Waltair Veerayya was released on 13 January 2023, coinciding with Sankranti weekend, and received mixed reviews from critics.[4] The film became commercially successful at the box office, thus becoming the third highest-grossing Telugu film of 2023.[5]
Plot
Waltair Veerayya, a notorious fisherman and smuggler, needs money to fight a court case. He is approached by CI Seethapathi, who tells him about Solomon Caesar, a notorious drug lord who escaped from RAW's custody after killing multiple police officers. Seethapathi, responsible for Solomon's custody, gets suspended from service. He asks Veerayya to extradite Solomon from Malaysia to India in exchange for providing money. Veerayya accepts the deal and travels to Malaysia with his friends and Seethapathi's brother-in-law. They check in at a hotel owned by Solomon and devise a plot to kidnap him.
However, Veerayya misses the opportunity as he is stunned after seeing Dr. Nithya and her daughter Vaishnavi, where Nithya angrily takes Vaishnavi away from Veerayya. Seethapathi's brother-in-law gets impatient and prompts Seethapathi to follow Solomon without Veerayya's knowledge, only to get caught by Solomon. Veerayya arrives at the place and tricks Solomon into believing they want to cut a drug deal with him.
Later, Veerayya gets invited by Solomon to his private party, where a group of masked assassins attempt to capture Solomon. However, Veerayya foils their plans and later realizes they are the hotel staff. They reveal themselves as RAW agents, led by Athidhi. Solomon expresses his admiration for Veerayya and offers to ask him anything in return for saving his life. Veerayya asks him to return to India. Solomon agrees but soon finds out about their ploy, and he gets busted. As Solomon assaults Athidhi for information with his elder brother Michael Caesar on video conference, Veerayya retaliates and reveals that Michael is his ultimate target. Veerayya kills Solomon at the public fair in the Batu Caves, where a helpless Michael witnesses everything.
Past: Four years ago, Michael, disguised as a fisherman named Kaala, acts as Veerayya's friend and confidant. Without Veerayya's knowledge, Michael supplies cocaine from the former's ice factory. The newly appointed ACP Vikram Sagar, also Veerayya's half-brother, arrives in Vizag and begins a crackdown on the drug syndicate. During their childhood, Veerayya, who suffers from vertigo, accidentally let Vikram fall from a tree since the brothers grew up separately. Though Vikram developed hatred towards Veerayya, Veerayya always loved him. Vikram is also happily married to Nithya, and they have a daughter, Vaishnavi.
Vikram tracks down the origin of the drugs in Veerayya's locality, but Michael manages to keep his cover. One day, the ice factory accidentally supplies cocaine wrapped in ice to a school, which resulted in the deaths of 25 children due to dehydration caused by the cocaine. Michael subsequently frames Veerayya and plans to escape to Malaysia. Veerayya gets arrested, and the police decides to kill him in an encounter to calm the public rage. Vikram, who believes that Veerayya is innocent, loots the seized drugs to lure Michael. He secretly arrives at the planned encounter, shooting in place of Veerayya to capture Michael.
However, Vikram's senior officer JCP Bharadwaj is in cahoots with Michael, and Michael and his men fatally stab Vikram. Michael manages to escape as Veerayya arrives, but not before he shows his true face. Veerayya tries to take a heavily injured Vikram to the hospital, but Vikram succumbs to his injuries on the way, revealing that he always had affection for Veerayya but could not express it publicly due to his crackdown on the drug syndicate. Veerayya is stopped by the police and taken away. Vikram is deprived of state honors and labeled as a traitor by the police. Nithya blames Veerayya for Vikram's death; this is why she dislikes Veerayya. Heartbroken, Veerayya decides to extradite Michael to India for his testimony in court before Seethapati shows him the way.
Present: Veerayya sets up Michael against his drug partner Velappan Karuppan by blowing up his base of operations. The rival gang attempts to kill Michael, and he agrees to come to India with Veerayya and testify in court in exchange for his life. With the help of Athithi, Veerayya brings Michael back to India and overcomes his vertigo while escaping.Following Michael's testimony, the court recognizes Vikram's bravery and grants him state honors while acquitting Veerayya of his charges. To fulfill Vikram's last wish of avenging the children's deaths, Veerayya decapitates Michael in the courtroom before being sentenced to prison. Veerayya reunites with Vaishnavi and Nithya, who forgive him during the state honors ceremony for Vikram.
