Sye (transl. Challenge) (/ˈsaɪ/) is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language sports action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who co-wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film is produced by A. Bharati under Sri Bharathi Enterprises. The film features Nithin, Genelia D'Souza, Shashank and Pradeep Rawat. The story has a rugby backdrop. In the film, two rival groups in a college—Science led by Prudhvi and Arts led by Shashank—fight for superiority through the game of rugby, until a local gangster Bhikshu Yadav takes over their college.
| Sye | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | S. S. Rajamouli |
| Screenplay by | S. S. Rajamouli |
| Dialogues by |
|
| Story by | V. Vijayendra Prasad |
| Produced by | A. Bharati |
| Starring | Nithiin Genelia D'Souza Shashank Pradeep Rawat |
| Cinematography | K. K. Senthil Kumar |
| Edited by | Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao |
| Music by | M. M. Keeravani |
Production company | Sri Bharathi Enterprises |
Release date |
|
Running time | 163 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹5 crore[2] |
| Box office | ₹11 crore (Distributors' Share) [3][4] |
This was Rajamouli's third film post the successes of Student No: 1 and Simhadri. Music composed by M. M. Keeravani with cinematography by K. K. Senthil Kumar and editing by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao. The film earned ₹11 crore in distributor share’s (US$2.4 million) against a production budget of ₹5 crore (US$1.5 million) and was commercially successful.[a][3] The film won four Nandi Awards.
Plot
editPrudhvi (Nithiin) and Shashank (Shashank) are the leaders of two warring student groups in a Hyderabad college. Their rivalry is intense, marked by constant clashes and a fierce competition for dominance. They are fond of the game of rugby, and they sort things out issues between them by playing rugby to prove their superiority. Despite their differences, the groups share a deep love for their college, especially its vast playground, which is a hub of their activities.
However, their lives take a drastic turn when a local mafia leader Bhikshu Yadav (Pradeep Rawat) gets a court notice that he has purchased the college land from its legal heirs. Prudhvi and Sashank's groups unite and forget their mutual differences to win back the college. The students attack the political career of Bhikshu by posting fake posters of him in the streets. They go to his liquor shops and play dead to make it appear that the shops sold spurious poisonous liquor which killed the students. After getting affected by the student assaults, Bhikshu Yadav throws a challenge to defeat his team in a game of rugby to win back the land for their college. The condition is set: if the students win, Bhikshu will leave the land alone; if they lose, the land is his. The rest of the story is how Prudhvi leads his team to the victory.[1]
Cast
edit- Nithiin as Prudhvi
- Shashank as Shashank
- Pradeep Rawat as Bhikshu Yadav
- Genelia D'Souza as Indu
- Nassar as Qadar, college property owner
- Rajiv Kanakala as Rugby coach Rafi, Qader's son
- Ajay as Bhikshu Yadav's henchman
- Tanikella Bharani as Prudhvi's father and college principal
- Venu Madhav as Nalla Balu
- S. S. Kanchi as Indu's father
- Preeti Nigam as Prudhvi's mother
- Swathi Katrapati as Venni, Indu's friend and Shani's girlfriend
- Supreeth as Bhikshu Yadav's henchmen
- Madhunandan as College Student
- Sameer as ACP Aravind
- Surya as Pinganoori Panganamalu alias Ping Pong[6]
- Chatrapathi Sekhar as Bhikshu Yadav's right hand and an advocate
- Shravan as Chotu, Shashank's classmate
- Natraj Master as Spare
- Sivannarayana Naripeddi
- Narsing Yadav
- Alapati Lakshmi
- S. S. Rajamouli as Nalla Balu's henchman
Production
editNithiin and other actors underwent two months of rugby training.[7]
Soundtrack
edit| Sye | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 25 August 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 26:59 | |||
| Language | Telugu | |||
| Label | Aditya Music | |||
| Producer | M. M. Keeravani | |||
| M. M. Keeravani chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film has six songs composed by M. M. Keeravani.[8] The audio release function was held at the Taj Banjara hotel in Hyderabad.[8]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Appudappudu" | M. M. Keeravani | Lucky Ali, Sumangali | 4:06 |
| 2. | "Chantaina Bujjaina" | Chandrabose | Kalyani Malik, Smitha, Vasundara Das | 5:27 |
| 3. | "Ganga A/C" | Chandrabose | Kalyani Malik, Ganga, Vasundara Das | 5:21 |
| 4. | "Gutlovundi" | Bhuvana Chandra | Tippu, Malathi | 4:31 |
| 5. | "Nalla Nallani Kalla" | Siva Shakti Datta | M. M. Keeravani, K. S. Chithra | 4:10 |
| 6. | "Pantham Pantham" | Chandrabose | Devi Sri Prasad, M. M. Keeravani, Tippu, Chandrabose, Kalyani Malik, & Smitha | 3:21 |
| Total length: | 26:59 | |||
Reception
editA critic from Sify opined that "Go ahead and enjoy and rugby game. Sye is a roller coaster ride of pure unadulterated masala".[9][10]
Box office
editThe film had a successful 365-day run at one center. It collected ₹11 crore share at box office.[11] Sye was the most expensive film in Rajamouli's career till 2004 as it was made with ₹5 crore budget.[4][3]
Recognition
editIn the lead up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, a video of the rugby scenes from Sye went viral.[12]
When Willie Hateraka, belonging to the Maori sect of New Zealand, working as the coach for Indian Army's Rugby team, saw the film Sye, was so impressed with the movie that he recommended Rajamouli's name to the International Rugby Board as the director for their proposed feature film based on Rugby. Hateraka, who couldn't even understand English properly nor the language of the film, connected to the film emotionally. The film went on to be one of the only 3 films that the Rugby Board found suitable as promotional material for the game of Rugby.[13]
Awards
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Sye - Telugu Full Movie @ YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Student No. 1 To RRR, A Look At The Box Office Collections Of SS Rajamouli Films". News18 India. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "Postmortem - Chatrapati by SS Rajamouli". Idlebrain.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
- ^ a b "భళి భళి భళిరా భళి రాజమౌళి". Sakshi (in Telugu). 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "1 USD to INR from 1947 till now, Historical Exchange Rates Explained". BookMyForex.com. 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Ankit, Pallavi & Friends pressmeet - Telugu cinema - Nikhil & Megha Burman". Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Chit Chat with SS Rajamouli". Idlebrain.com. 12 September 2004.
- ^ a b "Audio release - Sye". Idlebrain.com. 25 August 2004.
- ^ "Review : (2004)". Sify. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ jeevi (23 September 2004). "Movie review - Sye". Idlebrain.com. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Chatrapati - Post mortem - Telugu cinema - SS Rajamouli - Prabhas, Shriya Archived 13 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Idlebrain.com. Retrieved on 2020-05-25.
- ^ Sion Morgan (27 August 2015). "Bollywood rugby blockbuster gives hilariously skewed version of world-famous sport". Mirror (UK). Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "Interview with SS Rajamouli by Jeevi – Chatrapathi". Idlebrain.com. 22 September 2005. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ "Telugu Cinema Etc - Nandi award winners list 2004". Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2021.