Zombie Reddy

Zombie Reddy is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language action zombie comedy film directed by Prasanth Varma, and stars Teja Sajja, Anandhi, and Daksha Nagarkar. Produced by Apple Trees Studios, the film is marketed as the first zombie film in Telugu cinema.[2] Set in the district of Kurnool, the film is partially based on COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The film was released on 5 February 2021.[4][5] following its acquisition on Aha it premiered on 26 March 2021.[6]

Zombie Reddy
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPrasanth Varma
Screenplay byScriptsville
Story byPrasanth Varma
Produced byRaj Sekhar Varma
Starring
CinematographyAnith Madhadi
Edited bySai Babu
Music byMark K. Robin
Production
company
Apple Trees Studios
Distributed byGeetha Arts
Siily Monks
Release date
  • 5 February 2021 (2021-02-05)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹4 crore[1]
Box officeest. ₹10.33 crore[1]

Plot

Mario is a game designer from Hyderabad, but his father berates him for being a gamer and tells him to get a real job. Mario develops a game along with his friends Bhadram and Maggie which becomes famous overnight but they detect a bug that causes the game to crash at higher levels. A frustrated Mario calls his friend, Kalyan, also the programmer but Kalyan tells them that he is getting married. He invites them to Kurnool district for his wedding, promising to fix the code.

Kalyan's father-in-law Bhooma Reddy is a chieftain who rules the village of Rudravaram. However, he hides all weapons from Kalyan with the help of his men Kasi Reddy and Masi Reddy, until Kalyan is married off to his daughter, Pushkala. Meanwhile, Nandini Reddy, the daughter of Bhooma's close aid Bukka Reddy, also arrives at the wedding. As Mario and his friends drive to Rudravaram, they accidentally hit a man on the road who later bites Bhadram. An old man immediately arrives and takes him away, claiming that the man is an escaped mental patient. The trio continues on their way and asks for directions to Bhooma Reddy's house. Aagam Reddy misleads them by taking them to Veera Reddy, Bhooma's arch-rival. Veera commands his men to attack them but the three of them escape. Mario warns Kalyan about Veera but Nandini lies that Veera was playing a prank on them. This allays everyone's fears, but Mario remains suspicious. Mario overhears many of the villagers discussing the fate of Kalyan would be like a Veera's sacrificial goat. Despite multiple warnings, Kalyan doesn't believe Mario.

Meanwhile, Bhadram's condition begins to worsen as he transforms into a zombie. He bites a household maid, who in turn bites a laborer, spreading the zombie virus, even further. Mario, on the other hand, is suspicious of Nandini but Mario is caught red-handed as he accidentally films when Nandini was changing her dress. Bhooma forgives Mario with a warning and an upset Kalyan accuses Mario of sabotaging his wedding. Kalyan gives him the fixed code and asks him to leave but Mario asks for forgiveness, and the two playfully prank each other. Mario puts sleeping pills in Kalyan's drink to kidnap and save him from Veera Reddy. Nandini, however, silently switches the drink, and Mario is knocked unconscious, stashed away in a storeroom.

The wedding takes place as planned but the virus has spread to Pushkala, the bride. On the wedding night, a zombie Pushkala attempts to bite Kalyan, but he misinterprets it as playfulness. As the virus has spread to the village, Bhooma and his men go to the village to investigate. Mario wakes from his stupor and witnesses Veera's men kidnapping Kalyan. Mario finds Nandini and the two begin to quarrel until they both witness a zombie attack on one of Bhooma's workers. As the entire household has succumbed and become zombies, they lock themselves in the house along with Maggie and Kasi Reddy. In order to escape, they put makeup on themselves so that they resemble zombies. Mario also realizes that the zombies have an advanced sense of smell, so he pours kerosene on himself, When the zombies surrounding the house are distracted by a drunken Masi Reddy, Mario gets to the car and they all escape.

Mario drives them to Veera Reddy's house to save Kalyan. Maggie and Masi stay in the car, while Mario, Kasi, and Nandini go look for Kalyan. Mario and Kasi come upon Konda Reddy, Veera's bedridden father. They avoid being captured by hiding in the wardrobe. As they free up Kalyan and are about to leave, they find a woman bound and gagged who reveals herself as the real Nandini Reddy who was captured by Veera on her way to the wedding. The woman who has been as masquerading as Nandini is Sailaja Reddy, Veera's daughter, who was sent as a spy to Bhooma's house.

