Naanu Mattu Varalakshmi

Naanu Mattu Varalakshmi (transl. Me and Varalakshmi) is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language action film written and directed by Preetham Gubbi and produced by Jayanna-Bhogendra. It stars Prithvi, the grandson of musician G. K. Venkatesh in his debut, and Malavika Mohanan in her Kannada debut. Prakash Raj, Madhoo, Charandeep and Rangayana Raghu play supporting roles. The music is composed by V. Harikrishna. The film was released on 16 December 2016.

Naanu Mattu Varalakshmi
Directed by	Preetham Gubbi
Written by	Preetham Gubbi
Produced by	Manjunath.K Jayanna Bhogendra
Starring	Prithvi Malavika Mohanan Prakash Raj Madhoo
Cinematography	Preetha Jayaraman
Edited by	Deepu.S.Kumar
Music by	V. Harikrishna
Production company	Jayanna Combines
Distributed by	Kollur Mookambika Creations
Release date	23 December 2016 (2016-12-23)
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Cast

• Prithvi as Munna
• Malavika Mohanan as Varalakshmi
• Prakash Raj as Munna's crew chief
• Madhoo as Crew Chief's girlfriend
• Charandeep as Charan
• Rangayana Raghu as Munna's dad
• Achyuth Kumar as Munna's mechanic
• Sadhu Kokila as Munna'a Mechanic
• Pavitra Lokesh as Charan's girlfriend
• Ashok Sharma
• Aravind KP as Himself

Production

Development and casting

After the debacle of Boxer in 2015, director-writer Preetham teamed up yet again with the producers Jayanna-Bhogendra duo and choose motocross racing as the theme for his next directorial venture. For this film, he brought in six national champions, including a couple of them with international acclaim. He also hired Vijaykumar, a professional motocross racer of many international awards, as a team coach to help with the proceedings.^[1] For the lead roles, he selected the fresh faces Prithvi and Malayalam actress Malavika Mohanan. Prithvi, the grandson of music director G. K. Venkatesh, is an engineering graduate and is trained in acting, stunts and dancing. Charandeep was chosen to play the antagonist as another racer who is an opponent to Prithvi.^[2]

Filming

The principal photography of the film officially began from 15 December 2015 in Bangalore behind Manyata Tech Park where a race track was being set up for the shoot. The crew consisted of some technically professional racers whom Preetham wanted the scene to "look authentic, since it is a tough sport and any cover-up by the technical team will show upfront." The first schedule of filming ended at Ooty.^[3] For the climax portions, Preetham chose to shoot in Sri Lanka where two tracks are meant for the bike races.^[4]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is composed by V. Harikrishna.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Na Chennagidde -Reprise"	Yogaraj Bhat	Tippu, V. Harikrishna	4:28
2.	"Na Chennagidde"	Yogaraj Bhat	V. Harikrishna	4:24
3.	"Meredadide"	Jayanth Kaikini	Sonu Nigam	4:30
4.	"Nunge Nee"	Yogaraj Bhat	Santhosh Venky	4:29
5.	"Ondhalla"	A. P. Arjun	Ajay Warrier	4:25

Reception

Critical response

A Sharadhaa from The New Indian Express wrote "The film which moves ahead on conversation needs a little patience, but there is racing that fills the gaps. It is left to the audience to choose the track of love or the bike race".^[5] Shyam Prasad S from Bangalore Mirror says "While a couple of characters are fleshed out to add support, the roles played by Madhoo and Prakash Rai are cardboard stuff".^[6] Sunanya Suresh from The Times of India wrote "If you like your films to be reminiscent of the good old romantic tales, this one is worth a dekko, though be prepared to invest a little patience and go without many expectations".^[7]