| Ugramm | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Prashanth Neel |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Pradeep Neel |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
|
| Edited by | Srikanth |
| Music by | Ravi Basrur |
Production company | Inkfinite Pictures |
| Distributed by | Thoogudeepa Distributors |
Release date |
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Running time | 141 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Kannada |
| Budget | 4 Crore |
| Box office | 30 Crore |
Ugramm (transl. Anger) is a 2014 IndianKannada-languageaction thriller film directed byPrashanth Neel in his directorial debut, and produced by his brother Pradeep Neel. It starsSriimurali andHariprriya in the lead roles, withTilak Shekar,Avinash,Atul Kulkarni, andJai Jagadish in supporting roles. The music was composed byRavi Basrur.Bhuvan Gowda serves as the main cinematographer withRavi Varman as a guest cinematographer, marking his debut inKannada cinema.[1]
Ugramm completed a run of 125 days in select theatres inKarnataka.[2] A sequel titledUgramm Veeram was announced bySriimurali in July 2014, but was later shelved. The film was remade inOdia asAgastya (2016) and inMarathi asRaanti (2024). Its storyline was later adapted intoSalaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire by Prashanth Neel, though it was not a direct remake.[3]
1994: Shivarudra Lingaiah, a ruthless gangster running acrime syndicate inBangalore, agrees to take up a big smuggling deal and approaches Prabhakar, the owner of ashipping company, to smuggle the goods through his ships, but Prabhakar rejects the offer. Enraged by the rejection, Shivarudra Lingaiah kills Prabhakar's wife and threatens to kill his infant daughter Nithya. As a result, Prabhakar accepts Shivarudra Lingaiah's offer.
While working with Shivarudra Lingaiah, Prabhakar stops a ship coming fromDubai, which contains smuggled goods belonging to Shivarudra Lingaiah. Prabhakar loads 90% of the smuggled goods onto another ship and sells it to a third party. Afterwards, Prabhakar escapes toAustralia, along with Nithya, to start a new life. Shivarudra Lingaiah gets arrested based on a tip-off by Prabhakar. However, Shivarudra Lingaiah continues his activities from the prison through his son Dheeraj.
2014: Shivarudra Lingaiah is now anMLA candidate, who along with Dheeraj, is waiting to exact vengeance from Prabhakar. A grown-up Nithya arrives inBangalore to visit her late mother's grave in Talagavara. Nithya is kidnapped by Dheeraj's gang on the way, but she is rescued by Agastya, anautomobile mechanic. Agastya takes her to his house for safeguarding as advised by Prabhakar's family-friend Vishwa.
Meanwhile, a cat-and-mouse game ensues between Shivarudra Lingaiah and Agastya, where Agastya manages to save Nithya again. Nithya, who has fallen for Agastya, learns from Vishwa about his dark past in Mughor, a region ruled by a blood-thirsty syndicate. Agastya's old promise to his friend Bala had pushed Agastya to enter thecrime syndicate. Within just a few years, Agastya managed to capture the entire region for Bala, against all odds. This earned him fearful respect and notoriety. However, Agastya's skirmish with Bala's younger brother Maara led to Maara's death. Agastya had exiled himself, respecting his mother's vow to live a life free of violence.
Dheeraj kills Shivarudra Lingaiah, deeming him weak, and captures Nithya and relocates to Mughor, under orders from Mughor's crime syndicate to seek vengeance on Agastya. Agastya returns to Mughor, where he faces the entire Mughor criminal fraternity. Agastya kills Dheeraj and saves Nithya again. Though still holding a grudge against Agastya for Maara's death, Bala allows them to leave as a show of friendship towards Agastya. Agastya leaves Mughor and reciprocate the love towards Nithya.
