Pournami (film)

Pournami
Directed by	Prabhu Deva
Written by	M. S. Raju (Story & screenplay) Paruchuri Brothers (Dialogues)
Produced by	M. S. Raju
Starring	Prabhas Trisha Charmy Sindhu Tolani Rahul Dev
Cinematography	Venu
Edited by	K. V. Krishna Reddy
Music by	Devi Sri Prasad
Production company	Sumanth Art Productions
Release date	20 April 2006 (2006-04-20)
Running time	167 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Box office	₹7 crore (distributors' share)

Pournami (lit. 'Full moon') is a 2006 Telugu language romantic musical action film directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by M. S. Raju. The film stars Prabhas, Trisha, Charmy, Sindhu Tolani, and Rahul Dev. The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad, with cinematography by Venu. The film was released on 21 April 2006 and was a commercial failure.^[1]

Pournami was dubbed into Tamil and Malayalam under the same name and into Hindi as Tridev: Pyar Ki Jung.^[2][3] Shooting locations included Virupaksha Temple, elephant stables, and Stepwell in Hampi.^[4]

In 1953, in a remote village in Andhra Pradesh, Subramanyam (Chandra Mohan) teaches dance to his daughter, Pournami, as part of their family tradition. He recounts the story of a woman (Veda Sastry) in 1507 who danced in the temple for seven days and nights to ask Lord Siva for rain during a devastating drought. The woman's sacrifice brought rain, and since then, every twelve years, a girl from her lineage performs the ritual dance in the temple. Pournami's mother performed this dance in 1951, and Pournami is expected to do the same.

In 1963, as the festival approaches, Pournami (Trisha) mysteriously disappears, and the villagers assume she has eloped with someone. Attention then shifts to her younger sister, Chandrakala (Charmy), but their father refuses to teach her the dance. Meanwhile, their stepmother (Manju Bhargavi) rents out their penthouse and courtyard, where Pournami used to dance, to Siva Kesava (Prabhas), a western-style dance instructor.

Pournami has not eloped, but her father sent her away to protect her from their zamindar, Veerabhadra (Rahul Dev), who wants to make Pournami his concubine. Fearing that the same fate might befall Chandrakala, he declines to teach her how to dance. Kesava shows a necklace to Subramanyam, which shocks him, and then promises to protect her from the zamindar. At this, she begins her studies.

As Chandrakala begins her dance training, she develops feelings for Kesava. However, Kesava reveals his past: he had married Pournami, who sacrificed herself to save his life. Before dying, she made Kesava promise that Chandrakala would perform the temple dance. After learning of her sister's fate, Chandrakala agrees to continue the tradition with her father's blessing.

Chandrakala becomes a skilled dancer, and during the festival, she performs the ritual dance. As she completes the performance, the village is once again blessed with rain. Despite Veerabhadra's interference and complications with Kesava's former fiancée, Mallika (Sindhu Tolani), Kesava and Chandrakala get engaged.

Years later, the couple has a daughter named Pournami, who does not want to learn the family dance. The film concludes with Kesava narrating the tradition to their daughter in the temple.

The script for Pournami was inspired by a real-life incident that happened four decades before the film's production, which Sobhan, the director of Varsham (2004), shared with producer and writer M. S. Raju.^[4] Raju developed the script with the intention of creating something different from regular films, drawing inspiration from period dramas like Lagaan (2001) and Gadar (2001).^[5] The work on the script started from February 2005, and the film was launched on 22 August 2005. Set in the 1960s, Raju specifically chose this period for the film's backdrop, believing it would offer a distinctive flavour to the narrative. Raju's vision for Pournami aimed to blend Telugu culture and traditions with a commercially viable format.^[4] One of the flashback portions in the film was inspired by the 2001 Brazilian film Behind the Sun, itself adapted from the 1978 novel Broken April by Ismail Kadare.^[6]

Prabhas, having previously worked with Raju in Varsham, was cast in the lead role. The female leads were portrayed by Trisha, Charmy, and Sindhu Tolani. Before the film's release, Raju acknowledged that casting Prabhas, primarily known for action roles, in a musical like Pournami was experimental. However, he believed the unique casting would result in something fresh and engaging.^[4] Paruchuri Gopala Krishna, one of the film’s writers, noted that Prabhas' character was symbolically influenced by both Lord Siva and Lord Krishna, as represented by the snake and flute in his characterization.^[7] Pournami was Prabhu Deva's second directorial venture following his success with Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005). While the script was developed by Raju, Prabhu Deva played a significant role in the film’s execution.^[4]

Production of Pournami spanned approximately eight months, involving around 180-190 working days. The film was shot at key historical locations such as the Virupaksha Temple, elephant stables, and Stepwell in Hampi, adding an authentic period aesthetic to the film.^[4]

The music and background score was composed by Devi Sri Prasad, and the lyrics were written by Sirivennela Sitaramasastri. The track "Bharata Vedamuga" was set in the Chandrakauns raaga. The audio was released at Film Nagar Daiva Sannidhanam, Hyderabad on 22 March 2006.^[7]

Jeevi of Idlebrain.com rated the film three out of five and noted, "Producer MS Raju should be appreciated to make a film that has classical dance and traditions as backdrop. Climax should have been better. The thread of main villain Rahul Dev is left incomplete."^[6] A critic from Full Hyderabad wrote, "on the whole, this isn’t something that is worth the 3 hours it demands."^[8]

Ashok won the 2006 Nandi Award for Best Art Director for his work on Pournami.^[9]

• Pournami at IMDb