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Ante Sundaraniki

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Ante Sundaraniki!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVivek Athreya
Written byVivek Athreya
Produced by
  • Naveen Yerneni
  • Yalamanchili Ravi Shankar
Starring
CinematographyNiketh Bommireddy
Edited byRavi Teja Girijala
Music byVivek Sagar
Production
company
Distributed byE4 Entertainment (Kerala)
Release date
  • 10 June 2022 (2022-06-10)
Running time
176 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹30 crore[2]
Box officeest. ₹45 crore[3]

Ante Sundaraniki! (transl. The thing about Sundar is!) is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Vivek Athreya. Produced by Mythri Movie Makers, it stars Nani and Nazriya Nazim (in her Telugu debut). The film tells the story of Sundar and Leela, an interfaith couple who try to convince their parents about their marriage through a string of lies only to find themselves in more complicated situations.

Ante Sundaraniki! was announced in November 2020 with principal photography taking place between April 2021 and January 2022. The film was predominantly shot in Hyderabad and the United States. Ante Sundaraniki! was released in theatres on 10 June 2022 and opened to positive reviews from critics.

It grossed over $1 million overseas, making it Nani's seventh film to do so.[3] The film grossed over ₹45 crore worldwide.

Plot

Sundar comes from an orthodox Brahmin family. During his childhood, Sundar is duped by a fraudster who promises him a role in an upcoming film starring Chiranjeevi that would be filmed in the US. Therefore, his family develops deep skepticism towards such ventures. Sundar grows up to be an employee at an ad agency. He tries to persuade his colleague Soumya to give up the opportunity to go to the US so that he can take her place and fulfill his dream. But on Soumya's insistence, he tells her the actual reason. Sundar is in love with his childhood sweetheart Leela, a Christian who is now a professional photographer. She gets close to Sundar when her ex-boyfriend Vamsi cheats on her. Sundar and Leela decide to marry but since they belong to different religions, Sundar sketches a plan to convince their parents. As a part of it, they lie to their families about the reason they are leaving for the US. Soumya is convinced and lets Sundar take her place by lying to their manager.

A month after arriving in the US, Sundar lies to his parents that he has Azoospermia but Leela is ready to marry him despite this while Leela lies to her parents that she is pregnant with Sundar's child. They return to India immediately on their parents' demand but Sundar and Leela's bags are exchanged. Sundar's father gathers their relatives to tell them about Sundar's impotency but they come across Leela's bag which raises suspicion. Leela's parents also recognize that her boyfriend is Hindu by looking at a Hanuman sticker on Sundar's bag. They force her to take a pregnancy test which Leela fudges to be positive using a bottle of Mountain Dew.

Sundar's father takes him to several doctors for treatment, all of whom rebuke him after listening to his deception, until they meet Dr. Guru, Sundar's childhood friend. Guru lies that it may take 10–15 years to treat Sundar. Meanwhile, Leela's parents arrange her marriage with Joseph, a family friend, who accepts Leela's pregnancy. Sundar tries to talk Joseph out of it but in vain. Intimidated by Joseph, Sundar reveals that Leela being pregnant is a lie. Joseph informs the same to Leela's parents. He asks Leela to tell the truth by swearing on The Bible but Leela's father calls off her wedding as he doesn't want an outsider to suspect his daughter. With no option left, both their families reluctantly accept Leela and Sundar's marriage while both remain unaware of the other family's reason to do so. During their meeting, the parents come very close to discovering the contradicting stories, but Sundar's parents help in treating the pregnancy cramps of Leela's sister Pushpa, thus bringing their families closer.

Sometime later, Joseph reveals to Leela's mother that it was Sundar who told him that Leela isn't pregnant. She takes Leela to the hospital and gets her pregnancy checked, and to Leela's surprise, the result turns out to be positive. Sundar and Leela are confused about the result as they have not consummated their relationship. They go for another check-up for second opinion. The doctor tells that Leela has dysgerminoma, a type of ovarian cancer which often results in false positives for pregnancy test. The tumour has to be surgically removed from her ovaries following which Leela might not bear children. Sundar confesses to Leela's father that they lied about her pregnancy all along.

Sundar's father and grandmother now want to call off the marriage citing Leela's issue. However, Sundar's mother exposes their hypocrisy as they were ready to marry off Sundar despite his perceived impotency. She feels that Sundar's happiness is more important than their traditions and having children. Sundar's grandmother approves of the marriage by playing the Veena which she gave up post Sundar's childhood fiasco. Delighted, Sundar runs to meet Leela who has undergone the surgery and they decide to get married.

They reach Amelia Island for the wedding to fulfill Leela's wish. Sundar confesses that the anonymous postcard which Leela received in her childhood was sent by him while Leela reveals that she knows it was Sundar who sent the postcard and admits that her dream to have her wedding on Amelia Island was just a made-up story.