Sekhar as himself in the song "Poonakaalu Loading"
Production
In August 2021, it was announced that Chiranjeevi and K. S. Ravindra (also known as Bobby) would team up for a film tentatively titled Mega154 (intended to be Chiranjeevi's 154th film) under the production of Mythri Movie Makers.[6][7] The film was formally launched in November 2021.[8] In April 2022, Chiranjeevi unintentionally revealed the film is titled Waltair Veerayya. The title was officially confirmed in October 2022.[9][10] Ravindra wrote the story and dialogues, which were scripted by Kona Venkat and K. Chakravarthy Reddy. Arthur A. Wilson was signed on as the cinematographer, marking his third collaboration with Bobby, after Power and Sardaar Gabbar Singh. Niranjan Devaramane was the film's editor.[11]
Principal photography commenced in December 2021 in Hyderabad.[19] In April 2022, the second schedule commenced with Haasan joining the sets in Vishakapatnam.[20][10] In July 2022, the third schedule commenced with Teja joining the sets.[21][22] A schedule was also held in Malaysia.[23]
The film score and soundtrack are composed by Devi Sri Prasad. The audio rights were acquired by Sony Music India. The first single titled "Boss Party" was released on 23 November 2022.[25] The second single titled "Sridevi Chiranjeevi" was released on 19 December 2022.[26] The third single titled "Veerayya Title Song" was released on 26 December 2022.[27] The fourth single titled "Poonakaalu Loading" was released on 30 December 2022.[28] The fifth single titled "Neekemo Andamekkuva" was released on 11 January 2023.
Waltair Veerayya along with the Hindi dubbed version, was released in theaters on 13 January 2023 coinciding with the festival of Sankranti.[29][30] The worldwide theatrical rights of the film were sold at a cost of ₹94 crore.[31]
Home media
The digital and satellite rights of the film were acquired by Netflix and Gemini TV respectively.[32][33] The film premiered on Netflix on 27 February 2023.[34] The Hindi dubbed version of the movie was premiered on Sony Max on 13 August 2023.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10.[35]Waltair Veerayya received mixed reviews from critics.[4]
Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Waltair Veerayya might not leave you feeling poonakalu as promised, but it’s decent enough, especially if you’re a Chiranjeevi fan or Ravi Teja’s for that matter. Just don't expect something out-of-the-box."[36] Latha Srinivasan of India Today gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Chiranjeevi's role in the film is reminiscent of his earlier films - massy, stylish, comical and full of action. Waltair Veerayya also stars Ravi Teja and Shruti Haasan, and is directed by Bobby Kolli. Chiru's fans are in for a treat."[37] Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times wrote "Bobby’s intention of delivering an out-and-out enjoyable commercial film with Waltair Veerayya works to a large extent, even when the predictability factor creeps in when you’re least expecting. The action sequences really serve as the film’s high moments and they deliver the thrills in a big way. These scenes do go overboard on multiple occasions but still work given the film’s massive scale."[38]
Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "The filmmakers don't want the audience to respond to the character Waltair Veerayya, but they want us to venerate before the star playing Waltair Veerayya".[39] Balakrishna Ganeshan of The News Minute gave the film a rating of 1.5 out of 5 and termed the film as "absolute mess", criticised the story and inconsistency tone of the film.[40] Arvind V of Pinkvilla rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and praised the performances but criticised the writing and termed comedy as "insipid" & score as "bleak".[41] Ram Venkat Srikar of Cinema Express rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Films like Waltair Veerayya are reminders that masala cinema, when done neatly, will always be a treat".[42] Soundarya Athimuthu of The Quint gave the film’s rating 3 out of 5 and wrote "Waltair Veerayya celebrates Chiranjeevi’s four-decade-long legacy with enjoyable characterization. It creates moments of intrigue and brilliant closures near the end".[43]
Box office
The film grossed ₹236.15 crore worldwide.[3] The film became Chiranjeevi's third film to cross US$2 million mark at the US box office after Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy and Khaidi No. 150. [44]