Mario and others are captured and Veera reveals that he was for vying vengeance on Bhooma whose younger brother was engaged to Veera's sister Talambari, 25 years ago. As Bhooma's brother eloped just before the wedding, Talambari went mad. As Veera plans to get his vengeance by killing Kalyan and making Bhooma's daughter a widow, Mario intervenes and says that Veera should be taking revenge not on Kalyan, but on Bhooma's eloped brother. A portrait reveals he is Pratap Reddy, Mario's father. Mario pretends to take Talambari hostage and escapes with Kalyan, Maggie, and Masi. Veera, Sailaja, and their men pursue Mario into the village but the village erupts into chaos as zombies begin attacking the villagers. Veera's men are bitten by Konda, who has turned into a zombie. During the scuffle, a mob of zombies swarms and attack Veera. Filled with grief, Shailaja joins forces with Mario, Maggie, and Kasi and begins fighting the zombies. They discover that the only way to kill the zombies is by damaging their brains. The zombies chase Kasi up a palm tree. A horde of zombies led by a zombified Bhadram attacks Maggie who is turned into a zombie.

Mario, Sailaja, and Kalyan flee once again. Mario deduces that the old man who took away the man who bit Bhadram in the woods would knew something about the crisis. Following a path in the woods, they reach the old man's house and find the original zombie, trapped in a glass cage along with the hidden lab. They confront the old man and demand the truth. He reveals that he was once a world-famous virologist but the government banned him, citing his practices as unethical and inhumane. Desperate to recover his former reputation, he began developing a cure for the coronavirus and tested it directly on humans. The zombie virus came from a failed vaccine. The old man claims that he has found a cure for both viruses and gives Mario a video camera. Before he can tell them about the cure, the caged zombie breaks free and begins attacking the old man. The trio escape and are picked up by Bhooma. Mario goes over the footage in the video camera and finds a symbol from the village's temple.

On their way to the temple, Sailaja is scratched by a zombie. She asks Mario to leave her behind, but Mario takes her into the temple and bars the doors. While searching for the symbol, they come upon Veera. When a joyful Sailaja runs to her father, an angry Bhooma confronts Veera for plotting against him. Veer accuses him of the same, saying that he secretly brought his brother's son to the wedding. Bhooma is shocked to know that Mario is Pratap's son and says that Pratap disgraced him and the family by leaving a girl at the altar. Mario admits what his father did was wrong but also confronts Bhooma and Veera on their mistakes. Bhooma and Veera realize their mistake and join hands to hold off the zombie while the others continue looking for the symbol.

Sailaja now turns into a zombie and attacks Mario. Mario pushes Sailaja and falls at the base of the Shiva lingam as the water from the spring falls into her mouth. An amazed Mario watches as the water begins to heal Sailaja, and she reverts to her normal self. Mario blows a conch, summoning all the zombies in the nearby countryside to the temple. As the zombies chase him, Mario jumps into the spring-fed pond. As the zombies follow him into the water, they are cured. Mario is hailed as a hero for stopping the virus as both the families, along with a cured Maggie and Bhadram joyfully re-unite.

Cast

Production

The film was officially announced on 8 August 2020 by releasing a motion poster of the film.[7][8][9] The film is Prasanth's third film after Awe and Kalki.[10] The music is composed by Mark K. Robin who is known for his works in 2019 film Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya.[11] The film is Sajja Teja's debut film as a lead actor.[12][13]

Soundtrack

Zombie Reddy
Soundtrack album by
Mark K. Robin
ReleasedFebruary 5, 2021 (2021-02-05) (Jukebox)
Recorded2020-2021
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length15:48
LanguageTelugu
LabelAditya Music
ProducerMark K. Robin
External audio
audio icon Audio Jukebox on YouTube

All music is composed by Mark K. Robin.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."GO Corona" (Chorus : PVNS Rohit, Hymath, Harika Narayan, Sahithi Chagunti, Sony Komanduri)Mama SinghMama Sing, Sri Krishna, Anudeep2:45
2."Zombie Reddy Theme" (Chorus : Anudeep Dev, PVNS Rohit, Raghuram Dronavajjala)Mama SinghMama Singh2:25
3."Burn down"Harika NarayanHarika Narayan 
4."Game of Life"Mama SinghTharun Jain, Manmohan Raj, Mark K. Robin 
5."Natu Kodi"NagendharaMark K. Robin 
6."Mruthyunjaya"Shiva Shakthi DathaKaala Bhairava 
Total length:15:48