Cast

  • Nani as Kasthuri Poorna Venkata Sesha Sai Pavana Rama Sundara Prasad aka "Sundar"
    • Vinny as young Sundar
  • Nazriya Nazim Fahadh as Leela Thomas
    • Harika Koyilamma as young Leela
  • Naresh as Kasthuri Suryanarayana Sastry, Sundar's father
  • Rohini as K. Rama, Sundar's mother
  • Nadhiya as Jyothi, Leela's mother
  • Azhagam Perumal as Thomas, Leela's father
  • Harsha Vardhan as Manager Chandra Mohan
  • Prudhvi Raj as Sivarama, Sundar's uncle
  • Aruna Bhikshu as Rajeswari, Sundar's grandmother
  • Tanvi Ram as Pushpa, Leela's sister
    • Nomina Tara as young Pushpa
  • Dinesh Koushika as waiter
  • Rahul Ramakrishna as Dr. Guruvesh alias Guru, Sundar's childhood friend
  • Srikanth Iyengar as Jogarao, an astrologer
  • Venkatesh Maha as Joseph
  • Pavitra Lokesh as gynecologist Parvati
  • Ali as Shankar. He is a fraudster in the garb of a film director and the leader of a child trafficking ring.
  • Anupama Parameswaran as Soumya (extended cameo appearance)
  • Sai Ronak as Vamsi (cameo)

Production

Development

In April 2020, Vivek Athreya signed a project with Vijay Deverakonda which was touted to be a comedy-thriller on the lines of Athreya's previous film, Brochevarevarura (2019).[4] The project was initially set to begin production by November 2019, but was delayed as Deverakonda could not allot dates for the project.[4] At the meantime, Athreya also narrated a script to Nani, and impressed by it, the latter decided to be a part of the film.[5] This was confirmed the following month, with the project being funded by Mythri Movie Makers.[5] Production was set to begin after Nani's commitments on Tuck Jagadish and Shyam Singha Roy (both 2021).[5] On the eve of Diwali, 13 November, the company officially confirmed the project tentatively titled #Nani28 and would star Nazriya Nazim in her Telugu cinema debut.[6][7] The film's official title was revealed to be Ante Sundaraniki on 21 November 2020.[8][9]

Pre-production

Vivek Athreya developed the script in late 2017, prior to his debut film Mental Madhilo. He added that "the core issue and the story would make for an exciting, contemporary social commentary".[10] Initially, Vivek pitched another story to the production house, which required an ensemble cast. The company then asked on a script that suited Nani, which resulted in developing this script and narrated to Nani; the latter's likening to the script eventually brought him onboard. Later, Nani suggested Nazriya's involvement in the film. Vivek then narrated the script to Nazriya in a linear approach and with her enthusiasm, he then gave her a detailed non-linear narration that lasted for a few hours.[10] Nazriya then learnt Telugu with the help of a tutor and also dubbed for the film. Athreya then conducted script reading sessions with other supporting cast members, Rohini, Nadhiya, Naresh, Harsha Vardhan, Rahul Ramakrishna, to prepare for their roles.[10]

Filming

Principal photography of the film began on 16 April 2021.[11][12] The film was predominantly shot in Hyderabad, with sporadic schedules in United States.[13] Filming wrapped up on 23 January 2022.[13][14]

Music

Main article: Ante Sundaraniki (soundtrack)

The film score and soundtrack album of the film is composed by Vivek Sagar. The music rights were acquired by Saregama.

Release

Theatrical

The film released theatrically on 10 June 2022.[15] It was announced in January 2022 that the film was going to be released in the summer of 2022. In February 2022, the makers announced that they would release the film in any of seven dates starting from 22 April 2022 to 10 June 2022.[16] In the same month, the makers announced the film's release date as 10 June 2022. Apart from the original version, the film was also dubbed in Tamil under the title Adade Sundara and in Malayalam under the title Aha Sundara.[17]

The film's theatrical rights were sold at ₹30 crore.[18]

Home media

The digital streaming rights of the film is owned by Netflix. The film was streamed on Netflix on 8 July 2022 in Telugu and dubbed versions of Tamil and Malayalam languages.[19]

Reception

Critical reception

Ante Sundaraniki received positive reviews from critics.[20] Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Nani effortlessly fits into the role of a rebellious man, who comes up with masterful lies as easy as he breathes. Nazriya Fahadh's screen presence adds a lot to the appeal of the movie".[21] Siby Jeyya of India Herald rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Director Vivek took a story of interfaith marriage, adding comedy rooted in mindlessly following religious customs, and drama rooted in striving to achieve a balance between family and love".[22] Critic Latha Srinivasan wrote in Firstpost that Nani and Nazriya shone in this romantic comedy cum family drama and gave it 3 stars on 5. She wrote, "The director has packed a lot of depth into the film." Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ante Sundaraniki is at its best when the stellar cast are mouthing off one-liners that are not just relatable but hilarious. Nani shines in the role of Sundar that's right down his alley while Nazriya fits right into the skin of Leela".[23] A critic for Sakshi Post rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ante Sundarainki is an out and out family entertainer and tailor-made film for Nani fans".[24]

Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film has good performances by the cast and is fun in parts, but the convoluted plot and lengthy runtime test your patience".[25] Janani K of India Today rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ante Sundaraniki is a film that relies on top-notch performances and interesting sequences".[26] Murali Krishna CH of Cinema Express rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film has some good moments, some genuinely funny lines and first-rate performances. Compared to the recent rom-coms, this film is worth giving a shot".[27]

