Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu

<p>A benevolent mid-aged man, fondly referred to as Relangi Mavayya ( ), resides in his hometown with his wife, children, elderly mother and orphaned niece Seetha, whom they fostered. Reticent,”Peddodu” ( ) resigns from his uncle Brahmananda Rao’s company, in response to being chastised while “Chinnodu” ( ) is sharp-witted and flirtatious. Friends and kin presume that Seetha, being Peddodu’s , would marry him. Despite being cognizant of her own feelings for him, Seetha is disappointed with the fact that he never addresses her by her name. Ramachandra Prasad, Seetha’s paternal uncle, a wealthy individual, despises the financial stature of Relangi Mavayya’s family; his daughter Geetha and Chinnodu meet at the wedding of the former’s elder sister, and develop feelings for each other. A distant relative, Kondal Rao and his son Gooduraju envy Relangi Mavayya and his sons’ image among everyone. Geetha’s elder sister and her in-laws run into Relangi Mavayya and his daughter Chinni in a train and deem her potential to be the wife of a relative, prompting the alliance to be eventually finalized. Ramachandra Prasad humiliates Peddodu during the wedding ceremony, intensifying the tensions between them. Peddodu and Chinnodu goes to with an intent to find employment. Geetha, who has been in the city with her family, summons Chinnodu to a restaurant, concealing her family’s presence. Ramachandra Prasad belittles him and his family once again, causing Chinnodu to insult him in front of his family threatening to beat him if he insults his family again and furiously walk out. Geetha attempts to cheer Chinnodu but they stumble upon Peddodu, who is unhappy about their affair and goes home. Geetha’s relationship with Chinnodu is thus strained. Ramachandra Prasad finds a suitor for her but his mother resists and commands him to get Seetha married in the first place. Ramachandra Prasad discourages Relangi Mavayya’s interest in getting Seetha married to Peddodu and finds a marriage proposal for her. Nevertheless, the alliance is spoiled. Relangi Mavayya falls prey to a road accident while rescuing a young boy and sustains minor wounds; Brahmananda Rao, the young boy’s uncle, apologizes and offers a job to Chinnodu. Elsewhere, Peddodu and Chinnodu’s rift widens, owing to unfinished conversations. Relangi Mavayya and his family attend the annual “Kalyanam” of and in , which is coincidentally attended by Geetha and her family. A causes chaos; Peddodu and Chinnodu rescue Geetha’s family and other devotees. Praising the brothers, their father reminds them of their love for each other and details the importance of adjusting, brotherhood and family. This transforms their attitude, prompting their reconciliation. Having eavesdropped on their conversation, Ramachandra Prasad reforms. Peddodu addresses Seetha by her name, hinting his love for her and they marry as Geetha’s father performs the rituals on Seetha’s father’s behalf. Chinnodu and Geetha too harmonize. Later, Chinnodu and Peddodu buy bangles for their grandmother, implying that they have found employment. After the release of his directorial debut, (2008), worked for three years on script. After release, in June 2010 began planning a film directed by Addala and featuring and as the male leads. Scripting began, and the film’s title was announced in September. When the project stalled, Addala approached with its script in June 2011. Babu agreed to act in the film after Addala met him to read the script during for (2011). He and Venkatesh cited the script’s emotional depth and realistic approach as the reason they signed for the film. Addala approached in to write the film’s dialogue. Patro used the dialect spoken in the Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh, edited by Addala. It was his final project as a dialogue writer before his death in January 2015. , who worked on the previous Babu films (2005) and , was signed as cinematographer. , who worked with Addala on the director’s debut, composed the film’s and composed its . Sharma had composed the score for Raju’s 2011 production, , whose soundtrack was composed by . Although production began in Hyderabad on the eve of (6 October 2011) with a launch ceremony, Venkatesh and Babu did not attend due to previous film commitments. “Simple but beautiful” was announced as the film’s in June 2012. is considered the first Telugu star-studded film in the last two or three decades. After listening to Addala’s narration, Venkatesh felt that they could work more on the film’s script and the director agreed. The actor agreed to the film because he considered it a safe bet which would appeal to a family audience. Raju was interested in casting Babu as the lead for two reasons: the film, revolving around two brothers, required two popular actors as the leads and the producer again wanted to work with the actor after (2001), (2002), (2003) and . Guhan told that Venkatesh’s and Babu’s unnamed characters would simply be called Peddodu and Chinnodu, respectively. The film is considered to be the