Aagadu Song

[Darth Sanderson]

Aagaduis the feature film soundtrack composed by S. Thaman for the Telugu film of the same name directed by Srinu Vaitla which stars Mahesh Babu, Tamannaah and Sonu Sood. This marks Thaman's 50th film as a music composer.[1] The soundtrack consists of 5 songs and a Theme music all composed by Thaman while the lyrics were penned by Sri Mani and Bhaskarabhatla Ravikumar. The film's soundtrack was released on 15 August 2014 through Lahari Music by hosting a promotional event at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad.[2][3] The soundtrack opened to positive reception from critics and audience.[4]

On 11 July 2014 Thaman confirmed that the final composing schedule is underway on whose completion the composing of all the songs would come to an end.[10] Thaman also informed later that the works regarding the item number in the album is in full-swing and added that he has received good inputs from Srinu Vaitla.[11] It was known in mid-July 2014 that Shruti Haasan sang a song in this film's soundtrack.[12] She sang the item number in the soundtrack to which she danced in the film and the song was recorded at Thaman's studio on 25 July 2014 which was confirmed by both of them and Srinu Vaitla in their respective Twitter pages.[13][14][15] Shruti Haasan said that it was a different experience to sing that song which Thaman claimed as the highlight song of the album.[16][17] On 3 August 2014 Thaman confirmed that the compositions for the songs have been completed and it was known that the soundtrack consists of 6 songs.[18][19] It was known later that Bhaskarabhatla Ravikumar penned 3 songs in the film's soundtrack and Thaman expressed his confidence that one of the three songs titled Aaja Saroja will be a chart buster similar to the success of the song Sir Osthara from Businessman while the other two came out very well.[20]

In early February 2014, it was reported that the film's audio would release on 31 August 2014.[21] In mid-February 2014, according to TFI's buzz the film makers planned to release the audio of the film on 31 May 2014 to coincide with the occasion of Krishna's birthday.[22] However, after the declaration of the film's first look launch on 31 May 2014, the previous reports weren't taken into consideration.[23] During an interaction with the media on 26 March 2014, the owner of Lahari Music Manohar Naidu confirmed that they purchased the audio rights of the film's soundtrack.[24] In the end of May 2014, it was confirmed that the film's audio would be released on 9 August 2014 on the eve of Mahesh Babu's birthday.[25][26][27] But in mid-July 2014, reports emerged that the audio may release either on the scheduled date or in mid-August 2014 and an official confirmation on these reports were awaited.[28] Later, it was confirmed that the film's audio would be released on 31 August 2014 on the eve of Mahesh Babu's son Gautham Krishna Ghattamaneni's birthday.[29][30][31]

However, there were reports which said that the film's soundtrack would release on 28 August 2014.[32] Those reports were confirmed later in the third week of August 2014 and it was announced that the film's soundtrack would release on 29 August 2014, coinciding with Ganesh Chathurthi by hosting a grand promotional event at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad with fans of Mahesh being given the importance.[33][34] On 8 August 2014 the makers announced that the audio launch has been preponed to 15 August 2014.[35][36] Shankar attended the film's audio launch as the chief guest along with Thaman.[37][38] Mahesh attended the audio launch along with his wife Namrata Shirodkar and his parents Krishna and Vijaya Nirmala. The rest of the film's cast and crew except Tamannaah were present at the event.[39] Later it was known that Tamannaah couldn't attend the film's audio launch because of the shoot of S. S. Rajamouli's Baahubali at Mahabaleshwar.[40]

As a part of the promotions for the film's audio launch, a statewide contest named "Meelo Evaru Superstar SUPER SuperFan" was launched on 8 August 2014. A statement was issued regarding the same which stated the contest's process. A specially designed van would travel to six centers like Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Khammam, Warangal, Tirupathi and Kurnool starting from 8 August to 10 August. It will station itself at colleges, malls and theaters and an anchor will ask questions about Mahesh and his films to the actor's fans assembled. Selected fans who give out the right answer would win a chance to play a specially designed game on Mahesh and his films on a computer inside the van. The best fan with the most right answers will be identified and shortlisted in each center. 12 people will be selected in this way and they would be invited to the audio launch and will be called onto the stage and a game will be played in the presence of Mahesh and the winner will be selected and be crowned by the Mahesh himself as the "Superstar SUPER Superfan" with a special gift.[41]

