Oosaravelli

Oosaravelli (meaning “Chameleon”) is a 2011 Telugu action thriller directed by Surender Reddy and produced by B. V. S. N. Prasad under Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra. N. T. Rama Rao Jr. plays Tony, a hitman, with Tamannaah Bhatia, Prakash Raj and Vidyut Jammwal. Devi Sri Prasad composed the music, Rasool Ellore was the cinematographer and Gautham Raju the editor. Released on 6 October 2011 to mixed reviews, it set a record for the biggest opening day in Telugu cinema at the time and went on to be a commercial success.

What the story is about

Tony is a hitman who will do anything for money. On a bus journey to Kashmir he survives a terror attack alongside Niharika and falls head over heels for her, but she leaves for Hyderabad without knowing how he feels. When Tony tracks her down and declares his love, Niharika tells him she is engaged to Rakesh, the son of a minister, unaware that father and son are arms smugglers. Tony’s war on Hyderabad’s underworld begins there, and as the title suggests, he is not quite what he seems; the reason behind his killing spree is the film’s central secret.

Cast

• N. T. Rama Rao Jr. as Tony
• Tamannaah Bhatia as Niharika
• Prakash Raj as the Dubai-based gangster Ajju Bhai and Vidyut Jammwal as his brother Irfan
• Shaam as Niharika’s brother Surya and Rahman as DCP Vikram Sinha
• Payal Ghosh as Chitra, with Tanikella Bharani, Sayaji Shinde, Murali Sharma and Jaya Prakash Reddy in supporting roles

How it was made

Production began on 3 March 2011 at Gandipet near Hyderabad. The film was shot in Hyderabad, Switzerland, Bangkok, Pattaya, Italy and France.

Music

Devi Sri Prasad’s soundtrack was released on 15 September 2011 at Shilpakala Vedika in an event broadcast live on MAA TV, where it was issued on CDs and 2 GB memory cards. Milliblog called it a “thoroughly enjoyable soundtrack”. The song “Dandiya India” reuses a tune Devi Sri Prasad had written for the Tamil film Venghai the same year.

Release and box office

Oosaravelli opened on 6 October 2011 on 1800 screens worldwide, including 91 theatres in the United States. Sify reported the highest-ever opening for a Telugu film at the time, which Wikipedia puts at ₹15.75 crore on the first day. Wikipedia gives a lifetime gross of ₹57 crore and a distributors’ share of ₹27.6 crore, citing Andhraboxoffice, calling it very successful for its makers and an above-average success for distributors. Gemini TV bought the satellite rights for a reported ₹5.50 crore. It was remade in Bengali as Rocky (2013).

What critics said

Reviews were mixed. The Times of India (2 out of 5) found that Rama Rao Jr. “steals the show in the first half” but the screenplay falls short later. Rediff.com (two and a half out of 5) called it “a routine revenge drama” while noting “a new, more restrained NTR”. B. V. S. Prakash of Deccan Chronicle felt the film “loses its sheen” once its secret is revealed, and CNN-IBN blamed “a weak script”.

Where to watch Oosaravelli

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

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