Guntur Kaaram

Development

In early April 2021, it was reported that Trivikram Srinivas, who had successful collaborations with both Mahesh Babu and Pooja Hegde after working with the former in Athadu (2005) and Khaleja (2010); the latter in Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava (2018) and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), would collaborate with both Babu and Hegde for his next directorial before his venture with N. T. Rama Rao Jr. He reportedly had narrated the script before the final script works which impressed the actor and actress and made them agree to work on the venture, in their third respective collaboration with the director.^[11] On 1 May, the collaboration of Babu and Trivikram was officially announced, under the tentative title SSMB28.^[12] Production was set to begin in November 2021 as Babu reportedly finished filming by then for Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022). Trivikram repeated his norm technicians from Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo: cinematographer P. S. Vinod, editor Naveen Nooli, music composer Thaman S, and art director A.S. Prakash, were finalised as the technical crew. The film was bankrolled by S. Radha Krishna, under Haarika & Hassine Creations.^[13][14]

A muhurtam pooja ceremony was held on 3 February 2022 at Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad with the film's cast and crew.^[15] The film was initially promoted as an action thriller. However, after the completion of the first schedule, reports surfaced about conflicts among crew members and the cast. Subsequently, the production of the film was paused, and the script was reworked. After several months of delay, Trivikram presented a new modified script that transformed the film into a family entertainer, departing from the original narrative as an action thriller. The sequences filmed during the first schedule, including fight sequences choreographed by Anbariv, were intended to be discarded. The shooting recommenced with action sequences as per the modifications done to the script.^[16][17]

Casting

Pooja Hegde was initially cast as the lead actress, paired opposite Babu for the second time after Maharshi (2019) as well as in her third collaboration with director, however due to her schedule conflicts, she opted out from the venture and was subsequently replaced by Sreeleela.^[18][19] The latter was initially signed on to play the second actress role before Hegde opted out, however after that, Sreeleela took over the lead actress role and the second role was replaced by Meenakshi Chaudhary.^[20][21] In February 2023, Ramya Krishna was selected to play a key role in the film.^[22] In March, Prakash Raj joined the cast to play Mahesh Babu's grandfather in the film.^[23] Later Jayaram joined the cast.^[24] In April, Jagapathi Babu was reported to play "a very endearing yet scary" character.^[25]

Filming

Principal photography commenced on 12 September 2022 with an action sequence in Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad.^[26] The first schedule, involving high-octane stunts choreographed by Anbariv duo,^[27] was later completed in the same month.^[28] However it was later confirmed by the producers that the fight was scrapped.^[29] The second schedule was planned to commence after Dussehra festivities in Ramoji Film City with Hegde joining the sets.^[26] The shooting was then halted with Trivikram making modifications to the script and converted the action thriller film into a "family entertainer".^[27]

The second schedule started on 18 January 2023 in Sarathi Studios, Hyderabad.^[30] Hegde joined the sets with filming taking place in Hyderabad.^[31] In February, team constructed a house set spending ₹10 crore at Shankarpalli, Telangana in Hyderabad.^[32] In March, Jayaram joined the sets.^[33] The second schedule was wrapped on 6 April.^[34] After shooting more than 50% of the film, the cinematographer of the film, P. S. Vinod, left, owing to creative differences. Following this development, Manoj Paramahamsa was announced as his replacement for the film. The third schedule began on 24 June.^[35] Principal photography wrapped on 28 December 2023.^{[citation needed]}

Theatrical

Guntur Kaaram was released worldwide in theatres on 12 January 2024. Originally intended for a theatrical release on 28 April 2023, the film's launch was first deferred to 11 August 2023, and then to 13 January 2024, coinciding with Sankranti. Eventually, the release date was advanced to 12 January 2024.

Marketing

On 31 May 2023, first glimpse was released, on the occasion of Babu's father Krishna's 80th birth anniversary, which was attached with Mosagallaku Mosagadu 4K re-release in theatres.^[37] The film's official trailer was released on 7 January 2024.^[38]

Home media

The film digital distribution rights were acquired by Netflix and premiered from 9 February 2024 in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.^[39]

Critical reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics criticising its direction, screenplay and plot, but praised for Babu's performance, background score and soundtrack.^[40]

Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Mahesh Babu, in top-notch form, is the sole redeeming factor in Trivikram's unnecessarily prolonged film, preventing it from becoming a tedious watch."^[41] BVS Prakash from Deccan Chronicle gave 2/5 stars and wrote "director Trivikram Srinvas fails to come up with a solid script to justify the larger-than-life image of Mahesh Babu."^[42] Abhilasha Cherukuri of Cinema Express gave 2/5 stars and wrote "the film was a two-and-half hour-long advertisement for the Vijayawada-Hyderabad expressway. Not to mention additional brand placements for Greater Hyderabad's outer ring road. Outside of an expansive B-roll displaying well-maintained roads in not one but two Telugu states, the rest of Guntur Kaaram is mere filler."^[43]

Neeshita Nyayapati of Hindustan Times called it a "bland film" and wrote "Guntur Kaaram feels like a wasted opportunity. The film could’ve either been a tearjerker or a commercial masala film, but the way it is now, it just hangs in an unsatisfactory limbo. And that's a shame because Mahesh gives the film his all. If only Trivikram could break out of the box he seems to have created for himself."^[44] Reviewing the film, Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote "Director Trivikram Srinivas and Mahesh Babu’s ‘Guntur Kaaram’ is a stale rehash of old stories".^[45]

Box office

Guntur Kaaram collected a gross of ₹142 crore (US$15 million) in India^[9] and ₹47 crore worldwide on its opening day.^[46] It's estimated total end worldwide gross is ₹212 crore against a production budget of ₹200 crore (US$21 million), becoming a below average grosser.^[9][2][3]