Sardaar Gabbar Singh

<p>Sardaar Gabbar Singh (2016) is an action-packed Telugu film starring Pawan Kalyan as the fearless and rebellious cop, Gabbar Singh. The story is set in the princely town of Rattanpur, which is under the oppressive rule of Bhairav Singh (Sharad Kelkar), a ruthless landlord who exploits the villagers and forces them to obey his commands. To bring order to the town, the government appoints Sardaar Gabbar Singh, a daring and unconventional police officer. With his signature style, humor, and intense action, he challenges Bhairav Singh’s dominance. Amidst this battle, he falls for Princess Arshi (Kajal Aggarwal), who stands as a symbol of hope for the people. As Sardaar fights for justice, he faces several betrayals, high-stakes action, and emotional moments, leading to an explosive showdown with Bhairav Singh. The film blends action, comedy, and romance, with Pawan Kalyan’s energetic performance and mass appeal driving the narrative. In October 2012, Pawan Kalyan agreed to act in a film produced by Sharrath Marar, the former CEO of , after completing work on (2013). Before the release of (2012), producer registered the title at the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber, fueling speculation that this would be the remake of and the sequel to (2012), which was the official Telugu remake of . and were retained as the film’s music director and cinematographer. was chosen to direct the film, and Marar was announced to oversee the production. At the same time, the film was reported to have a fresh storyline. Kalyan wrote the story and clarified that the sequel would be based on an original script, not a remake of . Considering the response to and the change in his on-screen image, Kalyan put pre-production on hold to make script changes. He added family drama elements and toned down the aggression of the lead character. Kalyan also decided to complete his work on (2015) first, while Nandi produced (2014) on a low budget. The film’s official launch took place on 21 February 2014 in Hyderabad and was tentatively titled . L. Satyanand supervised the script, assisted by Sridhar Seepana and Kishore Gopu. Harish Pai was chosen as the creative head, and Gautham Raju was signed to edit the film. Due to delays in finalizing the female lead, Kalyan joined the sets of and worked on his political outfit, . The crew was instructed to regroup when Kalyan summoned them. Nandi left the project in November 2014 for undisclosed reasons. Vincent suggested , who was then finalized as the new director. was chosen to write the dialogues. The film was renamed in late July 2015 to avoid paying royalty for the title . Kalyan chose this title since the character of , played by , was referred to as Sardaar in (1975). announced on 15 August 2015 that it would co-produce the film with Pawan Kalyan Creative Works and Northstar Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., and the title was changed to . replaced Vincent as the cinematographer due to creative differences between Vincent and Ravindra. Kalyan sported a long hair and thick beard for a few important sequences in the film and a clean shaven look for the rest of the film. The makers were reportedly planning to introduce a fresh face for the film. and were approached to play the female lead in the film. was reported to be signed as the female lead in late May 2014. was approached for the same later who declined the offer gently saying that it would raise expectations on her next films and so responsibilities. , , and were approached for the female lead role who turned down the offer citing unavailability of bulk dates and , who made a cameo appearance in , was chosen by Kalyan as the female lead. Ambrose was trained in the nuances of acting, perfecting dancing and several other aspects in the workshop sessions conducted by Ravindra in April 2015 before joining the film’s sets. During the shoot of the first schedule, the makers saw performance in a soap opera and approached him to play the antagonist. Kelkar’s inclusion in the cast was confirmed in June 2015. Charandeep, known for his work in the films (2014) and (2015), was signed as one of the antagonists in the film. , who initially declined to be a part of the film two years ago due to scheduling conflicts, was approached again in August 2015 for the female lead role. She met the film’s unit and gave her consent, marking her first collaboration with Kalyan. confirmed his inclusion in the film’s cast after completing a schedule and said that he would be seen as the one who handles all the activities of Kelkar in the film. During the scripting stage, there was a shorter role for a second, parallel female lead which was developed by the creative team on par with the first female lead after the shooting began. A source from the film’s unit called it a “very energetic and active character”. was approached for the same in mid April 2015. inclusion in the film’s cast was confirmed on 2 September 2015. She was reported to play a crucial role in the film and to be appeared in a special song along with Kalyan. Speaking about her role, Laxmi said that her role is a crucial one and shall stay till the end of the film, adding that it “starts off as something in the beginning, it transitions into something else altogether as the movie unfolds”. was signed to play the role of a Gujarati princess in the film who subserviently follows her husband. She called it an important character with a “traditional and royal persona”, adding that it is not “one of those blink-and-miss roles” and will be seen right from the start to the end. The