Maa Balaji (transl. Our Balaji) is a 1999 Indian Telugu-language comedy-drama film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna. The film stars Vadde Naveen, Maheswari, and Laya. The music was composed by Vandemataram Srinivas. The film was released on 23 September 1999 and was commercially successful.[1] It is a remake of the Malayalam film Punjabi House (1998).
| Maa Balaji | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Kodi Ramakrishna |
| Screenplay by | Kodi Ramakrishna |
| Story by | Bhargav Art Productions Unit |
| Dialogue by | |
| Based on | Punjabi House |
| Produced by | S. Gopal Reddy |
| Starring | Vadde Naveen Maheswari Laya |
| Cinematography | Sri Venkat |
| Music by | Vandemataram Srinivas |
Production company | Bhargav Art Productions |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
Plot
editBalaji is a young and ambitious man. But he is unsuccessful in his trials to make money and ends up in debt of ₹10 lakh. Unable to repay the amount, he jumped off into the sea to commit suicide after insuring an amount of ₹10 lakh for his debtors with the LIC. However, he is saved and lands up in the house of a rich Punjabi man Balwinder Singh whose mute daughter Pooja falls in love with him.
Cast
edit- Vadde Naveen as Balaji
- Maheswari as Pooja
- Laya as Sujatha
- Sishwa
- Gollapudi Maruthi Rao
- Mallikarjuna Rao
- Sudhakar as Ramana
- Vinod Kumar Alva as Sikandar Singh
- Kaikala Satyanarayana as Balwinder Singh
- Brahmanandam as Penchalayya
- Dubbing Janaki
Music
editMusic was composed by Vandemataram Srinivas.[2] The lyrics were written by Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry and Bhuvana Chandra.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Andaga Jathakalisindi" | Mano, Swarnalatha | 4:15 |
| 2. | "Gappchiproy" | Unnikrishnan | 4:01 |
| 3. | "Nedaina Repaina" | Swarnalatha, Rajesh | 4:27 |
| 4. | "Niligaganam lo" | Mano, Swanalatha | 4:39 |
| 5. | "Aayee Aayee" | Sarada Malladi | 4:48 |
| Total length: | 22:10 | ||
Reception
editJeevi of Idlebrain.com rated the film 4 out of 5 and noted, “First half is in a lighter vein and second half is very gripping. Climax is the heart and soul of the film”.[3] Griddaluru Gopala Rao of Zamin Ryot gave the film a negative review criticising the story, characterisations, dialogues, and direction as clichéd, and artificial.[4] A critic from Sify wrote that "A remake of the Malayalam movie, 'Punjabi House', it is meant to be a rib-tickler but the Telugu version, 'Maa Balaji comes out a cropper as the theme has nothing much to boast by way of being a comedy".[5]
References
edit- ^ Veereswara Rao (28 November 2020). "హీరో వడ్డే నవీన్ మొదటి భార్య ఎన్టీఆర్ మనవరాలు.. కొన్నాళ్లకే విడాకులు". Samayam (in Telugu). Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "Maa Balaji". Spotify. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Maa Balaji - A review". Idlebrain. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ Griddaluru Gopalrao (8 October 1999). "గజి, బిజి చిత్రం "మా బాలాజి"" (PDF). Zamin Ryot (in Telugu). pp. 16, 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20050130060904/http://sify.com/movies/telugu/review.php?id=6007215&ctid=5&cid=2430 [bare URL]