| Godavari | |
| Director: | Sekhar Kammula |
| Producer: | G. V. G. Raju |
| Starring: | Sumanth Kamalinee Mukherjee Neetu Chandra |
| Music: | K. M. Radha Krishnan |
| Cinematography: | Vijay C. Kumar |
| Editing: | Marthand K. Venkatesh |
| Studio: | SSC Arts |
| Distributor: | Amigos Creations KAD Entertainment (USA) |
| Runtime: | 160 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Telugu |
Godavari is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Sekhar Kammula, and produced by G. V. G. Raju. Sumanth and Kamalinee Mukherjee played the lead roles.[1] The film was a commercial success at the box office in addition to receiving unanimous critical acclaim.[2] [3] It won several Nandi and Filmfare awards. The music of the film was composed by K. M. Radha Krishnan. There is a similarity in the names of the protagonists and the cruise boat on the river Godavari .[4] This film was later dubbed In Hindi as Jheel Se Gehra Pyar. The film was an above average grosser in India but was successful in the US.[5] Godavari is considered a modern day classic by some critics [6]
Godavari is a film about Sriram, Sita, and the river cruise, from Rajahmundry to Bhadrachalam, that brings them together. It is a love story set against the scenic backdrop of the Godavari River aboard a cruise boat also called Godavari.[7]
Sriram, "Ram" (Sumanth), is an MS graduate in engineering from the United States. He returns to India, wanting to serve its people by entering politics. He is in love with his cousin Raaji (Neetu Chandra) and hopes to marry her. Raji's father, however, trivialises Ram's idealistic nature and his modest financial status and does not want Raji to marry him.
Sita (Kamalinee Mukherjee) is a fashion designer who runs an unsuccessful clothing boutique store. Her parents, who are not very keen about her business, want her to get married instead. Sita, being an independent and career-oriented woman, is not enthusiastic about their idea. However, circumstances force her to reluctantly agree with her parents. Later, she closes her boutique due to loses. However, the marriage doesn't work out as the groom's family feels that she is 'too progressive and fast'. Frustrated and angry, Sita decides to take a break from everything to go on the Godavari River cruise.
Meanwhile, Raji gets a marriage proposal from Ravi (Kamal Kamaraju), a self-centred IPS officer whom her father approves of. Raji tells Ram that she's unsure about her feelings for him. Ram decides to prove his worth to her father and win her hand. However, he soon realises that she has a liking towards Ravi. Disappointed and heartbroken, Ram is forced to join his family on the same Godavari River cruise to Bhadrachalam, where Raji is to be married. It is on this boat cruise where Ram and Sita meet.
There are also several sub plots involving other characters on the river boat: Chinna, a poor kid who sells balloons for a living, gets his balloons cut by a man wearing a red shirt, and jumps onto the river cruise in order to get his money for the lost balloons. At the same time, Kotigadu, a dog who is constantly harassed by other dogs, decides to leave Rajamundry to Bhadrachalam in hopes of finding a better place for him there. Kotigadu considers Chinna as his master for saving him, and later, Chinna befriends Ram and tells his woes. Veeraiah, a witness of a high-profile murder who is on the run along with his pregnant daughter, joins in the cruise as a cook. Ram befriends with him later saves him from the goons.
Ram and Sita meet each for the first time as she hesitantly walks on the ramp that leads to the boat. Noticing her difficulty, Ram picks her up suddenly and carries her in his arms onto the boat. Ram feels he did her a favor, but Sita angrily demands an apology from him for touching her without her permission. The easygoing Ram apologises and moves on. Ram and Sita, after a series of misunderstandings, formally introduce each other and become friends.
Sita starts writing in a diary to record her memories of her trip, those especially with Ram. She soon realises that she had fallen for Ram because of his genuine attitude. She tries her best to woo Ram romantically many times. During a halt in their journey, the boat captain organizes a treasure-hunt, and they both team up. All through the event, Sita tries to find out if Ram has feelings for her, but she doesn't succeed. When they are just a step away from winning the treasure hunt, Sita asks Ram to let Chinna win since the latter is in financial need. Ram willingly agrees, further winning her admiration. After the treasure hunt, Chinna finds out that the redshirted man is none other than Ravi. He tries to teach Ravi a lesson but eventually moves on from the issue, as following Ravi led him to the cruise, which helped him win the treasure hunt prize of Rs.50000.[8]
Meanwhile, Raji and Ravi, who are on the same team together, get lost during the treasure hunt as Raji misguides him accidentally, thereby angering him. Raji subsequently discovers the controlling and chauvinistic nature of Ravi and starts having second thoughts about their impending marriage. Confused and disappointed, she suddenly asks Ram to marry her instead. Ram says he will pick her up at a specific location and time and sends the details on a piece of paper. This paper accidentally lands in the hands of Sita. Chinna, who doesn't want Raji to read it, suddenly swallows the paper as he is aware of Sita's feelings for Ram. Hence, the paper never gets to Raji, and her meeting plan with Ram goes awry. However, the fickle minded Raji is disappointed and hurt with Ram and goes back to the cruise to go through with her marriage to Ravi. Sita thinks that Ram still loves Raji and feels guilty for ruining his marriage and, heartbroken, leaves the boat cruise abruptly without anyone's knowledge. After reaching home, she got good offers regarding her designer wares, but she started feeling lonely to miss him.
Meanwhile, Ram, confused as to why Sita left, starts to miss her. He comes across her diary, which was accidentally left behind. After reading it, he discovers Sita's feelings for him. He goes to her home in Hyderabad, hoping to reconcile with her.
Meanwhile, Sita had a good talk with her mother regarding Ram, and her mother suggests to forgive Ram regarding the issue. Later, Ram meets her at home after a lot of convincing. She agrees to take a walk with him, where he suddenly proposes to her for marriage. Sita is shocked and confused, saying she won't forgive him for planning to marry Raji.
Ram tells her that he never had any plan of marrying Raji because the piece of paper he gave was actually blank, and that the whole plan was just a hoax to make up her mind to stick with the marriage. He then expresses that his feelings all along were only for Sita. Hearing this, Sita is happy once again and agrees to marry Ram. Finally, the film ends with Ram reveals to Sita that he got job offers from ruling and opposition parties, which is going to be a first step in his political career.
Kammula said the film carries a similar essence and feel of Andala Ramudu (1973) directed by Bapu.[9] Speaking to Idlebrain, Sekhar Kammula told that "I wanted an overwhelming backdrop for this film. I watched Andala Ramudu on TV when I was in the 10th class. It left an everlasting impact on me. It made me want to go to Rajahmundry to feel the Godavari River".[10]
About 70% of the film was shot on the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.[11]
The soundtrack and score of the film was composed by K. M. Radha Krishnan. The track "Andamgalena" sung by Sunitha Upadrashta won her a Nandi Award for Best Female Playback Singer. The track "Manasa Vaacha" sung by K.S.Chithra, and P. Unnikrishnan was also nominated at the Filmfare Awards South in the Best Female Playback Singer.
Godavari was initially scheduled to release in December 2005 but was ultimately released on 19 May 2006 due to delay in the production.[12]
Jeevi of Idlebrain gave a rating of 3.75 of 5 and wrote that "On a whole, Godavari film is another Sekhar Kammula’s film with good sensibilities and emotions. Godavari film is as good as Anand if not better".[13] Radhika Rajamani of Rediff.com opined that "Godavari scores on all fronts and is worth a watch".[14] In an article published by The Hindu, G Venkataramana Rao praised Vijay C. Kumar's work.[15]