Maharshi (2019 film)


Maharshi is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language action-drama film directed by Vamshi Paidipally and jointly produced by Dil Raju, C. Ashwini Dutt, and Prasad V. Potluri through their production companies Sri Venkateswara Creations, Vyjayanthi Movies, and PVP Cinema. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Allari Naresh, and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles, while Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Meenakshi Dixit, and Ananya play supporting roles. The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad.
The film revolves around a man named K. Rishi Kumar and chronicles his journey, depicting how he starts as an intelligent student who questions the system, faces challenges from a rival classmate, and goes on to become the CEO of a US based software company. When his attention is drawn towards the plight of downtrodden farmers, he sets out to help them, eventually facing emotional and physical challenges from those who do not want him to succeed.
Maharshi was released theatrically on 9 May 2019. It received praise for its performances, production values, action sequences, dialogues and music, while the length and slow pacing drew criticism. Despite the mixed critical reception, it became a commercial success. It also inspired several viewers to help farmers in different fields of agriculture and practice "weekend farming" depicted in the film.

Plot

K. Rishi Kumar, an Indian man, becomes the CEO of a US based software company called "Origin". Hailing from a middle class family in Hyderabad, he dreamed to make it big in the software industry and had a bittersweet relationship with his father K. Satyanarayana, a clerk in a private company who was constantly pressurized by moneylenders. Soon, Rishi moved to Vizag for his post-graduation in engineering, and he became friends with Pooja and Ravi Shankar. Ajay, one of the class toppers, became jealous after seeing Rishi surpass him in all the exams. Ajay's father, a politician and minister, offered Rishi money in exchange for stepping down as the topper, but Rishi refused and also thrashed his henchmen.
Later, Rishi declined Pooja's marriage proposal, feeling that it would be a hindrance to his career ambitions. They broke up, and Rishi's friendship with Ravi, who tried to mend their relations, also got spoiled due to a misunderstanding. Ajay got selected by a top company, Origin, with the highest package in the college. However, he came to know that Rishi developed an AI-based operation system and used it to get a much better opportunity with another company. Ajay conspired to stop Rishi from attending the campus interview by accusing him of stealing the examination papers. However, Rishi was found innocent and allowed to write his exams. Within a short time period, he became the CEO of Origin. However, the death of his father left him shattered, following which he took his mother to the states.
The film goes back to the present, where Rishi is devastated to learn from his professor that Ravi took the blame for stealing the examination papers in order to save him. His father committed suicide, and his marriage with his lover Pallavi was stalled. Rishi reunites with Ravi at the latter's village, where he learns that Ravi has been protesting alone against a company that plans to take away the village farmland for laying oil pipelines. Rishi asks Vivek Mittal, the millionaire businessman behind this project, to exclude the village but the latter declines. Hence, Rishi sets up his own office in the village and attracts media attention. Pooja, now working in a gaming company, is sent by her boss along with friend to meet Rishi regarding a concept for a new game. Rishi talks to Pallavi's father and helps fix the broken alliance. Ravi is then made the village leader to express their concerns of the people to the government.
Vivek offers more money as a compensation to the villagers and also gives money to one of the neighboring villagers to stop this issue. His henchmen nearly stab Ravi to death, but Rishi kills them all in the ensuing fight. Ravi is hospitalized, and Vivek uses the opportunity to tarnish Rishi's reputation and get him driven out of the village. Learning of his father's sacrifice, a disgraced Rishi returns to the village and surprises everyone by publicly beating up goons who try to kick him out. After an aged farmer inspires him to practice farming, Rishi helps the farmers grow crops by leasing them and paying more money than Vivek. Farmers realize the value of their land, and Pooja reconciles with Rishi. In a press meet, Rishi makes everyone realize the worth of agriculture and the losses faced due to the farmers' suicides. Rishi's efforts are appreciated by the Chief Minister, and Ajay, now a banking official, exposes Vivek, thus ending the project. Rishi resigns as the CEO of Origin and decides to stay in his homeland promoting agriculture.

Cast

The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad and released on Aditya Music company. Lyrics were written by Sri Mani.

Reception

Critical reception

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote, "At the heart of Maharshi is a story that could have been leveraged to make a compelling social drama that also traces the transformative journey of an ambitious man. But there’s a huge gap between what it could have been and what it is". The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "Watch it not just for Mahesh Babu and Allari Naresh’s performances but also for the story, if you don’t mind all the bells and whistles it comes with. It might not be entertaining all through, thanks to the draggy bits, but its heart is in the right place".
Hindustan Times gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "Maharshi is a problematic film with big ideas but it tugs at heartstrings. Take out the farming sub-plot, Maharshi would’ve been a tiresome watch in which Rishi just won’t shut up with his sermons on success".
CNN-News18 gave 4 out of 5 stars stating "Maharshi exudes a sense of comfort and happiness in the midst of the wreckage and targeting".
India Today gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Maharshi has a meaty story in between several sub-plots. If only it was crisp and to the point. If only. Mahesh Babu's Maharshi is not about a business tycoon coming back to his motherland. He has a bigger purpose here".
Firstpost gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "Maharshi is a well-intentioned drama and has some beautifully written sequences; however, it holds back on a lot of things it wants to say for so long that it makes you feel restless at times".

Box office

Maharshi on the opening day collected 590 million gross worldwide and in Telugu speaking states movie collected a share of 246 million.
In the first extended weekend movie grossed over 1 billion worldwide.
In 11 days movie collected a share of 727.9 million in Telugu speaking states.
In 12 days movie collected a gross of 1.75 billion and a share of 900 million worldwide.
This film grossed more than 2.95 billion and a distributor share of 1.53 billion in 50 days and surpasses Mahesh's previous records, Srimanthudu and Bharat Ane Nenu.

Awards and nominations