Saaho
Saaho (transl. May Victory be Yours) is a 2019 Indian action thriller film written and directed by Sujeeth and produced by UV Creations and T-Series. Filmed simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi, it features Prabhas (in his Hindi film debut) in the titular role, alongside an ensemble cast of Shraddha Kapoor, Chunky Panday, Jackie Shroff, Arun Vijay, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Lal, Tinnu Anand, Mur
Overview
Saaho (transl. May Victory be Yours) is a 2019 Indian action thriller film written and directed by Sujeeth and produced by UV Creations and T-Series. Filmed simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi, it features Prabhas (in his Hindi film debut) in the titular role, alongside an ensemble cast of Shraddha Kapoor, Chunky Panday, Jackie Shroff, Arun Vijay, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Lal, Tinnu Anand, Murali Sharma, Vennela Kishore, Mandira Bedi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Evelyn Sharma, Devan and Prakash Belawadi. The film follows two undercover officers who are searching for a mastermind responsible for stealing ₹2,000 crore (US$284 million) and soon realise that the case is linked to the death of a prominent business tycoon and an emerging gang war for the control of a megalopolis. Principal photography took place in the span of two years, from August 2017 to July 2019, across India, the UAE, Romania and Austria. The film has music composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Guru Randhawa, Badshah and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, score composed by Ghibran, cinematography handled by R. Madhi and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad. Saaho was released worldwide on 30 August 2019 in standard and IMAX theatres. The film received negative reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, VFX and cinematography, but criticised the script and direction. It grossed ₹419 crore (US$59.5 million)–₹439 crore (US$62.34 million) worldwide against a production budget of ₹350 crore. The Telugu version of the film underperformed, while the Hindi version became an above average grosser, thus emerging as the highest-grossing South Indian film of 2019 and second highest-grossing Indian film of 2019. It is the first instalment in the Sujeeth Cinematic Universe, followed by They Call Him OG (2025).
Plot
Narantak Roy is the supreme leader of the Roy Group, a massive conglomerate masking the world's most powerful crime syndicate, which covertly governs the fictional metropolis of Waaji City. During a business trip to Mumbai, Roy is assassinated in a meticulously engineered car crash. Seizing the power vacuum, Devaraj, the ambitious son of former syndicate leader Pruthviraj, plots to usurp the throne. However, Ibrahim, Roy's fiercely loyal confidant, reveals to the syndicate’s legal advisor, Kalki, that Roy had secretly raised an estranged son, Vishwank Roy, in anonymity for 25 years. Vishwank immediately assumes control of the group and initiates a hunt for his father's killers. Concurrently, an elusive master thief pulls off a staggering ₹2,000 crore heist in Mumbai by manipulating unrelated individuals to execute the crime. The police department assembles a specialized task force led by Ashok Chakravarthy, an enigmatic covert operative. Ashok investigates alongside Crime Branch officers Amritha Nair, Goswami, and a cyber-intelligence expert named David. The team tracks a primary suspect, Jai, whom Ashok casually confronts at a bar. Ashok inadvertently reveals the existence of a high-tech "black box", the definitive key required to open a subterranean vault in Waaji City containing ₹2,00,000 crore belonging to the Roy Group's board members. Acting on Vishwank's directives, Kalki retrieves the box from Mumbai and secures it in a high-security bank. Following an elaborate technological pursuit to intercept Jai as he steals the box, Amritha, Ashok, and David corner the thief. In a massive twist, it is revealed that "Jai" is actually the real undercover officer, Ashok Chakravarthy, while the man pretending to be the lead investigator is the master thief himself, known as Saaho. Assisted by David, who was a double agent within the police tech team, Saaho escapes with the black box. It is progressively revealed that Devaraj was the mastermind behind Roy's assassination. Sent to apprehend Saaho, Amritha acts as a double agent, tracking him down under the guise of romance to secure a cut of the loot. However, she genuinely falls in love with Saaho and betrays the police force. Devaraj subsequently shoots and abducts Amritha, blackmailing Saaho into surrendering the black box. Saaho outmaneuvers him by handing the key over to Vishwank instead, securing Amritha's safe release. Saaho then aggressively demolishes Devaraj's corporate headquarters and pillages his private reserves. The real Ashok and the police launch a heavy military ambush against Saaho using snipers and jetpacks. Saaho overpowers the tactical forces and rescues Amritha from a falling helicopter using a jetpack, though he is ultimately detained. Meanwhile, Kalki, who has secretly defected to Devaraj's faction, utilizes Vishwank's cloned fingerprints and the black box to unlock the legendary Waaji vault, only to find it completely devoid of currency, containing nothing but ancestral portraits. Saaho escapes custody and decimates Devaraj’s army in Karana, a heavily fortified village historically protected by Roy. When Devaraj arrives to confront him, Saaho finally reveals his true identity: he is Siddharth Nandan Saaho, the legitimate biological son of Narantak Roy, who was hidden abroad to protect him until he was ready to inherit the empire. An enraptured Kalki dies from shock upon realizing the truth, and Saaho brutally executes Devaraj. Simultaneously, Ashok and Amritha learn the full scope of the deception from Vishwank and Alex Fernandes, an international criminal allied with Saaho. In Waaji City, Ibrahim introduces Saaho to the remaining board members, explaining that "Vishwank" was actually his own son, Iqbal, placed on the throne as a proxy to safeguard the family lineage until Saaho could return to avenge his father. After Iqbal eliminates the surviving conspirators, Saaho officially takes his place as the supreme ruler of Waaji City and CEO of the Roy Group. Months later, Saaho reunites with Amritha in Innsbruck, Austria, remaining hyper-vigilant of a distant sniper targeting him.