first multi-starrer of in recent decades. was signed to play Babu’s love interest in the film, and Raju asked her to allow 40 days for shooting. After , and were considered for the other female lead, was signed in mid-December 2011. After a photo shoot and the beginning of , Paul left the project in late January 2012 and Raju replaced her with . was cast in a principal role as the brothers’ father. When he failed to join the film unit in , it was rumoured that he had walked out of the film due to differences with Raju but Raju denied the reports. and were signed for supporting roles, and Hattangadi said that she would play the brothers’ grandmother. Rao Ramesh played Samantha’s father in the film. Miss Dabur Gulabari 2011 second runner-up was signed for a supporting role in her acting debut, and was cast as Babu’s sister in the film. , , , and later joined the film’s supporting cast. Traditional and formal costumes were supplied by the clothing chain Kalamandir. “For the set, the director and I spent a few days in East and West Godavari districts and saw the houses… the front and back yards, where they plant flowers etc. We planted big coconut trees which we took from Kadiyam village near Rajahmundry.” Principal photography began on 18 January 2012 in Visakhapatnam, where several of Venkatesh’s scenes were filmed near the campus and on the Ramakrishna Mission Beach. The next shooting schedule began in Kutralam, Tamil Nadu, on 6 February 2012 and filming continued in Hyderabad during March. In a crowd disrupted shooting, and the film’s crew chose an undisclosed location to resume. Samantha joined the film unit on 28 March. After shooting was disrupted three times in Hyderabad by crowds, Babu suggested that Raju move production to (where several wedding scenes were filmed at a coconut plantation). Rain increased production costs. Part of the song “Yem Cheddaam” was shot at the in mid-April, the riverfront’s first appearance in a Telugu film. In addition to the riverfront, scenes were filmed over a fifteen-day schedule in shopping malls and gardens around . Addala chose the city for its developing infrastructure, friendly people and climatic similarity to Hyderabad. On 31 May 2012, Raju told the media that 35 percent of filming was completed and the next shooting schedule would begin at . A house set worth 10 million was built at the studio under the supervision of A. S. Prakash. Venkatesh and Anjali began a four-day shooting schedule at on 4 July. After several key scenes were filmed in , near , a new schedule began in on 16 July. Filming was delayed when Samantha became ill, resuming on 19 August after her recovery. By mid-September, the producers had filmed for nearly 80 working days. Wedding and other crucial scenes were filmed in Chennai. By then the shooting of five songs was completed, with work on two more songs and detail work pending. Raju planned two shooting schedules: one from 28 September to 12 October, and the other from 15 November to the end of the month. Filming continued on 2 October 2012 at . The film’s climactic scenes were shot in mid-November 2012 on a custom-built Bhadrachalam Temple set at Ramoji Film City, and the dialogue was wrapped up on 17 November. A song featuring Babu and Samantha was shot in , , in early December, and scenes following Chinni’s wedding were filmed in . Another song featuring Venkatesh and Anjali was shot in under the supervision of ; its completion marked the end of principal photography on 24 December. On 6 October 2012, a commemorated the beginning of the film’s dubbing. was planned simultaneously for a December 2012 release. On 23 October, Samantha began dubbing her role in the film. This was the first time she dubbed for herself in a Telugu film; her roles had previously been dubbed by the singer . Babu began dubbing his role on 10 December; Venkatesh had completed most of his dubbing work by then, with only a few reels remaining. In mid-December, Samantha said that she had dubbed 40 percent of her role and the producers would decide if her voice would be retained; Chinmayi and were later chosen to dub for Prabhu and Hattangadi. Babu finished dubbing his role by early January 2013, and post-production ended on 3 January. The first copy of the film was sent to the on 7 January, and it was cleared by the Board the following day. Raju said in early October 2011 that would be a ; its title focuses on the family system in India, a part of the Indian ideology of one world family. According to Addala, “Seethamma” stands for the goddess , “Vakitlo” for India and “Sirimalle Chettu” for the Indian family. The mentality of a person who does not smile at a fellow human but preaches the need for change in society and improvement in human relations was the basis of the film’s script. The director tells the story of two brothers of different ages who are not expressive, showing them safeguarding their identities but having a deep love and respect for each other. Addala travelled to and other places in to study the mentality and behaviour of the local people. He noticed that about 80 percent