Mukunda

Mukunda is a college-going student who goes to any extent for his friends. One day, his best friend falls in love with the daughter of a powerful municipal chairman. Things take an ugly turn when Mukunda enters the scene and decides to go against the chairman and his power. The rest of the story is about how he wins and inspires others.

Mickey J Meyer was selected to compose the film's soundtrack and background music continuing his association with Srikanth Addala after Kotha Bangaru Lokam (2008) and Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2012). The soundtrack features 6 songs and a Theme music whose lyrics were penned by Sirivennela Sitaramasastri.[32] Aditya Music acquired the soundtrack rights in mid August 2014 for an undisclosed high price.[33]

The soundtrack was expected to be launched in September 2014 initially.[34] The release was postponed to November 2014.[35] The release date was later finalized as 3 December 2014.[36] Shilpakala Vedika was announced as the venue on 2 December and also, a song teaser was unveiled as a part of promotion.[37] Chiranjeevi attended the audio launch along with Allu Arjun as the chief guests and unveiled the soundtrack.[38]

Reviewing the soundtrack, Karthik of Milliblog wrote "Chaala baagundi, with its brilliant vocal plus guitar interplay, is the soundtrack’s best, with Haricharan proving his value again! Mickey on top of his game, again!".[39] The Times of India stated that the soundtrack has some peppy and melodious tunes, calling "Dumdaredum" and "Chala Bagundi" as the best songs of the album.[40] IndiaGlitz wrote "Mickey J Meyer's imprint is write over the album. It's a mix of melody and youthfulness. Sirivennela writes all the songs to a profound effect. Getting choicest of singers on board, Mickey delivers a music lover's album."[41] Avad M of 123telugu selected "Nandalaala" and "Chaala Bagundi" as the picks of the album and wrote "Mickey J Meyer once again proves that he is a class apart and provides a chart topping romantic album which is quite soothing and melodious".[42]

The film's overseas theatrical distribution rights were acquired by Asian Movies and CineGalaxy, Inc.[43] The film was initially scheduled for a Sankranthi release i.e. in mid January 2015.[44] However, the film's release was advanced to 25 December 2014 as a Christmas release to avoid clash with Gopala Gopala.[45] The film was awarded an 'U/A' certificate by Central Board of Film Certification on 19 December 2014 and the release date was locked as 24 December 2014.[46][47] The film released in 75 theaters across United States and premiere shows were held on 23 December 2014.[48] The film however clashed with Chinnadana Nee Kosam which released in equal number of theaters across the world.[49]

It was later dubbed in Hindi as Dushman No.1.

The film received positive reviews from critics praising the cast performances (particularly Varun Tej and Pooja Hegde), dialogues, songs and background score besides criticizing the screenplay, editing and slow pace of the film.[2] Y. Sunitha Chowdary of The Hindu wrote "Since most of the story centres on the debate and dialogue, rather than an expected logical ending, it is likely that many regular cine goers will go home dissatisfied. But for those who appreciate truth, facts of life and intelligent conversations, this is a film smartly interspersed with action and village politics for today’s youth".[54]

Hemanth Kumar of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote "Every once in a while there comes a film, which stands apart from the rest in terms of the subject it explores and the tone of narrative, although the nuances might not be blatant. You know it's different because it tries to break free from the template of an action comedy, a genre that has become synonymous with Telugu cinema these days. Mukunda is exactly that kind of film and much more. It's a film which is so aware of the milieu that it's exploring that you get sucked into the narrative to have a ringside look at the complex characters that inhabit the canvas the story unfolds on."[55] Suresh Kavirayani of Deccan Chronicle rated the film 3 out of 5 and stated "Finally it’s not a regular commercial film, a typical Srikanth Addala kind of film, without the double meaning dialogues and vulgarity".[56]

In contrast, IndiaGlitz wrote "Sans loudness and crassness, Mukunda has a scent of SVSC. But it lacks a good story and barring less than four scenes, it hardly has anything to keep up our interest" and rated the film 2.75 out of 5.[57]

• Mukunda at IMDb