Leader (2010 film)

Leader is a 2010 Telugu political drama film written and directed by Sekhar Kammula marking the acting debut of Rana Daggubati in the lead role, with Richa Gangopadhyay and Priya Anand as the female leads. This film was produced by AVM Productions. The movie opened to rave positive reviews and was a super-hit. It was dubbed into Hindi in the same name as Leader.

Plot

This movie starts off with the assassination of Sanjeevayya (Suman), the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the subsequent turmoil in the organization of the state government. The last wish of Sanjeevayya is for his son, Arjun Prasad (Rana Daggubati), to become the next Chief Minister. However, Arjun's cousin Dhanunjay (Subbaraju) has his own dreams of becoming the Chief Minister. Arjun is approached by Ali (Harsha Vardhan) who has given 10 Crores to Sanjeevayya to resolve a land dispute in Ali's favour. Ali pleads Arjun to remind his father about the cash, once he is out of coma, as he has given his entire savings to resolve the issue. Ali also requests Arjun not to disclose it to anyone as he doesn't trust anyone. Arjun speaks to Dhanunjay about Ali but Arjun is somehow convinced that Ali's money would be returned. After Sanjeevayya's death a number of people approach Arjun, saying that his father has given them a huge sum of money and it's their duty to return it to Arjun. Arjun doesn't seem to be too interested until he talks to his mother, Rajeshwari (Suhasini Maniratnam). Arjun's mother tells him that the people who approached him are all corrupted ones, who have looted public's money and also reveals that his father is one among them. Arjun is shocked upon hearing this but his mother tells him that his father wanted to build a corrupt free state and also abolish the caste system but his Peddaina (Sanjeevayya's elder brother) (Kota Srinivasa Rao) doesn't approve of his plans and his only aim was to rule the state along with the family members. Arjun reads his father's diary and finds out how his Pedainna set their whole village on fire due to a small clash with the dalits. His father has also mentioned that only Arjun can make a difference.

Arjun realizes that it's not in the best interest of the state for Dhanunjay to become the CM. Arjun's mother also tells him that she will speak to Pedainna if Arjun is willing to become the next CM. The next day Arjun finds Ali's bag and calls him to return it to him. Ali is totally impressed with Arjun and thanks him. Arjun reveals to Ali that he is planning to become the next CM and that Ali is his secretary. In the meantime Arjun and his mother meet Pedainna to make him the next CM. Pedainna is shocked at first but later he gives his word to them. To become the CM, he uses the black money his father earned as the CM in buying the MLAs and ends up being the CM. Dhanunjay is agitated by the sudden turn of events and plans to put an end to Arjun. Pedainna requests Arjun to make Dhanunjay the new home minister in his cabinet. Arjun and his mother hesitate initially but later they agree. Arjun's security is under threat and he is shot by some people but fortunately he recovers from the attack and orders Dhanunjay to resign, as it is a home minister's duty to protect him. Arjun also knows that Dhanunjay is the mastermind behind the attack.

Arjun states that his ultimate aim is to build a corrupt free state and mentions that around 100,000 crore Rupees of black money is present, which could be used for developing the state. Arjun proposes a new initiative to collect black money from people and then use it for the development of the state. The members of his party protest as this might cause trouble to them but later he amends the bill and says that all political people will be exempted. Finally his members approve the bill. A huge amount of money is collected from this drive but very soon his party members protest as most of their relatives and friends have lost their black money. Dhanunjay uses this opportunity to get rid off Arjun. Arjun loses all his hopes. That night he receives a call from Archana (Richa Gangopadhyay) who runs a news channel. Archana seeks Arjun's help as a police constable goes on hunger strike to seek justice to a girl from the lower caste, who was raped by an MLA's son. Arjun is not too keen to solve this issue so he asks Archana to contact some other official.

The next morning Arjun sees the news paper and finds out that Archana is the daughter of Munnuswamy, who is the party leader with whom they have formed an alliance. Arjun contacts Ali to get all the details about Archana. Arjun's plan is to woo Archana, so that he gets Munnuswamy's support to remain as the CM. Arjun is hesitant but Ali and his close associates convince him, so he decides to go ahead with this plan. Arjun visits the police constable and promises to punish the MLA's son who raped and killed the girl. Archana does not seem impressed at first but slowly warms up to Arjun. Arjun starts dating Archana and she finally falls in love with him. Arjun changes his mind as he doesn't want to use Archana for his political drama and so he plans on visiting Peddainna and request him to convince the party MLAs. Arjun takes Archana along with him to Peddainna's village. Arjun visits the village which was destroyed by his Peddainna. The people start abusing Arjun as their village was destroyed by his family. Peddainna who is a casteist is not happy that Arjun visited the dalits. Arjun leaves Peddainna's house immediately stating that untouchability is a sin. He finally decides to propose to Archana as that is the only option left. That night he proposes to Archana who accepts. He then asks Archana to talk to her father about their relationship. Munnuswamy is elated on hearing this and offers to support Arjun with his only condition being the release the MLA's son who raped and killed a girl as the MLA belongs to Munnuswamy's party. Arjun does not agree to it but later as Ali and the chief secretary force him he agrees to this reluctantly.