Cast
As per the film's opening and end credits.
Development and casting
Sujeeth narrated the script to Prabhas in January 2015. Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt rejected to star in the film with the latter giving the reason that she wanted more performance oriented roles. Shraddha Kapoor was later confirmed in August 2017 with Prabhas receiving three times her remuneration.
Filming and post-production
Saaho was produced on a budget of ₹325 crore, and was filmed in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Austria, Romania and other parts of Europe. Principal photography began in August 2017. A large part of the budget was spent on filming the action scenes. International stunt coordinator Kenny Bates was brought in to choreograph the action scenes. Saaho was simultaneously filmed in Telugu and Hindi, Saaho was Prabhas' debut in Hindi cinema and Kapoor's debut in Telugu cinema. The first schedule, which was in Hyderabad, was completed by October 2017. The second schedule began in December 2017 at Ramoji Film City; according to the film's producers, Shraddha Kapoor's action sequences in the film were made with heavy weaponry. After a few days, filming shifted to Dubai for a month; some of the major action sequences were filmed in Dubai with Prabhas and Neil Nitin Mukesh, while Shraddha Kapoor switched to her next project Stree. After filming half of Saaho in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Dubai, the cast and crew began the fourth schedule in Abu Dhabi in February 2018, which ended within a few weeks. The fifth schedule, also in Abu Dhabi, started in late February and the sixth schedule began in mid-March in Dubai and Romania. The final leg of film and its romantic songs were filmed in Innsbruck and the Tyrol region of Austria. An action sequence that features in an exceptionally long period of the screenplay was extensively filmed near the Burj Khalifa; 25 crores from the budget had been spent. Prabhas underwent rigorous training that involved cardiovascular and weight training, and plyometric obstacle races. Prabhas praised his co-star Shraddha Kapoor, stating she was the best choice for her strong character. Prabhas' character was depicted in grey-shades. The film also included some underwater sequences with Prabhas, who learnt scuba diving in preparation for his role. The film stars Neil Nitin Mukesh as the antagonist. Mandira Bedi, who is known for her grey roles on television, plays a negative role in the film as well. Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant filed two romantic songs; filming began in Innsbruck, Austria, and included the House of Music, the city's trams, Finstertal in Kühtai and Adlers Hotel. Some scenes were filmed in the nearby town Seefeld. Romantic songs were filmed at the "Top of Tyrol" viewing platform on Stubai Glacier, Restaurant ice Q in Sölden, Swarovski Crystal Worlds and the suspension bridge Highline179 at Reutte in the Tyrol region. Some parts of one romantic song were filmed at Redbull's Hangar 7 at Salzburg Airport. Robinville and Creative Creatures were service producers for the Austria schedule. The entire filming was wrapped by July 2019. It was reported that the post-production for the movie was to be under Prabhas' direct supervision. Delays in post production resulted in the makers pushing the release date by 15 days.
Music
The songs and background score in Saaho were composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Guru Randhawa, Badshah, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and Ghibran respectively. The lyrics were written by Krishna Kanth and Sreejo in Telugu, Tanishk Bagchi, MellowD, Guru Randhawa, Badshah, and Manoj Yadav in Hindi. A bonus track "Bang Bang (Saaho Bang)" was released after the film's release. In a music review, a writer from The Times of India wrote, "All in all, all of Saaho’s songs are quite hummable. But do they go together as an album? Maybe not, because there is no one thread linking them all, except for the lead actors — Prabhas and Shraddha, and the fact that you know that these songs are from the same film".
Tracklist Tamil
Source:
Tracklist Malayalam
Source:
Background score
The Background Score album was split into Volume 1 and Volume 2, Vol.1 was released on 25 December 2019 and Vol.2 was released on 18 February 2020. The background score composed and conducted by Ghibran.
Marketing
The first teaser was released alongside Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) and gained attention for featuring jetpacks. The first teaser poster featuring Prabhas from the film was revealed on his birthday, 22 October 2017; the poster received criticism, saying is similar to the poster of Blade Runner 2049. In July 2019, UV Creations announced the film's release date as 30 August 2019 in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam. Saaho – The Game, a first-person shooter mobile game was created by the Hyderabad-based company Pixalot Labs and was released on 15 August 2019. Zee Entertainment Enterprises took broadcasting rights in all languages. Amazon Prime Video took digital rights.
Theatrical
Saaho was released on 30 August 2019 worldwide in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil, along with a dubbed Malayalam version.
Home media
The film began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 19 October 2019 in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam languages. The Hindi version began streaming on Netflix from 8 December 2019.
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