Oopiri

Oopiri / Thozha
File:Oopiri Telugu film Poster.jpg Theatrical release poster of the Telugu version
Directed by	Vamsi Paidipally
Produced by	Prasad V Potluri
Written by	Abburi Ravi (Telugu dialogues), Raju Murugan (Tamil dialogues)
Screenplay by	Vamsi Paidipally
Story by	Vamsi Paidipally Hari Solomon (Adaptation)
Based on	The Intouchables By Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano
Starring	Nagarjuna Akkineni Karthi Tamannaah
Music by	Gopi Sunder
Cinematography	P. S. Vinod
Edited by	Madhu (Telugu) Praveen K. L.(Tamil)
Production company	PVP cinema
Release dates	25 March 2016 (2016-03-25)
Running time	158 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu Tamil
Budget	₹50 crore (US$7.4 million)
Box office	est.₹97.8 crore (US$15 million)

Oopiri (English: Breath) in Telugu, titled Thozha (English: Friend) in Tamil, is an Indian Telugu-Tamil dramedy film directed by Vamsi Paidipally. It is the official remake of the French film The Intouchables (2011). Produced by Prasad V Potluri in both Telugu and Tamil languages, the film features Nagarjuna Akkineni and Karthi playing the male leads, while Tamannaah plays the female lead. Slight differences exist in the supporting cast between both versions. Gopi Sunder composes the film's music. Production began on 11 February 2015 in Hyderabad and principal photography began on 16 March 2015 in Chennai. The film was released worldwide on 25 March 2016 to positive reception from critics.

Plot

Vikramaditya is a rich entrepreneur owning a group of businesses. During his stay at Paris, an accident caused due to failure in paragliding leaves him a quadriplegic. To ensure that his girlfriend Nandini leads a happy life, Vikramadhitya's friend and legal adviser Prasad manages to convey a message on his behalf that he is not interested in marrying her. Five years later, Vikramaditya is shown leading a hopeless life with his secretary Keerthi, cook Lakshmi, and few servants. Keerthi and Vikramaditya interview a group of candidates for the job of a caretaker. Many of them sound pretentious and manipulative. Seenu, a convict out on parole, applies for the job as per his lawyer Lingam's advice; this job would prove to the court believe that he is leading a civil life thereby closing the case. He is detested by his mother, a railway clerk, and his siblings Swathi and Kanna.

Vikramaditya finds Seenu honest and unpretentious and appoints him. When Prasad objects, Vikramaditya defends his decision saying that Seenu is the right person for the time being, as he is the only one who does not pity him for his condition. Initially reluctant, Seenu learns the extent of Vikramadhitya's disability and assists him in all his needs. He is also attracted to Keerthi, who rejects his advances quickly, and develops an inferiority complex. Swathi's marriage is objected by the bridegroom's father Kalidasu who makes fun of their economic status. Vikramaditya learns about this and coerces Kalidasu through Prasad without the knowledge of Seenu. The marriage is fixed, and Seenu earns Swathi's respect.

After celebrating his birthday with Seenu and others, Vikramaditya loses his breath in the night and manages to survive due to timely help from the doctors. Seenu learns about Vikramadhitya's past from Prasad and suggests to go to Paris on a vacation. Vikramaditya agrees and leaves for Paris along with Seenu and Keerthi. He manages to keep Vikramaditya happy and boosts his morale, which impresses Keerthi. He also makes a bet that he would propose to Keerthi if Vikramaditya succeeds in impressing Jenny, a French dancer. Despite his disability, Vikramaditya succeeds in doing so with his wits. Seenu is forced to propose to Keerthi, and she accepts it later.

In Paris, Vikramaditya meets Nandini, her husband Abhinav, and daughter Aadhya. She is aware of Vikramadhitya's accident and its consequences after a conversation with Seenu. He is relieved that Nandini is happy and returns to India. His joyous attitude makes Prasad and Lakshmi happy. Meanwhile, Kanna is in trouble with a gang and meets Seenu at Vikramadhitya's mansion. Vikramaditya recognises Seenu's need to be supportive to his family and releases him from his job, suggesting he may not want to push a wheelchair all his life. Seenu, now a cab driver, leads a responsible life and gains his mother's love. Vikramaditya is not happy with the newly-appointed caretakers and turns a recluse.

