam” by K. S. Chithra, and “Chandamama” was also a hit.

Release and box office

The CBFC certified the film A for its violence and gore. A Tamil-dubbed version was released on 20 March 2009. According to The New Indian Express, the film grossed ₹70 crore; Wikipedia describes it as the highest-grossing Telugu film until Magadheera later that year, and the highest-grossing woman-led South Indian film until 2015. Gemini TV bought the satellite rights for a reported ₹7 crore.

What critics said

Rediff (3 out of 5) praised the screenplay, art direction, cinematography, effects and the performances of Anushka, Sonu Sood and Sayaji Shinde, calling it watchable “provided you don’t have a weak heart”. Telugu Cinema called it “a graphical extravaganza” and “a good watch”. Reviewing the Tamil version, Behindwoods (3 out of 5) summed it up as “old school horror, new age film making”.

Awards

At the Nandi Awards, where it was counted among 2008 films, it won ten awards, including Best Villain for Sonu Sood and a Special Jury Award for Anushka. Anushka won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu and Sonu Sood Best Supporting Actor – Telugu. The film was remade in Bengali in 2014.

Where to watch Arundhati

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for the 2009 Arundhati on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

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