Daruvu

Daruvu (full title Daruvu: Sound of Mass) is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action comedy written and directed by Siva and produced by Burugupalli Siva Rama Krishna under Sri Venkateswara Entertainments. Ravi Teja plays a dual role opposite Taapsee. Vijay Antony composed the music, Anil Ravipudi wrote the dialogue, and the film draws on Yamudiki Mogudu. Released on 25 May 2012 to negative reviews, it was a moderate success at the box office.

Story

Bullet Raja, a small-time crook with a good heart, falls for Swetha, who is engaged to Harbour Babu, a powerful local goon. When Raja runs off with her, Babu tracks them down and knocks him off a hilltop in his car. The story then moves into the realm of Yama, god of death, in the tradition of Telugu socio-fantasy films such as Yamagola and Yamadonga.

Cast

• Ravi Teja as Bullet Raja, in a dual role
• Taapsee as Swetha
• Sushant Singh as Harbour Babu
• Kaikala Satyanarayana as Yama Dharmaraju, a role he was famous for
• Prabhu as Yama’s son
• Brahmanandam as a dance master, with Sayaji Shinde, Vennela Kishore and Srinivasa Reddy

Production

Siva, director of Souryam and Sankham, began work in early 2011. The film was launched in Hyderabad on 18 August 2011, and Taapsee, who had worked with Ravi Teja in Veera, joined in October. Filming took place in Hyderabad, Chennai, Badami and Bangkok, with large Yamalokam sets built at Ramoji Film City. In February 2012, Telangana activists disrupted a shoot on the Osmania University campus and damaged equipment. Filming was completed in March 2012.

Music

Vijay Antony’s soundtrack was launched at Prasad Labs in Hyderabad on 18 April 2012. All the songs except “Thom Thom” and “Athiri Chirabara” were reused from his earlier Tamil work.

Release and reception

After delays from 4 and 18 May, the film opened on 25 May 2012 with a U/A certificate. Critics praised Ravi Teja but otherwise panned the film. Rediff said only his fans would enjoy it, and NDTV pointed to gaping plot holes.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.