C/o Kancharapalem

C/o Kancharapalem is a 2018 Telugu-language slice of life anthology film written and directed by debutant Venkatesh Maha.[6][7] It is produced by American filmmaker Praveena Paruchuri and distributed by Rana Daggubati under the banner of Suresh Productions.[8] The film features a cast of over 80 non-actors, most of them native to the neighbourhood the film is set in Kancharapalem.[9][10] The film received positive reviews from the audience and a majority of the film critics.[11] The film received the Best Critic Movie honour at 2019 Zee Cine Awards Telugu.[12]

C/o Kancharapalem
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVenkatesh Maha
Produced byPraveena Paruchuri
Rana Daggubati (presenter)
Written byVenkatesh Maha
Starring
  • Subba Rao
  • Radha Bessy
  • Kesava Karri
  • Nithyasri Goru
  • Karthik Rathnam
  • Praneetha Patnaik
  • Mohan Bhagath
  • Praveena Paruchuri
Music bySweekar Agasthi
CinematographyVarun Chaphekar
Aditya Javvadi
Edited byRavi Teja Girijala
Production
company
Paruchuri Vijaya Praveena Arts
Distributed bySuresh Productions (India)
Weekend Cinema (Worldwide)
Release date
Running time
151 minutes [1]
Country
  • India
  • United States
LanguageTelugu
Budget₹44–70 lakh[lower-alpha 1]
Box officeest. ₹7 crore[5]

It was screened at the New York Indian Film Festival,[13] and the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.[14] It was honored with "Best Film Award" at the "Critics' Choice Festival of Indian films" in Mumbai,[15] the "Caleidoscope Indian Film Festival" in Boston, where in the lead actor Subba Rao received the "Best Actor" honor,[16] and Film Companion's "25 Best Telugu Films of the Decade".[17] The film was remade in Tamil as C/O Kaadhal (2020).[18]

Plot

The story focuses on four couples cutting across age, religion, caste and class barrier in the small town of Kancharapalem. It also shows how life and time plays a significant role in the fate of the four couples who break social norms for the sake of love.

Cast
  • Subba Rao as Raju
  • Radha Bessy as Radha
  • Kesava Karri as Sundaram
  • Nithyasri Goru as Sunitha
  • Karthik Rathnam as Joseph
  • Praneetha Patnaik as Bhargavi
  • Mohan Bhagath as Gaddam
  • Praveena Paruchuri as Saleema
  • Kishore Kumar Polimera as Ram Murthy (Sundaram's father)
  • Sravani Bessy as Leela, Sundaram's Mother
  • Jeswanth Muppala as Koti
  • Nikita as Indira
  • Durga Devi Datla as Usha Rani Teacher
  • Shailaja Goru as School Principal
  • Ramesh Aditya as Sunitha's Father

Production

Development

The idea of C/o Kancherapalem struck director Maha while he was visiting an old friend living in the neighbourhood of Kancharapalem. After interacting with the local people and closely observing their lifestyle, Maha decided to make an independent film about the locality and its people.[19]

Maha later happened to meet Praveena Paruchuri, an Indian American cardiologist who was looking to make a film in India. Maha showed Parachuri a pitch video of his story, for which she was instantly impressed and told him, "This is made for Cannes." Parachuri offered to produce the film and paid Maha ₹3,000 as an initial amount.[20]

Casting

Maha recruited most of his cast, nearly 80 non-actors, who are from the town itself.[21] While no one in the town took seriously that he was making a film, they had shown great enthusiasm to act nonetheless. Maha also cast Paruchuri for a role when she flew down from U.S. to visit the sets.[22]

Principal photography

The film was shot for 62 days over two schedules in Kancharapalem and Bheemili suburbs of Visakhapatnam.[23][21]

Post production

Post production work of the film is done at Ramanaidu Studios where its owner D. Suresh Babu happened to watch the film. Babu acquired the distribution rights of the film immediately.[23]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack and background score was scored by Sweekar Agasthi, and the audio was released on 8 September 2018 on Aditya Music.


Tracklist
No.TitleLyricsArtist(s)Length
1."Patti Patti"RaghukulSweekar Agasthi4:48
2."Sotta Buggala O Sinnadi"VishwaAnurag Kulkarni1:05
3."Asha Pasham"VishwaAnurag Kulkarni4:20
4."Yemi Janmanu"Random Parody SongsKishore Polimera4:25
5."Kalakatta Kali"Random Parody SongsKishore Polimera1:15
Total length:15:53

Release

The film premiered at the New York Indian Film Festival in May 2018.[24]

Reception

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu called it a "small film with a large heart", further appreciating it by remarking "a rare Telugu film that takes us beyond the habitual cinematic settings to familiarize us with the sights, sounds and lives of people of a locality."[25]

Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South reviewed, "A deeply moving romantic drama," and added "The format may suggest we are watching Love, Actually set in a village, in the midst of “what will people say?” considerations and drunks singing a Telugu song to the tune of Gori tera gaon bada pyara. But C/o Kancharapalem is a slow burn that builds and builds, and it goes far beyond the Love, Actually template. Yes, it’s cute and charming and very funny. But it’s also… real. [...] There’s a lot of mindfulness in the writing.[...] It’s been a while since a film showed us a side of love that’s so expansive, so generous, so attuned to the fact that love means… not just romantic love."[26]