It was also known that the audio launch event will be aired live on Gemini TV & Studio N and the audio launch & promotions are conceived, managed and marketed by Showtime Entertainments in association with 14 Reels Entertainment.[41] It was reported that the audio promos of the songs in the soundtrack will be released on 14 August 2014.[42] On that day, the audio release poster was released which also wished the people on the eve of Independence Day.[43] The audio launch event was streamed online since 6:30 PM IST.[44] The soundtrack disc was unveiled by Shankar who attended the event as the chief guest.[45]

The film's soundtrack received very good response from the audience within few hours of its release with a couple of songs turning into instant hits.[46][47] Reviewing the soundtrack, The Times of India wrote "All in all, Thaman has come up with peppy and lively album that'll make music lovers groove to almost all the soundtracks."[48] IndiaGlitz gave a review stating "From word go, Aagadu is all about the 'Feel of Thaman'. An album that is customized to reach out to the vast fan base of Mahesh Babu, a complaint one can have about the songs is that most of them sound like item songs religiously sung by item girls and boys."[49] 123telugu.com gave a positive review stating "On the whole, Thaman does complete justice to his 50th album, and makes it a rocking score. Aagadu, Naari Naari and Bhel Puri are instant chart busters, and are our picks. The entire album is quite catchy and caters to every section of the audience. A sure shot winner, which will only add to the craze and success of the film."[50] way2movies.com termed the soundtrack as a "perfect half century from Thaman" in their review.[51] Milliblog termed the soundtrack a "Largely humdrum material" in their review.[52]

Aagadu marked S. Thaman's 50th film as a music composer. K. V. Guhan provided the cinematography and M. R. Varma edited the film. Mahesh played the role of Shankar, an encounter specialist who is transferred to a village named Bukkapatnam as its circle inspector of police and is assigned the task of halting plans of a power plant construction by Damodar (played by Sonu Sood), an influential crime boss, as it is considered harmful to the natural resources of the locality. Shankar learns that Damodar is the reason behind his brother Bharath's death and seeks revenge.

Shankar is an orphan raised by a sincere police officer named Rajarao. When Rajarao's son Bharath accidentally kills a kid, Shankar takes the blame for him. Shankar is imprisoned, and Rajarao warns him not to meet him again. After graduating, Shankar is employed as a circle inspector of police. He is popularly referred to as "Encounter" Shankar because of his track record as an encounter specialist.

Shankar is transferred to Bukkapatnam town in Tadipatri, Ananthapur district. He is assigned the task of halting the illegal businesses of Damodar, an influential crime boss whose dream project is to build a power plant. Using his wits, Shankar destroys all the three main businesses of Damodar by befriending and trapping their respective in-charges: Lion Seenu, Ferocious Firangee and Super Sampangi. The three become Shankar's allies in the result. He brings a stay on the power project by bringing a few vital witnesses before the court of law, thereby earning Damodar's ire. On a parallel note, Shankar loves a sweet shop owner named Saroja who reciprocates his feelings at a later point of time.

A person named Shekhar approaches Shankar, and through him, he informs Mallikharjun, the local Superintendent of Police, that he is the witness of the murder of environmentalist Prakash by Damodar. Damodar influences all the witnesses including Shekhar before Shankar could arrest him. He later learns that Raja Rao's son Bharath, the previous district collector, killed himself and his wife, who was a friend of Prakash, because of defamation and personal attacks when Bharath tried to stop the power project.

Damodar held half of the share in the project whilst Mallikharjun and central minister Nagaraju held the remaining half share. Before committing suicide, Bharath revealed the truth behind Shankar's imprisonment to Raja Rao and unites them. Shankar seeks revenge, and with the help of a lawyer named Database Danayya, he gathers information regarding the power broker of this project named Delhi Suri, Mallikharjun, and Damodar's conservative girlfriend named Sukanya, who actually was an actress working in risqu films in the past.

By trapping initially and blackmailing later, Shankar gets hold of Delhi Suri with whose help, he creates a rift between Damodar and Nagaraju which leads to the latter's murder. By blackmailing Sukanya that they would reveal her past to Damodar, they trap Mallikharjun with her help and accuse him of a rape attempt on Sukanya. However, the fact that Mallikharjun was gay, which was concealed by him for a long time, was believed by none. He is murdered by eating poisoned food.

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