A worried Prasad contacts Seenu, who arrives and drives Vikramaditya without informing about the destination. After dressing elegantly, the duo visits a restaurant with a great ocean view. Seenu leaves moments before Priya arrives. Emotionally touched, Vikramaditya looks through the window and sees Seenu outside, who smiles at him and walks away.

Cast

• Nagarjuna Akkineni as Vikramadhitya
• Karthi as Seenu
• Tamannaah as Keerthi
• Prakash Raj as Prasad Rao
• Jayasudha as Seenu's mother
• Nikitha Anil as Seenu's sister
• Ali as Lawyer Lingam (Telugu)
• Vivek as Lawyer Lingam (Tamil)
• Tanikella Bharani as Kaalidasu
• Manobala as Old Age Home Warden
• Kalpana as Lakshmi
• Pandi
• Bharath Reddy as Doctor
• Satya Krishnan as Physiotherapist
• Harsha Vardhan as Police Inspector (Telugu)
• Aadukalam Naren as Police Inspector (Tamil)
• Santhana Bharathi as Police Inspector (Tamil)
• Thagubothu Ramesh as Drunkard
• Sreenivas Sayee as Seenu's younger brother
• Raja Ravindra as Police Inspector
• Praveen as Seenu's friend
• Raghu as Constable
• Ambati Srinivas
• Shriya Saran as Priya (cameo appearance)
• Anushka Shetty as Nandini (cameo appearance)
• Adivi Sesh as Abhinav (cameo appearance)
• Gabriella Demetriades as Jenny (cameo appearance)
• Nora Fatehi as Nemali (Special appearance in the song "Door Number")

Production

Development

Karthi subsequently replaced N. T. Rama Rao Jr. after the latter walked out. This film marked the former's first straight Telugu film.

After the release of Yevadu (2014), Vamsi Paidipally approached Akkineni Nagarjuna and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. for a multistarrer film. Prasad V Potluri announced in early April 2014 that he would be producing it under the banner PVP Cinema. Pre-production began in late March 2014 and the film was expected to go on floors in July 2014. During the promotion of Manam (2014), Nagarjuna said that the final script is getting ready. The final narration was given to both Nagarjuna and Rama Rao Jr. in the end of June 2014.

Nagarjuna said in an interview said that this film will have an interesting theme and will be on the lines of Missamma (1955), adding that the film's production would begin in December after he completes his pending commitments. Rama Rao Jr. walked out of the project due to unknown reasons and it was rumoured that he walked out just to not hurt Nandamuri Balakrishna who had differences with Nagarjuna in the past. With Karthi subsequently replacing Rama Rao Jr., the film turned into a bilingual filmed simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, marking the first time in recent few years where two prominent actors from Telugu and Tamil cinema shared screen space for a multistarrer.

In late January 2015, the film was confirmed to be an official remake of The Intouchables (2011) which dealt with the relationship of a quadriplegic patient and his caretaker. Paidipally made a lot of changes in the script to make it more relevant to south Indian audience by adding elements that would appeal to them. Gopi Sunder was signed in on as the film's music director marking his first collaboration with Paidipally. The film had its official launch twice, first on 11 February 2015 at Hyderabad and on 15 March 2015 at Chennai. P. S. Vinod was confirmed as the film's cinematographer. Abburi Ravi penned the dialogues for the Telugu version. The film was titled Oopiri in Telugu and Thozha in Tamil; the same was announced on 18 September 2015.

Casting

File:Shruti and Tamannaah Filmfare south 2013.jpg

Shruti Haasan (left) was initially signed in on to play the female lead, and was replaced by Tamannaah (right) after Haasan walked out of the film citing scheduling conflicts.

Nagarjuna said in an interview that both the leads will play two characters each. Regarding the selection of Karthi to replace Rama Rao Jr. after the latter walked out, PVP Cinema's executive director Rajeev Kamineni said to The Hindu that they opted for Karthi to bring "a combination of actors who had not collaborated before and who appealed to both the classes and masses", considering the fact that Karthi and Nagarjuna are familiar to both Telugu and Tamil audience. This marked Karthi's first straight Telugu film. Karthi persuaded the film's team to give the bound volume of the Telugu dialogues in advance. He also polished his Telugu speaking skills for the role considering the fact that the film was his Telugu debut.