IndiaGlitz stated about "GO Corona" single that "This song is 2020 in a nutshell. The rap draws material from some of the most popular memes of the year when the pandemic played havoc. The very title of the song is drawn from a notoriously funny slogan that a political leader gave. And there is a smattering of meme-worthy stuff like 'Aipayee', which was triggered by a spiritual sermon. Modi's call for lighting diyas and clapping for COVID warriors also gets a comical interpretation. The rap is enjoyable, while the singers immerse do their job well. Sri Krishna, Anudeep Dev, PVNS Rohit, and Hymath are the chorus singers. The female ones are Harika Narayan, Sahithi Chagunti, and Sony Komanduri."[14]

Release

The film was released on 5 Feb 2021. It collected a gross of 2.26 crore (US$280,000) on its first day of release.[15]

Home media

The digital rights of the film were acquired by Aha, while the satellite rights were purchased by Star Maa. It was premiered on 28 March 2021, and registered an average TRP rating of 9.72.

Reception

Critical response

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote that "In one stroke, director Prasanth Varma juxtaposes different worlds — a pandemic looming large, zombies, Rayalaseema faction rivalry — to hilarious effect. Zombie Reddy is a satirical potpourri replete with pop culture references at every turn."[16]

Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India stated "Zombie Reddy does have its moments, and all the cast, including Teja, Anandhi and Daksha, seem to have fun with what they're offered. This is not a bad film by any means, if only Prasanth had not gone down the predictable route, it would've been something more."[17] Hemanth Kumar from Firstpost gave 3 out of 5 stars and stated "Zombie Reddy is the first zombie film in Telugu cinema and to its credit, it does a fairly good job in simplifying the storytelling to the bare essentials."[18] A review from The Hans India rated the film 3 stars of 5 and wrote: "Zombie Reddy makes a decent attempt to entertain the audiences."[19]

Box office

The film collected a gross of 2.26 crore (US$280,000) on its first day of release.[15]

Sequel

After the success of the film, a sequel titled Zombie Reddy: Revenge of the Dead is in development.

References

  1. "Zombie Reddy Day 6 Collections: Teja Sajja's Film Roars At Box Office". Sakshi Post. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  2. FC, Team (5 December 2020). "Teaser of Prasanth Varma's Zombie Reddy: The First Bite Is Pretty Cool, And Has Corona References Too". Film Companion. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  3. India, The Hans (5 December 2020). "'Zombie Reddy', a fusion Of 'Covid-19' and 'Zombie' themes". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  4. "Zombie Reddy, Helmed By Prasanth Varma, All Set To Be Released In Theatres On February 5!". in.style.yahoo.com. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  5. "Zombie Reddy postponed to February". Cinema Express. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  6. "Stream Zombie Reddy on Aha Video". Aha. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  7. "Prasanth Varma reveals why his next film is titled Zombie Reddy - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  8. "Prasanth Varma's next is 'Zombie Reddy'". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 8 August 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. "Awe director Prasanth Varma's next, Zombie Reddy". Cinema Express. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  10. "Prasanth Varma's Third Film Is Titled 'Zombie Reddy'!". Sakshi Post. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  11. "Prasanth Varma's new film titled Zombie Reddy". Telugu Cinema. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  12. "Samantha Akkineni launches the teaser of Prasanth Varma's Zombie Reddy - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  13. "502 Bad Gateway". www.inkvilla.com. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  14. "Zombie Reddy Music review songs lyrics". IndiaGlitz.com. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  15. "Zombie Reddy First Day Box Office Collections". Sakshi Post. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  16. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (5 February 2021). "'Zombie Reddy' movie review: When the zombies attack Seema". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  17. "Zombie Reddy Movie Review: A desi zombie film complete with factionalism and lots of drama", The Times of India, retrieved 8 February 2021
  18. "Zombie Reddy movie review: Prashant Varma's zombie comedy adds a fun twist to an action-packed family drama - Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  19. hansindia (5 February 2021). "Zombie Reddy Movie Review & Rating {3/5}". www.thehansindia.com (in Telugu). Retrieved 6 February 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.