Ugramm was the first film ever to be shot outside theBharat Gold Mines Limited cyanide dumps atKolar Gold Fields. The other locations where the film was shot at includeKalaburagi, which was showcased as Mughor in the film,Bijapur District,Chintamani,Kolar,Mysore, Gargeshwari,Nandigrama, andBangalore.[4] Eight different cameras were used to suit different situations and locations.
| Ugramm | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 21 February 2014 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 23:37 | |||
| Language | Kannada | |||
| Label | D Beats | |||
| Ravi Basrur chronology | ||||
| ||||
The songs and background score were composed byRavi Basrur with lyrics written by Ram Narayan, S. Sarvesh and Basrur.[5] The soundtrack has six songs.[6]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Legend of Narasimha" | Ravi Basrur | Ravi Basrur | 4:08 |
| 2. | "Chanana Chanana" | Ram Narayan | Anuradha Bhat | 4:40 |
| 3. | "Ondu Hudugi" | Ram Narayan | Santhosh Venky, Anuradha Bhat | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Chittara Moodo" | S. Sarvesh | Priyanka Bharali | 3:46 |
| 5. | "Ugramm Veeram" | Ravi Basrur | Ravi Basrur | 3:48 |
| 6. | "Chittara Moodo Unplugged" | S. Sarvesh | Priyanka Bharali | 3:38 |
| Total length: | 23:37 | |||
Reviewing the soundtrack album, Kavya Christopher ofThe Times of India wrote, "Apart from the title track – Ugramm Veeram – which rightfully captures the essence of the title, translating to aggression, the rest of the numbers take you into a romantic journey of dream sequences that many stories try to rely on to bring in some breathing space in an otherwise adrenaline-packed plot."[7]
The film made its theatrical release on 21 February 2014 in 142 theaters acrossKarnataka.[8] It was dubbed inHindi asMain Hoon Fighter Badshah.[9]
Ugramm collected₹5.5crore in Karnataka in the first week.[10] It completed a 125-day run in theatres inKarnataka.[11]
B. S. Srivani ofDeccan Herald wrote, "An overdose of violence to simple-minded families, Ugramm, however, is a treat for those looking for instant kicks."[12] A. Sharadhaa ofThe New Indian Express wrote, "This is a landmark gangster film that balances commercial elements with a stirring screenplay. A very well-made film, Ugramm is full of action, drama and fleshed out characters."[4] Shyam Prasad S. ofBangalore Mirror gave 3/5 stars and wrote, "The film is technically brilliant, but what it lacks is a style to the excessive energy that is drummed up."[13]The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Set in the North Karnataka region of Mughor, Ugramm keeps viewers hooked from the beginning with its lively script and brilliant narration. Though the loud background music drowns the dialogues at times, the action-packed sequences make up for all shortcomings."[14]
| Award | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Film | Inkfinite Pictures | Nominated | [15] [16] |
| Best Director | Prashanth Neel | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Sriimurali | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Thilak Shekar | Nominated | ||
| Best Debut Producer | Inkfinite Pictures | Won | ||
| Best Debut Director | Prashanth Neel | Won | ||
| 62nd Filmfare Awards South | Best Film | Inkfinite Pictures | Nominated | [17] [18] |
| Best Director | Prashanth Neel | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Srimurali | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Haripriya | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Thilak | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Padmaja Rao | Nominated | ||
| Best Music Director | Ravi Basrur | Nominated | ||
| Best Playback Singer - Female | Anuradha Bhat ("Chanchana Chanchana") | Won |
A sequel to the film titledUgramm Veeram to be made in 2015, was announced bySrimurali in July 2014, but there have been no official updates till date.[19] It was remade inOdia asAgastya starringAnubhav Mohanty. A Marathi remake titledRaanti starringSharad Kelkar andShanvi Srivastava was announced in August 2022.[20]
The 2023 filmSalaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire directed by Neel was a retelling of the story, which he did not perceive as a remake. He made significant changes to the story to suitPrabhas andPrithviraj Sukumaran, who were re-enacting Sriimurali and Tilak Shekar's roles. Neel expressed thatUgramm always held a special place in his heart and wanted to do justice to its story. Following the pan-Indian success ofKGF: Chapter 2, Neel saw the new markets opened byKGF as an opportunity to not let his "best stories languish onYouTube". He wanted "Ugramm to reach the heights ofKGF" and emphasized that "scaling upUgramm to createSalaar was solely about enhancing the storytelling."[21]