# Desamuduru

Desamuduru (transl. Cunning Lad) is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by DVV Danayya under Universal Media. The film stars Allu Arjun and Hansika Motwani (in her Telugu debut) , alongside Pradeep Rawat, Ali, Devan, Telangana Shakuntala and Subbaraju.
Desamuduru was released on 12 January 2007, It was met with positive reviews from critics and audiences. It became a hit at the box office.

## Plot

Bala Govind is a program director in Maa TV, whose fights for justice regularly get him into trouble. During one of these incidents, Bala saves a person from goons, while severely thrashing Murugesan, the son of a notorious smuggler Tambi Durai. Fearing retribution from Tambi Durai, the Maa TV crew sends Bala's team to Kullu Manali to shoot a travel episode. After reaching Manali, Bala sees Vaishali, a sannyasin, and soon falls in love with her. Though initially apprehensive of Bala, Vaishali reciprocates his feelings. The ashram's head sannyasin Rama Prabha also accepts their relationship. Before Bala is able to return to Hyderabad with Vaishali, Tambi Durai's henchmen kidnap her and take her to his home. The person, who was saved by Bala, reveals that Vaishali is the daughter of Narayan Patwari, a businessman. In order to grab Patwari's properties, Tambi Durai killed her parents, and his wife Andal fixed Vaishali's marriage with Murugesan, but Vaishali escapes and reached Kullu Manali. Bala seeks the help of Inspector Prasad to save Vaishali from their clutches, where he eventually succeeds in arresting Tambi Durai and marries Vaishali.

## Cast

* Allu Arjun as Bala Govind
* Hansika Motwani as Vaishali (Voice dubbed by Sowmya Sharma)
* Pradeep Rawat as Tambi Durai
* Ali as Shankar / Himalayan Baba
* Chandra Mohan as Chandra Mohan, Bala's father
* Devan as Narayan Patwari, Vaishali's father
* Telangana Shakuntala as Andal, Tambi Durai's wife
* Subbaraju as Murugesan, Tambi Durai's son
* Ahuti Prasad as A. Prasad
* Rama Prabha as Rama Prabha
* Ajay as Tambi Durai's henchman
* G. V. Sudhakar Naidu as Tambi Durai's henchman
* Kovai Sarala as Shivani
* Raghu Babu as Compounder
* Gundu Sudharshan as Sudarshan
* Srinivasa Reddy as Ravi
* Raja Ravindra as the person Bala saved
* Satyam Rajesh as Rajesh, Bala's colleague
* Jeeva as Ponnuswamy, Tambi Durai’s younger brother
* Hema as Ponnuswamy's wife
* Uttej as Radio Mirchi Reporter
* Narsing Yadav as Police Inspector
* Venu Madhav as Tea Seller
* Gautam Raju as Apples Exporter
* Shankar Melkote as Doctor
* Saptagiri as Bala's colleague
* Sandra as Bala's colleague
* Sony Raj as Bala's colleague
* Phani as Bala's colleague
* Junior Relangi as Bala's colleague
* Vamsi Krishna
* Rambha in the item number "Attaantode Ittaantode"

## Production

After the release of Happy (2006), Allu Arjun was reported to be keen to act in the Telugu remake of Sivakasi (2005) starring Vijay and Asin. He later accepted to act in a film directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by DVV Danayya under the banner Universal Media. The title was confirmed as Desamuduru. Puri Jagannadh worked on the film's script at Bangkok and returned to Hyderabad on 16 June 2006. The film had its official launch at the office of Puri Jagannadh's production company Vaishno Academy on 19 June 2006.

### Casting

Allu Arjun played the role of a crime reporter working for MAA TV in the film. For his role, Allu Arjun sported a long hairdo and built six pack abs. Hansika Motwani was selected as the female lead which marked her debut in Telugu cinema as an actress at a very young age of 15. She played the role of a sanyasin in the film. Rambha was selected for an item number in the film, despite initial reports stated that Charmee Kaur would dance in the song.

### Filming

Filming began on 14 July 2006 at Hyderabad where the film's first schedule was shot. The next schedule began in Himachal Pradesh. Few action sequences were shot at Manali in early September 2006. Weeks later, few scenes between the lead pair were shot in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh. This schedule was planned to be wrapped up on 5 December 2006. However the schedule was completed on 10 October 2006. Some crucial action sequences were shot at Aluminium Factory in Gachibowli in early December 2006.

## Soundtrack

The film has six songs composed by Chakri. Music of the film was launched on 25 December 2006. The song "Ninne Ninne" was the most popular song in the soundtrack among music lovers.

## Release

The film was released on 500 screens, including 424 in Andhra Pradesh, 32 in Karnataka, 8 in Orissa, 2 in Chennai, 3 in Mumbai and 31 overseas.

## Box office

Desamuduru ran for more than 175 days. The film grossed ₹12.58 crore and a share of ₹9.5 crore. worldwide in the first week of its release. The film grossed ₹20 crore in four weeks. It ran for more than 365 days.
The film was the highest grossing film in Allu Arjun's career at the time of its release and the second highest-grossing Telugu movie of 2007.

## Accolades
### 55th Filmfare Awards

* Best Film – DVV Danayya – Nominated
* Best Director – Puri Jagannadh – Nominated
* Best Actor – Allu Arjun – Nominated
* Best Music Director – Chakri – Nominated
* Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South – Hansika Motwani – Won

### Nandi Awards

* Best Choreographer – Nobel – "Satte E Godava Ledu" – Won

### Santosham Film Awards

* Best Young Performers – Allu Arjun – Won
* Best Debut Heroine – Hansika Motwani – Won

### CineMAA Awards

* Best Actor (Jury) – Allu Arjun – Won
* Best Female Debut – Hansika Motwani – Won