The film was speculated to have a single female lead and it was uncertain with whom she would be paired. Tamannaah, who worked with Karthi for Paiyaa (2010) and Siruthai (2011), was considered to play the female lead. Shruti Haasan was approached for the same in late November 2014 and she evinced interest to be a part of the project. However her inclusion was doubtful because of her hectic schedules. Paidipally confirmed her inclusion in early January 2015 and she was paired with Karthi. Her role was described as a central character in the film and the female lead to be paired with Nagarjuna was yet to be finalised. Jayasudha was signed in on to play Karthi's mother in the film.

Haasan walked out of the film in late March 2015 citing scheduling conflicts. However the production house claimed that Haasan's dates were allotted as per her convenience from 10 December 2014 to 8 April 2015 and initiated civil and criminal charges against her. The Nampally city court restricted Haasan from signing any new films and ordered Banjara Hills police to investigate the matter. Haasan's spokesperson however told the media that neither Haasan nor Raaj Kamal Films International received such legal notice. Prasad later approached Tamannaah to play the female lead role and signed in on upon her acceptance. The case was withdrawn in late April 2015 after R. Sarathkumar and S. Thanu intervened. Haasan too decided to withdrew the defamation claim against the producers after the court dismissed the case. Haasan paid ₹1.8 million and agreed to perform an item number in the film Size Zero, also produced by Prasad for free as the compensation.

Anushka Shetty was approached to make a cameo appearance in the film after the makers felt that a well-known face would be apt for the same. She was signed to play Nagarjuna's ex-girlfriend in the film who would run into him after a long time. Adivi Sesh too made a cameo appearance as Anushka's husband in the film. After auditioning for the role along with five other international models in Hyderabad, South African model Gabriella Demetriades was signed in to make a cameo appearance in the film as Tamannaah's rival who would be vying for Karthi's attention. Noted actor Prakash Raj and comedian Ali's inclusion in the cast was confirmed in mid September 2015. Nora Fatehi was signed in late November 2015 to make a special appearance in a song. Shriya Saran too was signed in to make a cameo appearance.

Filming

File:Belgrade at night.jpg

Few portions of the film were shot at Belgrade, making it the first south Indian film to do so.

Rajeev Kamineni said that a substantial portion of the film will be shot abroad. Principal photography commenced at Chennai on 16 March 2015 and scenes focusing Karthi and Jayasudha were shot in the first schedule at a house set erected for the film's shoot. By the time Haasan was restricted by the court after walking out of the film, the first schedule of the principal photography was completed. Nagarjuna joined the film's shoot at Annapurna Studios on 8 April 2015. Scenes focusing Nagarjuna, Karthi, Tamannaah and others were shot from 10 April 2015 in the second schedule which lasted for 20 days. Nagarjuna completed filming for his part in this schedule on 25 April 2015.

Paidipally planned a 25-day schedule in Paris and Lyon commencing from June 2015 and left for location scouting in mid May 2015. A 30-day schedule was announced on 1 July 2015 commencing from that weekend at Belgrade, making this the first south Indian film to be shot there. On its completion, the film's shoot was said to continue at Paris, Lyon and Ljubljana. The production team said that few action sequences including a car chase as well as song sequences would be shot in the schedule apart from a few crucial scenes in the narrative. Karthi was expected to join the film's sets on 10 July 2015 to shoot simultaneously for the Tamil film Kashmora. On 1 August 2015, Nagarjuna tweeted that he, Karthi and Tamannaah are filming for their portions at France for the past 15 days and 10 days of shooting is remaining. The final schedule was announced to commence from January 2016. The entire filming was wrapped up by mid February 2016.

Soundtrack

Oopiri (Thozha)
Soundtrack album to Oopiri by Gopi Sunder
Released	1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)
Recorded	2015–2016
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	27:36
Language	Telugu Tamil
Label	Junglee Music
Producer	Gopi Sunder
Gopi Sunder chronology
Bangalore Naatkal (2016)Bangalore Naatkal2016 Oopiri (2016) Ennul Aayiram (2016)Ennul Aayiram2016

Music composed by Gopi Sunder was released on 1 March 2016.