film’s unit revealed that her wardrobe consists largely of nine-yard sarees and heavy jewellery. In mid March 2016, Kajal revealed that she would be seen as a princess, who was from another era dressed in exquisite Indian attires which is a very contemporary character unlike Indu from (2009). and Rajesh and Archa Mehta were signed as the film’s and respectively. Bhaskar Raju was signed as the film’s production controller. The film’s shoot began on 29 May 2015 at Malshej Ghat in . Some important sequences of the first schedule were shot in a special village set and Kalyan was expected to join the sets from the first week of June. The film’s unit took a break after completing the first schedule since Kalyan was busy with his political commitments. A fight sequence featuring Kalyan and others were shot at the Aluminium factory located in in late July 2015. The second schedule was wrapped up on 5 August 2015, and filming continued at in mid August 2015. The third schedule commenced on 8 September 2015 at , Hyderabad where key scenes were shot. Kalyan joined the film’s sets on the next day and the schedule lasted till the end of September 2015. Filming of the item number commenced on 30 September 2015 in a set erected by Brahma Kadali at in . Laxmi however chose not to call it an item number and termed it an “inspirational song that will everyone will love and remember for a long time”. The song’s shoot was wrapped up on 8 October 2015. Kalyan and the film’s unit left for in late October 2015 for location scouting. They returned to Hyderabad shortly and the next schedule commenced from 1 November 2015. Few scenes on Kalyan, Ali, Brahmaji and others were filmed near the Le Palais Royal and Crown Villa Gardens in . A 25-day long schedule began from 15 November 2015 at . and joined the film’s shoot shortly. Kajal joined the film’s sets at on 27 November 2015 and few scenes featuring her and Kalyan were filmed. She completed her part in the schedule on 4 December 2015. Kabir Singh Duhan joined the film’s sets on the next day and scenes featuring him and Kalyan were filmed. After Kalyan completed his portions and left for Hyderabad, Marar said that scenes on the remaining cast would be filmed at in Gujarat. The final schedule, starting on 4 January 2016 at Hyderabad, was announced to last for a month and on its completion, the film’s activities were planned to be commenced. A village set worth 2 was erected in Hyderabad for the same in the place where was filmed. A schedule of 20 days was planned and all the principal cast participated in the shoot. The set featured an elaborate railway track, a market, and a group of houses and the cost escalated to 4.5 crore. Upon its completion, the next schedule commenced in in February 2016 and a few portions were filmed at the . Upon its completion, the film’s shoot continued in Hyderabad and by mid-February 2016, 90% of the film’s talkie part was wrapped up. After filming a marriage sequence on Kalyan and Kajal, a horse fair sequence, which forms a part of the climax, was filmed at Ramoji Film City in late February 2016. 100 horses, horsemen, many junior artists and a crew supporting three units worked simultaneously. 1000 members formed the teams and 40 artists from the film were present along with the horses, ten vintage cars, and many luxury cars. The pre-climax sequences were filmed in early March 2016 and a set was erected for the same. An elaborate sequence paying homage to was performed by Kalyan who was trained by a choreographer to ensure perfection. The filming of the climax sequences was resumed shortly. A duet on Kalyan and Kajal was filmed at from 24 March 2016, upon whose completion, the principal photography was wrapped up. The film’s soundtrack is composed by , who also scored music for its predecessor (2012). The soundtrack album features six tracks, with lyrics written by , and Prasad himself. He remixed a popular song “Naa Koka Baagunda” from the Chiranjeevi-starrer (1986) for this film. Although being rumoured that the soundtrack will be released at a launch event held in (the new capital city of ), the soundtrack was released on 20 March 2016, at H.I.C.C. in . Pawan Kalyan’s elder brother, attended as chief guest. The album was released by , the same day on streaming platforms. The album received mixed reviews from critics. gave a positive review stating that the film has “a well packaged album from DSP”. gave 2.5 out of 5 and stated “an average album from DSP”. gave 2.75 out of 5 and stated “A complete album for the masses and classes alike”. gave 2.75 out of 5 stating “DSP’s Sardaar Gabbar Singh has nothing extraordinary to offer and the tunes are largely tepid and run of the mill one”. gave 2.5 out of 5 stating “The album of Sardaar Gabbar Singh is decent but was bit of a let down”. On the occasion of Pawan Kalyan’s birthday (2 September 2015), the makers unveiled the first look poster and teaser through social media. On 14 January 2016, coincidinge with , the producer Sharath Marar unveiled three posters and a teaser though social media and . The second teaser crossed one million views upon its release through YouTube. Another teaser of the film was launched on 14 March 2016, through Telugu and Hindi, was well received by audiences. The trailer of Sardaar Gabbar Singh, was released on 20 March 2016, which coincided the audio launch function held in Hyderabad. was released on 8 April 2016, coinciding with . However, in order to avoid clash with ‘s and ‘s , the makers postponed the release to 11 May 2016, the date where its predecessor (2012) was released. In January 2016, the makers rescheduled