of the families had good fathers, and their sons (who were struggling to find jobs and establish themselves) reconciled easily after small disagreements. Addala decided to convey in the film that life would be easier if small problems can be corrected. Most of the characters, except Seetha, are drawn from real life; Babu’s character represents youth, and Venkatesh and Prakash Raj’s characters exemplify an elder brother and a middle-class father. The movie draws similarities to the 1962 movie , such as the appearance of late actors and , parent figures in both movies, as well as the idea of two brothers marrying two “almost” sisters (parallel cousins and steps-sisters). Seetha and Lakshmi are both humble orphans, while Saroja and Geetha are more spoiled and live with their parent who conflicts with the main family. Peddhodu and Chinnodu reflect the same mature and immature dynamic as Anji and Raja, as well as ending up with their respective heroine. The movies also share an intro, through which a group of pictures of a certain group of characters is shown on a background before the credits. soundtrack was composed by Mickey J Meyer, with lyrics by and . acquired its marketing rights in early June 2012, and the soundtrack was released at an event at in , , on 30 May 2012. A critical and commercial success, it was certified triple platinum at a 19 January 2013 ceremony at in Hyderabad. In late April 2012 the producers planned a worldwide release on 28 September, three weeks before the release of . release was expected to be postponed because of a filming delay after Samantha had an adverse drug reaction. Raju later announced that the film would be released on 21 December for , but due to production delays its release was postponed to 11 January 2013 for the three-day holiday. At Babu’s suggestion a statewide premiere was planned a day before the general theatrical release, with the producers hoping to earn 10 million from the premiere. was released on 101 screens (considered a record) in the and on eight screens in . The film was released in , , the and . was the first South Indian film to be released in , premiering on 10 January 2013 at the theatre. The film opened worldwide on 1,500 screens. In Hyderabad and , it was released on 85 screens and the cities’ eight multiplexes scheduled 100 shows per day; tickets for the first week sold out in one day. Raju scheduled screenings for women only on 14, 15 and 16 January. A Tamil remake proved cost-prohibitive, leading to an announcement of the Tamil-dubbed version in early October 2013. Viji Creations acquired the dubbing rights and P. Rajarajan wrote the dialogue for the dubbed version. It was also later dubbed and released in Tamil again under the title which was released in 2018. was re-released in theaters worldwide on 7 March 2025. The film’s first-look teaser was released on 31 May 2012. Within a day of its release the teaser attracted 227,319 views on , and 9,416 members shared it on . First-look posters saying “Happy birthday to my brother Mahesh Babu”, signed by Venkatesh, were released on 8 August. Publicist B. A. Raju announced that another teaser would be released on 12 December, the day before Venkatesh’s birthday, since the producers of (2012) had released a first-look poster featuring Babu on 11 November 2011. The film’s theatrical trailer was released on 13 December. Red Label and entered into a partnership for the film. television broadcast rights were sold for 85 million to an undisclosed channel in early June 2012. Theatrical distribution rights for were sold for 27.5 million in late October 2012. Vintage Creations and Srinikethan Films acquired the theatrical distribution rights for and for 28.3 million and 18.5 million, respectively. 14 Reels Entertainment, in association with FICUS, acquired the film’s overseas theatrical distribution rights in late November 2012. Indian , and discs were marketed by Aditya Videos. Overseas DVD and Blu-ray discs were released in June 2013 by Bhavani Videos, and global television broadcast rights were acquired by . After its global television premiere, registered a TRP rating of 20.00, the second highest rating ever for a Telugu film after (2009) which registered 22.00. It retained that spot until the global television premiere of (2015) and (2015). They registered the TRP ratings of 21.84 and 21.24 respectively, pushing to the fourth spot. The film’s premiere took place on on 9 June 2013, and now the film is available for streaming on , , , and and for rent on and . The film is also available for free on YouTube channels of Aditya Videos and Sri Venkateswara Creations. In 2025 acquired satellite rights from and premiered on 16 March 2025 received generally positive reviews. