Daily Times

Actor Bellamkonda Srinivas and director VV Vinayak will unite in the upcoming film Chatrapathi, an official remake of SS Rajamouli’s 2005 blockbuster of the same name, which had Prabhas in the lead role.

The film got a first trailer on Tuesday. The stakes in the remake have been heightened in comparison to the original, just like the budget and the scale. Bellamkonda seems to have gone all out to project himself as a ‘mass hero’.

While SS Rajamouli’s film was about refugees from Sri Lanka, the new version is centred around the India-Pakistan conflict. The story follows Sivaji, who gets separated from his adopted mother due to the sly plans of her biological son during an exodus from Pakistan. The film follows the adult Sivaji, who is still in search of his mom. Meanwhile, he enrages a gangster and becomes a hero of the masses, earning the moniker ‘Chatrapathi’.

‘Chatrapathi’ will be released in both Hindi and Telugu.

By addressing a national issue, VV Vinayak seems to be trying to capitalise on the trend of Pan-Indian cinema. However, it has to be seen if Chatrapathi, which doesn’t have a novel story, will hit the jackpot at the box office like SS Rajamouli’s film. One can sense a KFG hangover in the trailer as well. From the way certain shots have been framed to the hype that the hero is greeted with, it is all reminiscent of the blockbuster Kannada franchise.

Other than Bellamkonda, the film stars Nushrratt Bharuccha, Freddy Daruwala and Rajendra Gupta, among others. The background score is composed by Ravi Basrur, while the songs are by Tanishk Bagchi. The film is releasing in theatres on May 12.