the release date to 8 April 2016. On 14 March 2016, Eros International which acquired the theatrical rights, also planned to release a dubbed version on the same day of its Telugu original’s release date. Kalyan said in a statement that this film has a universal story and film making cannot be confined to a certain area or demographics and our film attempts a unique connect with India, especially the Hindi belt. was released in more than 2600 screens worldwide, with 1800 theatres across , and 800 theatres overseas, thus becoming the second biggest release from , after (2015). The advance bookings of the film kickstarted on 4 April 2016 before release, which had 100% of tickets being sold in the opening day, and 85% of the tickets in the opening weekend. The film had a biggest release in , with 100 theatres across 14 states, and was premiered on 7 April 2016, before the Indian release. Also the film is releasing globally in 42 countries marking the first Telugu film to release in that many countries. Eros International acquired the worldwide theatrical, digital, Hindi dubbing and music rights, apart from co-producing the film. The distribution rights of Nizam region were acquired by Dilip Tandon of Indra Films for 21 crore. The Ceded rights were sold to Narasimha Prasad Films for 10.5 crore; Vizag theatrical rights were sold to Kanthi Krishna Films for 7.2 crore. Godavari East and West thearical rights were sold to Anusri Films for 5.4 crore and Shanumka Films for 4.4 crore respectively. Guntur theatrical rights were sold for SV Cinemas for 5.5 crore. Krishna theatrical rights were sold to Tollywood Creations to an amount of 4.3 crore, while Nellore rights of the film were sold to SLNS Pictures for 2.7 crore. Karnataka theatrical rights were sold to Mars Pictures for 8.5 crore. Bhadrakali Pictures acquired the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights for 1.2 crore and The Hindi dubbing and North India release rights were secured by Eros for 6 crore. Overseas theatrical rights were sold to iDream Media for 10.5 crore; thus the film earned 87.2 crore from theatrical rights alone. The television rights of the film were secured by for 21 crore, along with its Hindi dubbed version. The film had a premiere on on 17 July 2016, where it registered a TRP rating of 15.24, close to and (which had scored TRP ratings of 21.84 and 21.24 respectively). registered an opening of 35 crore from the domestic box office ( and ), with a share of 26 crore for its distributors. The film became the biggest opener for a Kalyan-starrer, surpassing (2013), which earlier earned 26.75 crore at the box office. Further, Sardaar Gabbar Singh, surpassed (2015), to become the second highest opener, after (2015). However, the mixed word-of-mouth, have affected the collections, where it saw a dip in the box office in the second day. The film managed to collect 57 crore in the second weekend. As of 10 days, the film grossed approximately ₹84 crore against a budget of ₹75 at the worldwide box office by the end of its lifetime. The film premiered in 300 screens in on 7 April, where it collected $615,853 ( 4.10 crore) at the U.S. box office. As of 10 days, the film has earned $1,058,000 ( 7.04 crore). received a mixed responses from critics. Writing for , Pranita Jonnalagada gave the film 2.5 out of 5 and stated, “This film surely is about a lot of guts (such lazy direction, anyone?), guns (even in songs!) and love (Pawan Kalyan has adorably dedicated this film to his fans).” A critic from gave 2.75 out of 5 and stated “Pawan’s show and Kajal are saving grace but narration is a letdown. Despite a good interval bang, post interval it drags on without much redeeming factors.” Sreedhar Pillai of summarised “Sardaar Gabbar Singh is strictly targeted at Pawan Kalyan’s huge fan base. It is all sound and fury, with no story and goes on and on.” Karthik Keramalu of News18 gave the film 2.5 out of 5 satting that “The film’s story loses its focus mid-way.” Nandini Ramanath of , stated “Kalyan, who has written the movie, doesn’t only want to please his fans. He appears to be campaign mode (In real life, Kalyan is also a politician and is the founder of the Jana Sena Party). Scenes in stink of electioneering and dialogues are of pure sloganeering. At 163 minutes then, is one of the longest propaganda videos out there.” gave the film 3 out of 5 stating, “Pawan’s one-man show.  For those of you looking for him to do non-heroic comedy in khaki, this film has much stuff on platter.” A critic from , criticised the screenplay stating that “Sardaar Gabbar Singh is so lazily written that it is literally a struggle to sit through the film.” Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times gave a rating of 2 out of 5 stating “Even though Pawan Kalyan the actor shines in Sardaar Gabbar Singh, the writer fails miserably, and there’s so much he needs to learn from this debacle.” Suresh Kavirayani of gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stating “The film leaves one with the feeling that something was missing, perhaps the magic of Pawan Kalyan.” Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of stated “The film lacks a taut screenplay that can string together crowd-pleasing moments.” gave the film 2 out of 5 stating “Sardaar Gabbar Singh is definitely not worth the hype it has been receiving.” gave the film a rating of 2.25 out of 5 stating, “Pawan Kalyan show all the way! But that’s just not enough.” gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stating “It may be Pawan Kalyan’s take on the classic but this movie is only for Pawan Kalyan fans.”</p>