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of called the film a “delightful family drama with its celebration of family bonds, love and marriage laced with laughter”, and Addala “wants to leave his audience with a thought, wants them to reflect on their relationships and overlook skirmishes that can sour family bonds”. Dundoo cited Guhan’s cinematography as one of the film’s highlights, and praised its performances. Mahalakshmi Prabhakaran of called the film a “heartwarming watch that has its emotions and underlying message in the right place”. Calling Guhan’s cinematography and its music wonderful, Prabhakaran also praised the film’s cast. According to , “It is very unlikely to point out a single dull moment in this crowd-pleasing, tear-jerking healthy family entertainer that presents a story akin to every household”. The reviewer added that the film “may or may not inspire one and all, but it will definitely send everybody back home with a smile”. Shekhar of Entertainment called the film a “good family entertainer”, adding that the audience would immerse themselves in the film and “feel like they are watching some real life sequences from in and around their house”. IndiaGlitz called the film a “heart-tugging family entertainer”: “If Mahesh Babu seems to be the most important star, be it in terms of the screen time or the number of lines he gets to speak, it is Venkatesh who takes a lion’s share in SVSC’s story. It is around Peddodu that Srikanth Addala weaves a drama full of modest emotional highs and lilting moments”. Karthik Pasupulate of gave 3.5 out of five stars, calling it a “good old fashioned family drama sans the usual masala” and adding that it is “pleasant, well intended, and has some tender moments as well, but does it pack enough entertainment value”. Pasupulate praised the performances, calling them understated like the rest of the film. gave the film 3.25 out of five stars: ” definitely makes you moist-eyed as you walk out from the theatre but it runs on a flimsy story. It is a film that reinforces the great Indian family values and is also a manipulative film like most films.” The reviewer praised the film’s climax, adding that Babu’s performance, the score, cinematography and its later scenes overshadowed its flaws. Radhika Rajamani of gave the film three out of five stars: “While it cruises along smoothly, delving into relationships within the family, without too many conflicts or twists and turns, one feels an emotional disconnect sometimes because society has changed so much from what is portrayed on screen”. She added, “The storyline is realistic, in that it is all about the happenings in a middle class home, but it’s more about situations and doesn’t develop as a story. So if you want to see a non-violent, family values kind of film, this one is for you. It’s just that it seems a little out of date.” B. V. S. Prakash of gave the film 2.5 out of five stars, calling it a “dampener” and its scenes repetitive and tedious. Prakash praised the performances, however, especially those of Venkatesh and Babu. earned 9.81 crore on its first day at the AP-Nizam box office—according to trade analyst Trinath, probably the best-ever opening for a star-studded Telugu film. called the film’s opening “mindblowing” as it earned US$205,347 ( 1.13 crore) at 62 locations on its Thursday previews in the United States. It earned $338,228 on Friday, bringing its two-day total to $552,041 —the most successful opening for a Telugu film in the U.S. netted 25.01 crore in four days at the global box office, the most successful opening in Babu and Venkatesh’s careers. The film grossed $1,262,100 ( 6.87 crore) from reported screens in its first four-day weekend in the United States, affecting other films (such as and ) and surpassing the US lifetime earnings of (2012). The film’s earnings declined 25 percent on its fifth day, and its five-day total nett was 28.66 crore. Earning about 35 crore in its first week, broke box-office records in several parts of the world. The film’s earnings declined 50 percent over its second weekend, with a ten-day global box-office nett of 45 crore. In its second U.S. weekend the film earned $203,160 ( 1.09 crore), bringing its ten-day U.S. total to $1,548,709 ( 8.31 crore) and setting a record for a Telugu film in that country. By the end of its second week, netted 51 crore at the global box office. In the film’s third weekend it was affected by , earning about 0.193 crore from 20 screens in the United States. It completed its 50-day run on 3 March in 25 theatres. netted 38.75 crore at the AP/Nizam box office during its run, earning a distributor share of 51 crore at the global box office and declared a commercial success. It was the second-highest-grossing Telugu film of the year, after was one of twenty Telugu film entries for the . The film received seven nominations at the , including , and . It won two awards: Best Actor — Telugu (Babu) and ( for ). The film received eleven nominations at the , where Venkatesh and Babu were nominated for Best Actor — Telugu and Anjali and Jayasudha were nominated for Best Supporting Actor Female — Telugu. It won three awards, again for Best Actor — Telugu (Babu) and Best Female Playback Singer — Telugu (Chithra for ) besides Anantha Sreeram, who earned the award for Best Lyricist — Telugu for the same song. Babu also received the “Best Actor for the Year 2013” award at the 2015 – National Film Awards.</p>