Dhanunjay's plans are broken again as Munnuswamy starts supporting Arjun. Dhanunjay learns about Arjun's plan and calls up Archana. Arjun and Archana break up their relationship in spite of Arjun telling her that he really loves her and it's not a drama (though it started that way). Arjun confronts his mother and reveals that he could not give justice to a girl who was raped and killed. His mother is deeply saddened on hearing this and tells that this was exactly how everything started and that he should never compromise. Arjun's mother finally says that she always wanted him to be a leader and not a politician. Arjun's mother dies in her sleep that night.

Everything falls apart for Arjun, so it becomes quite evident that he might step down as a CM anytime. So he decides to take matters in his hands one last time. He orders the chief secretary to send out orders to raid all the politicians, their kith and kin and get an account of all their black money. This way he can achieve his main target which is to get rid off black money and use the funds to develop the state. He also reveals that he is going to resign his job the next day and requests for one final favour to the security officer – to kill the MLA's son once Arjun resigns. The chief secretary and Ali request him not to resign as he is only person who can bring a change. But Arjun quits saying that a CM who denied justice to a girl no longer deserves to be the CM.

The next day a major income tax raid is carried out throughout the state. By the end of the day around 100,000 crore Rupees is collected for the people's fund, which was Arjun's ultimate goal. Arjun then meets the governor and submits his resignation. The party members become furious and join Dhanunjay to elect him as the new CM but Munnuswamy withdraws his support in the last moment, which leads them to face a new election. Arjun visits Peddainna who is now seated all alone in his party meeting hall. Arjun meets Peddaina and says that he no longer wants to be a part of this group as he wants to be a true leader.

Arjun travels across the state and promises to give a corrupt free rule and develop the state. Then Archana comes and pardons Arjun and the two reconcile. Arjun brings hope to the people and the entire state follows him. He wins the election while the other parties are left white washed. In the final scene we see Arjun and Archana as a married couple and Arjun sworn in as the new Chief Minister of the state.

Cast

• Rana Daggubati as Arjun Prasad
• Richa Gangopadhyay as Archana Prasad
• Priya Anand as Ratna Prabha
• Tanikella Bharani as Chief Secretary Sharma
• Rao Ramesh as Arjun's uncle
• Ahuti Prasad as Munnuswami, Archana's father
• Suhasini Mani Ratnam as Rajeswari Devi, Arjun's mother
• Subbaraju as Dhanunjay
• Harsha Vardhan as Ali, Arjun's personal secretary
• Kota Srinivasa Rao as Mahadevayya (Peddayana)
• Suman as CM Sanjeevayya, Arjun's father
• Vai Sista in a Cameo Role
• Udaya Bhanu in a special appearance

Critical reception

Being one of the most heavily hyped films of the year, Leader opened to rave reviews from critics. The Times Of India gave a three star rating noting "Another lineage star Rana Daggubati takes his first bow at the Box Office with an inspiring political saga, he puts in a surprisingly mature performance (for a debutant) and shines in his role of a savvy young CEO of an US-based company who turns a conniving politician with effortless ease."^[1]

Radhika Rajamani from Rediff also gave a three star rating and said "The film is a relevant take on contemporary politics in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Performance-wise, Sekhar scores. His choice Suhasini as Arjun's mother is good. She brings grace and dignity to her role. An impressive debut, indeed. Richa Gangopadhyay looks pretty and charming. Harshavardhan (who plays Ali) and Priya Anand (Ratna Prabha) are competent in their roles. Mickey J Meyer's music is good too."^[2]

Sify explains "The technical aspects of the film are highly impressive with superb cinematography, excellent music and terrific background score. The first half is gripping, giving some promising moments to the audience. But, the second half slips into monotony thanks to the slipshod treatment to the political subject." However it praised the lead performances, saying "Rana has certainly lived up to the expectations of the audiences with his looks and thoroughly trained histrionics." The movie was an average grosser.^[3]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack has music composed by Mickey J. Meyer. The music was released on 22 November 2009. Lyrics were written by Late Dr. Veturi Sundararamamurthy, Sankarambadi Sundarachari & Rayaprolu Subbarao.

References

External links

• Leader at the Internet Movie Database