Gurudeva is a 2005 Indian romantic drama film directed by Jaffer. The music by Sabesh–Murali and produced by K. Kaliyamurthy. The film stars Jai Akash, along with Pranathi, Nassar, and Riyaz Khan. The film was shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu as Guru.^[1][2] This film was released on 1 April 2005 under the banner of Sriselva Muthukumara Movies.

Plot

The movie is about a street rowdy's love for a rich heiress. Guru (Jai Akash) is a street rowdy who hangs out in a mechanic shop owned by Mari (Nassar), a handicapped man who is the advisor to Guru. They lead a happy life. Deva (Pranathi) falls in love with him. Later they both decide to marry.

Cast

Tamil version

• Dhamu as Poonai
• Muthukaalai as Guru's friend
• Vaiyapuri as Guru's friend
• Sabesh Karthik as Guru's friend
• Ilavarasu as Police officer
• Omakuchi Narasimhan
• Chelladurai
• Kovai Senthil as Priest

Telugu version

• Srinivasa Reddy
• Chitram Seenu as Guru's friend
• Gautam Raju as Police officer

Production

During the making of the Telugu version, an intimate scene was filmed between Jai Akash and Pranathi in the presence of the assistant director. Since the assistant director was unsatisfied with the shot, the shot was taken eight times. Jai Akash said that the scene was filmed enough times, and he slapped the assistant director after the assistant director did not agree.^[4]

Soundtrack

Music by Sabesh–Murali.^[5]

• "Aanandham Aanandham" – Tippu, Mathangi
• "Saiva Karuvadu" – Sabash, Manikka Vinayagam, Srilekha Parthasarathy
• "Azhage Azhage" – Srinivas, Anuradha Sriram
• "Silenta Sirichu" – Karthik, Pop Shalini
• "Manakudhada" – Tippu

Release and reception

The film was scheduled to release on February 14, but was delayed.^[6] A critic from Sify opined that "There is nothing new in the way if presentation and music director Sabesh Murali rehashes old ?gana? songs of Deva".^[7] Balaji Balasubramaniam of BBThots gave the film a rating of one out of five stars and opined that "Gurudeva badly needs a revamp of its screenplay And as long as they are rewriting it, they should consider hiring someone who actually knows how to write one!".^[8][9][10] The film released alongside the low budget films Girivalam and Thaka Thimi Tha and did not fare well at the box office.^[11]

The film was released in Telugu as Guru in June 2005. Since the Telugu version failed due to lack of publicity, Jai Akash went to the Telugu producer Muppa Ankanna Rao's house and threatened him. Akash was subsequently sent to jail and released after a compromise was made.^[12]

References