Srivathsan Nadadhur of The Times of India rated it a "4/5" and reviewed, "C/O Kancharapalem raises a toast to sincere, uncinematic storytelling, gives power to those unheard regional voices and does its part in undoing the stereotypical portrayal of community-specific stories in Telugu cinema."[27]

Box office

At the US Box office, the film collected $36,000 on its first day,[28] and $185,000 in the opening weekend.[29]

By the end of theatrical run, C/o Kancharapalem grossed of ₹7 crore worldwide.[5]

Remakes

The film is reported to be remade in Tamil and Malayalam. The remakes are to be directed by debutant Hemambar Jasti.[30]

Awards and nominations
Date of ceremony Award Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
5–9 September 2018 Caleidoscope Indian Film Festival Boston Best Actor Subba Rao Vepada Won [16]
6 January 2019 Zee Cine Awards Telugu Best Critic Movie Paruchuri Vijaya Praveena Won [12]
Special Appreciation Award Subba Rao Vepada Won
Radha Bessi Won
22 April 2019 Critics' Choice Festival of Indian films Best Film – Telugu C/o Kancharapalem Won [15]
21 December 2019 Filmfare Awards South Best Film – Telugu C/o Kancharapalem Nominated [31]
Best Director – Telugu Venkatesh Maha Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Telugu Mohan Bhagat Nominated
Best Supporting Actress – Telugu Praveena Paruchuri Nominated
Best Music Director – Telugu Sweekar Agasthi Nominated
Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu Anurag Kulkarni Nominated

Notes
  1. While both Deccan Chronicle[2] and The News Minute[3] give a figure of ₹60 lakh, The Hans India estimates the budget to be between ₹44 and 70 lakh[4]

References
  1. "C/o Kancharapalem review by jeevi - Telugu cinema review - Subba Rao, Radha Bessy, Kesava Karri, Nithya Sri Goru." Idlebrain.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. Kavirayani, Suresh (29 May 2019). "C/o Kancharapalem goes places". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  3. "Venkatesh Maha's 'C/O Kancharapalem' to be remade in Malayalam and Tamil". The News Minute. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  4. "C/o Kancharapalem, Chitram made with same budget?". 18 September 2018.
  5. "2018 round-up: Six low-budget Tollywood films that grossed big at the box-office". The Times of India. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. "C/o Kancharapalem (2018) - These 5 anthology films of Telugu cinema will leave you speechless". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  7. Tanmayi, AuthorBhawana. "Anthology films find many takers". Telangana Today. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  8. Adivi, Sashidhar (14 January 2019). "C/O Kancharapalem is now eligible for National Awards". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  9. "C/o Kancharapalem Movie Review A deeply moving romantic drama". 5 September 2018.
  10. "Telugu film 'C/o Kancharapalem' selected for New York Indian Film Festival". The New Indian Express.
  11. "'C/o Kancharapalem' allowed to apply for National Awards after producer's appeal". www.thenewsminute.com. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  12. "Tollywood's first and biggest Awards event of the Year on Zee Telugu". Zee News. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  13. "Telugu film 'C/o Kancharapalem' selected for New York Indian Film Festival". Business Standard. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  14. "Care Of Kancharapalem". Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  15. "'Andhadhun' wins big at first Critics' Choice Awards". The Hindu. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  16. "C/o Kancharapalem actor Subba Rao wins award at Caleidoscope Indian Film Festival". Times of India. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  17. "25 Greatest Telugu Films Of The Decade". Film Companion. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  18. https://www.ragalahari.com/news/159738/care-of-kancharapalem-tamil-remake-first-look.aspx
  19. Kumar, Asha Kiran (5 September 2018). "Venkatesh Maha of 'C/o Kancharapalem': My motto is to place our Telugu cinema in the international spot - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  20. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (27 February 2018). "From New York to Kancharapalem". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  21. Sarma, Gv Prasada (12 September 2018). "A film with real-life characters". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  22. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (27 February 2018). "Venkatesh Maha bats for original, real-life inspired stories". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  23. Kavirayani, Suresh (6 April 2018). "No small act, this". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  24. "C/o Kancharapalem lauded at NYIFF". Telangana Today. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  25. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (4 September 2018). "'C/o Kancharapalem' review: Small film with a large heart". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  26. "C/o Kancharapalem Movie Review A deeply moving romantic drama". Film Companion. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  27. C/o Kancharapalem Movie Review {4/5}: Let these voices raise!, retrieved 29 August 2019
  28. "C/0 Kancharapalem box office collection Day 1: Rana Daggubati's film is on fire in US". India Today. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  29. Vyas (10 September 2018). "Care of Kancharapalem First Weekend Box Office Collections Report". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  30. "Critically-acclaimed Telugu film, C/O Kancharapalem, gets a Tamil remake". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  31. "Nominations for the 66th Filmfare Awards (South) 2019". Filmfare. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
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