Box office

Ante Sundaraniki grossed ₹7.5 crore worldwide on its opening day, including ₹4 crore from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and $438,000 (₹3.4 crore) from the United States.[28] The film grossed ₹26.25 crore in its first weekend.[29] In its first week, the film grossed over ₹32.6 crore worldwide with a distributor's share of ₹18.39 crore.[30] Ante Sundaraniki grossed over $1 million in the United States, making it Nani's seventh film to do so.[31]

As of 2022, Ante Sundaraniki grossed over ₹45 crore at the box office.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki runtime". 123Telugu. 4 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Mythri Movie Makers : టాలీవుడ్ ని రూల్ చేస్తున్న ప్రొడక్షన్ హౌస్.. వామ్మో ఇన్ని సినిమాలా". 10TV (in Telugu). 28 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "How much did Nani's 'Ante Sundaraniki' and Rana Daggubati's 'Virata Parvam' collect at the Tollywood box office?". The Times of India. 29 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Vijay Deverakonda to team up with Brochevarevarura director Vivek Athreya for a new film?". The Times of India. 21 April 2020. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Nani signs a new project with director Vivek Athreya". The Times of India. 12 May 2020. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Nani and Nazriya Nazim Fahadh team up for the first time for a film with Vivek Athreya". The Times of India. 13 November 2020. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  7. ^ "'First is always special': Nazriya on her debut Telugu film 'Ante Sundaraniki'". The News Minute. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Nani 28 officially titled Ante Sundaraniki". Cinema Express. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Nani, Nazriya in Vivek Athreya's 'Ante Sundaraniki'". The Hindu. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (31 May 2022). "Vivek Athreya on 'Ante Sundaraniki': The film is about Nani-Nazriya's romance and a social commentary". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Nazriya starts shooting for Ante Sundaraniki". Cinema Express. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Nazriya Nazim Fahadh begins shooting for Nani-starrer Ante Sundaraniki". Zoom. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Ante Sundaraniki starring Nani and Nazriya wraps up shoot". Cinema Express. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Nani-starrer 'Ante Sundaraniki' shoot wrapped up". Telangana Today. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  15. ^ "On the eve of Nani's birthday, his first glimpse in 'Ante Sundaraniki' unveiled – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  16. ^ "ఆవకాయ సీజన్ బ్లాక్.. 'అంటే సుందరానికీ' ఏడు రిలీజ్ డేట్స్!". Sakshi (in Telugu). 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  17. ^ Mythri Movie Makers [@MythriOfficial] (17 April 2022). "Voila! Get ready for #AnteSundaraniki in Tamil as #AdadeSundara! & in Malayalam as #AhaSundara! RESAET 🔄 announcement coming tomorrow! 😎 Also, Happy Easter folks! 🐣 @NameisNani #NazriyaFahadh #VivekAthreya @oddphysce @nikethbommi @saregamasouth https://t.co/2Sy0Ec8Xwa" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Thummala, Mohan (9 June 2022). "Nani : 'అంటే.. సుందరానికీ!' ప్రీ రిలీజ్ బిజినెస్‌... నాని హిట్ కొట్టాలంటే ఎంత రావాలంటే!". Samayam Telugu (in Telugu).
  19. ^ "Nani's Ante Sundaraniki locks its OTT release date". 123telugu.com. 10 June 2022.
  20. ^ K., Janani (10 June 2022). "Ante Sundaraniki Twitter reviews are out. Fans call Nani and Nazriya's film wholesome". India Today.
  21. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki movie review: Nani, Nazriya Fahadh share crackling chemistry in this hilarious rom-com". The Indian Express. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki Review – A Complete Package, Don't Miss It". India Herald. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki Movie Review: Nani and Nazriya shine in this cute rom-com". The Times Of India. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki Review, Rating: Nani, Nazriya Chemistry Makes This Movie A Worthy Watch". Sakshi Post. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki review: Nani-Nazriya romcom is overlong with some good ideas". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  26. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki Movie Review: Nani and Nazriya offer good laughs and entertainment in this rom-com". India Today. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  27. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki Movie Review: Just for a few laughs". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  28. ^ Boddula, Sunil (11 June 2022). "Ante Sundaraniki Day 1 Collections: మొదటి రోజు అంటే సుందరానికీ పరిస్థితి ఎలా ఉందంటే!". News18 Telugu (in Telugu).
  29. ^ Boddula, Sunil (12 June 2022). "Ante Sundaraniki 3 Days Collections: కొనసాగుతున్న సుందరం వసూళ్ల వేట". News18 Telugu (in Telugu).
  30. ^ "Ante Sundaraniki: అంటే.. సుందరానికి ఫస్ట్ వీక్ కలెక్షన్స్". 10TV (in Telugu). 17 June 2022.
  31. ^ "Nani, Nazriya starrer Ante Sundaraniki surpasses $ 1million at US box office". Zoom. 17 June 2022.
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