# Kantri

Kantri (Telugu: కంత్రి, lit. 'Country') is a 2008 Indian Telugu-language action film written and directed by Meher Ramesh, a protégé of director Puri Jagannadh and who had earlier worked on Kannada films. Jr. NTR, Hansika Motwani, and Tanishaa star in the lead roles, while Prakash Raj, Ashish Vidyarthi, Mukesh Rishi, Sayaji Shinde, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Venu Madhav, Sunil, Brahmanandam, Subbaraju, and Ali play supporting roles. The film has been produced by Vyjayanthi Movies and C. Ashwini Dutt. The film was initially scheduled to release on 28 April 2008. However, it was released 12 days later. The film was released on 9 May 2008. Upon release, Kantri received mixed to negative reviews and was a flop at box office
Kantri is also the first Indian film to feature a 3D animated character based on an actor. It was also dubbed in English under the title Jackal.

## Plot

NRI Krishna returns to his village with his wife and child to work for the upliftment of the village folk. However, when the family along with his old father, is on its way home with the money, Pothuraju aka PR betrays everyone by killing them and running away with the money, leaving his wife and son behind. Pothuraju is the head of a business empire and is known for his nefarious connections and illegal dealings. He is supported at every step by his friend and partner Seshu. Enters Kantri who enters Pothuraju's gang to earn money for the orphanage where he grew up (he was orphaned at a very young age). Kantri falls in love with Varalakshmi. However, she initially does not like Kantri. An ambitious Kantri rises fast in life and meets Pothuraju in Hong Kong. However, an issue arises which separates Kantri from Pothuraju's gang. He takes money from Das to kill Pothuraju. Before he has his chance to do so, he is told that Pothuraju is his father. The hatred turns into attachment and Seshu's daughter Priya falls in love with Kantri. However, some differences arise between PR and Seshu. However, Kantri puts an end to all this and clears the confusion forming the rest of the story.

## Cast

* Jr. NTR as Kantri (Kranthi)
* Hansika Motwani as Varalakshmi / Hamsa
* Tanishaa as Priya
* Prakash Raj as PR / Pothuraju
* Ashish Vidyarthi as Seshu
* Kota Srinivasa Rao as Daiva Sahayam
* Mukesh Rishi as Kantri's grandfather
* Sayaji Shinde as Das
* Brahmanandam as Brahmi
* Ali as Chang Lee
* Sunil as Rajni Haasan
* Murali Sharma as Veeru, (Gangster)
* Subbaraju as Bhyraagi
* Raghu Babu as Acid Durga
* Krishna Bhagawan as Singaporean Tour Guide
* Prudhviraj as Settlement Raju
* Gundu Hanumantha Rao as Devaraju
* Srinivasa Reddy as Cutting Seenu
* Prabhas Sreenu as Spider Reddy
* M. S. Narayana as Thelupu Ramakrishna
* Master Bharath as Rambo
* Hema
* G. V. Sudhakar Naidu
* Venu Yeldandi

## Production

Ramesh told Idlebrain.com in an interview that the Kantri's script and title was narrated to Puri Jagannadh in Manali during the shoot of Desamuduru, who registered the title and immediately registered it under the Vaishno banner. C. Aswini Dutt came onboard as producer, while Jr. NTR was chosen to play the role of a 25-year-old tapori character after a single read-through. NTR's costumes were made before the shoot with none costing more than ₹1,500.
The film's shooting started in October 2007 but was delayed for a month as cinematographer Sameer Reddy was busy with Athidhi. The film was mainly shot in Hong Kong and Dubai with a part also shot in Singapore, including places where The Dark Knight had been shot a few days earlier. The film extensively showcases the Hong Kong skyline and was also shot at the Hong Kong International Airport. Certain songs of the film were shot in Cape Town, the first Telugu film to be shot there after Badri.

## Music

Released on 29 March 2008, Kantri's soundtrack was composed by Mani Sharma whilst lyrics were penned by five different lyricists: Meher Ramesh, Ananth Sreeram, Sirivennela, Veturi, and Ramajogayya Sastry. The hip-hop song "123" is based on "Get Buck" by Young Buck and was the first one to be composed when Sharma was in the US. The song "Vayassunamy" was a remake of Sharma's previous song "Vasantha Mullai" from Pokkiri, which itself is remix of a song from Sarangadhara (1958).
| No | Song | Singer(s) | Duration | Lyricist |
| 1 | 123 Nenoka Kantri | N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Naveen Madhav, Karunya | 04:31 | Meher Ramesh |
| 2 | Ammaho | Karthik, K. S. Chithra | 05:16 | Sirivennela |
| 3 | Vayasunamy | Vedala Hemachandra, Sunitha Upadrashta | 04:04 | Veturi |
| 4 | I Go Crazy | Rahul Nambiar, Jey | 04:48 | Anantha Sreeram |
| 5 | Janthar Manthar | Ranjith, Rita | 04:25 | Anantha Sreeram |
| 6 | Raamare | Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan | 04:45 | Ramajogayya Sastry |

## Reception

Rediff gave two and half stars said "Meher has nothing new to offer. He does take the beaten path in making a hero-centric film with the theme of good versus evil and the usual masala elements. NTR stands out with his looks and talent. Hansika, as the lead heroine makes a pretty picture. In short Kantri is NTR's show all the way". greatandhra and idlebrain rated three stars, with the former saying "The film is for mass cum class audiences. Technically the film stands on the summit. Leaving the length part and less-comedy part aside, the film is a well-made one", and the latter describing "The plus points of the film are NTR's energizing performance (dialogues, dances and emotions) and the first half. The twist towards climax is interesting".

## Awards
### Filmfare Awards South

* Best Choreography - Prem Rakshith for the song "Vayasunami"

### Nandi Awards

* Best Choreographer – Prem Rakshit for the song "Vayasunami"

### South Scope Awards

* Best stylish actor – Jr NTR
* Best stylish choreography – Raju Sundaram ("123 Nenoka Kantri")

## Dubbed versions

The film was later dubbed and released in Hindi as Ek Aur Qayamat (2009), In English as Jackal (2011), in Tamil as Pokkiri Paiyan, and in Malayalam as Njananu Boss.