When Manam released in 2014, the film opened to extremely high expectations. Not only did it star the entire Akkineni family, it was also the last film in which veteran actor Akkineni Nageswar Rao (ANR) appeared prior to his death. Directed and written by Vikram Kumar, Manam was an ambitious project from its inception. Five years since its initial release, here’s a look at the film’s highlights.
The movie starts out with a short insight into the lives of Radha (Naga Chaitanya) and Krishna (Samantha) and their son Nageswara Rao (Bittu). The song Kannulana Thaake sung by Arijit Singh, perfectly captures how their relationship slowly and realistically disintegrates. It also sets up the rest of the story. After the death of his parents in a car accident, we don’t know what happens to Bittu. We feel sad, but the movie doesn’t let us spend time on being sad. The next thing we see is a grownup Nageswar (played by Nagarjuna) as a successful businessman who has been impacted tremendously by the loss of his parents.
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He runs into the college-going Nagarjuna (played by Naga Chaitanya) and Priya (Samantha), whom he recognises as being incarnations of his parents. The screenplay provides us with several comedic moments as Nageswar takes the efforts to get to know his parents. It is during the course of the story that he meets Anjali (Shriya Saran), a doctor, and falls for her while saving an old man who had collapsed on the road. The old man named Chaitanya and played by the late veteran actor ANR, immediately recognises Nageswar and Anjali as the parents he had lost in an accident almost a hundred years prior.
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After bringing all the characters and their back stories together halfway through the movie, the next task at hand is tying it all together.
Nageswar hatches a plan to bring his parents together, while Chaitanya aims to bring together Nageswar and Anjali for the same reason. This sparks off a series of fun moments on the screen where you see the real-life parent acting as the on-screen child. Peppered with plenty of references to ANR’s earlier hit movies (including one scene where he chides a drunk Nagarjuna taking a jab at his own movie Devadasu). At the heart of the story, the director took different generations of a real-life family and put them in a role contrasting that of their relationships in reality. When you see the character of Chaitanya (played by ANR) arguing with Nagarjuna (played by his off-screen grandson Naga Chaitanya), it makes for great entertainment.
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At face value, the story of Manam, which was centered around the idea of reincarnation, seems a little out there. However, Vikram Kumar experimented with the genre without going overboard. What worked especially well was the decision to cast three stars from the same family and have them play roles in which they are not related to one another directly.
Throw in a quick “blink and miss” scene in which actor Nagarjuna’s wife Amala appears, and of course the climax in which Akhil Akkineni appears, the film pans out as a tribute to ANR indeed.
All of this is why Manam holds such a special place with the Telugu audience. Not only was it ANR’s last film, it brought together the different generations of a beloved family.
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachan too makes a cameo in the film for a few short minutes as a doctor who helps Nageswar.
ANR first ventured into acting through plays during schools. This was said to have cultivated a passion for theatre in him. From theatre, he slowly made his way into films. The 1953 film Devadasu (Devadas in Tamil) really catapulted him into the limelight. He would go on to star in over 250 movies in multiple languages. He established Annapurna Studios in 1975 and later began Annapurna International School of Film and Media inside its premises in 2011. Apart from acting, ANR was also known for his skills as a writer. ANR’s son, Nagarjuna, too is an actor and producer. He is known for the range of roles he has played in his career, spanning from a heartbroken lover to a hilarious don to a religious saint. Nagarjuna’s sons Chaitanya and Akhil are also in the film industry. Actor Amala Akkineni is his wife. Chaitanya and Samantha went on to get married.
The film was written and directed by Vikram Kumar and produced by the Akkineni Family under the banner of Annapurna studios. Anup Rubens handled the music, and produced some memorable songs all of which were well received. The cinematography and editing were also handled in a very tasteful manner by PS Vinod and Prawin Pudi respectively.