Telugu version

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Baby Aagodhu"	Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry	Shankar Mahadevan	2:39
2.	"Oka Life"	Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry	Karthik	4:46
3.	"Ayyo Ayyo"	Ramajogayya Sastry	Ranjith, Suchitra	3:48
4.	"Nevvemicchavo"	Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry	Vijay Prakash	2:07
5.	"Podham"	Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry	Haricharan	4:45
6.	"Door Number Okati"	Ramajogayya Sastry	Geetha Madhuri	4:05
7.	"Eppudu"	Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry	Karthik	4:47
Total length:				27:36

Tamil version

All the lyrics were written by Madhan Karky.

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Baby Odadhe"	Shankar Mahadevan	2:39
2.	"Pudidha"	Karthik	4:46
3.	"Eiffil Mele"	Ranjith, Suchitra	3:48
4.	"Enadhuyire"	Vijay Prakash	2:07
5.	"Thozha"	Anirudh Ravichander	4:45
6.	"Door Number"	Geetha Madhuri	4:05
7.	"Nagarum"	Karthik	4:47
Total length:			27:36

Release

On 19 January 2016, makers announced the worldwide release date as 25 March 2016. A poster was also released to confirm the same. The satellite rights of the film's Tamil version were sold to Sun TV.

Critical reception

Telugu version

Telugu version received positive reviews from critics who praised the performances of Karthi and Nagarjuna and the concept. Times of India wrote "To lay it on the line, Oopiri is a beautiful film. It doesn't really aim to give a message but ends up giving you an important lesson. It takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and tells you that nothing can stop you from living life the way you want to because you only live once and make it count. Learn the art of celebration of life, it will make it worth living." New Indian Express wrote "Oopiri doesn't wow you or leave you gasping for breath, but it does entertain you wholeheartedly. Terrific performances, great visuals and a novel script makes it worth a watch. Go for it!."

Tamil version

Tamil version also received positive reviews from critics. Hindustan Times wrote "Vamsi retains all these in Thozha, but builds up a screenplay that loses sight of the fact that this is, above all, a film about two men and how they bond over wheels. Songs and dramatic familial squabbles – involving Seenu (played by Karthi who reprises Sy's role), his foster mother, sister and brother – not just distract us from the core narrative but also seem like a drag." Times of India wrote "Director Vamshi sticks to the structure of the original and this largely helps his film because more than story and plot, this is a film that is about its lead characters."

Box Office

The film grossed ₹85.35 crore (US$13 million) in India and ₹14.45 crore (US$2.1 million) in overseas.Oopiri/Thozha collected ₹97.8 crore (US$15 million) in final run and delivering share ₹52.31 crore (US$7.8 million) at the box office.The film becoming 11th highest grossing Telugu films of all time beating biggies like Rudramadevi,Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu,S/o Satyamurthy etc and 6th highest grossing telugu film in Overseas.

India

The film opened to "fantastic" response at the box office.The film collected ₹9.59 crore (US$1.4 million) in its first including TN,Telangana,AP,Rest of India. The film collected ₹22.72 crore (US$3.4 million) in its 3 days Week End.In AP/Telangana, the film grossed ₹11.5 crore (US$1.7 million) which is record for Nagarjuna. In Tamil Nadu alone, the film grossed ₹8.22 crore (US$1.2 million) which is the biggest opening for Karthi films in that state.The film continued to remain strong at the box office despite competition from new releases and had grossed ₹35.6 crore (US$5.3 million) in its first week. In 17 days, the film grossed ₹65.38 crore (US$9.7 million) at the box office making it a biggest grosser for both Nagarjuna and Karthi. The grossed whopping ₹83.35 crore (US$12 million) in its final collection from both versions.

Overseas

The film opened to "good" note in overseas.In USA, the film collected $76,635 from the Thursday premiere show. The good response to "Oopiri" boosted the collection of the film the following day, as it earned $210,281 Friday. Then, it saw a huge jump Saturday, by making $361,247.On sunday, it had earned $258,253 at the box office."Oopiri" ended its first weekend on a high note by collecting $904,366 (Rs 6.02 crore). The film crossed $1 million mark in its 5th day making 17th Telugu film to enter into this prestigious club in USA.The film continued to do well at USA centers and where it grossed $1,627,906(10.85 crore) in its final collection in USA. The film grossed $540,135 in rest of overseas including Malaysia,UK,Australia. The film collected $2,168,041(14.45) at end of its run.

External links

• Oopiri at IMDb