Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo () is a 2020 Indian Telugu-language action-drama film directed by Trivikram Srinivas and co-produced by Allu Aravind and S. Radha Krishna under their banners Geetha Arts and Haarika & Hassine Creations. The film features Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles, while Tabu, Jayaram, Sushanth, Navdeep, Nivetha Pethuraj, Samuthirakani, Murali Sharma, Sunil, Sachin Khedekar, and  Harsha Vardhan play pivotal roles. The film features soundtrack composed by Thaman S., while cinematography and editing were handled by P. S. Vinod and Navin Nooli respectively.

The narration revolves around Bantu, a skilled middle-class man who is despised and is often neglected by his father Valmiki. What Bantu doesn't know is that he's actually the son of a businessman swapped by Valmiki with his own son to give the latter a comfortable life. A violent incident draws Bantu closer to the truth. Upon learning the truth he decides to enter Vaikunthapuram, the home of his real parents and eventually confront those who threaten his family.

The film was released theatrically on 12 January 2020, coinciding with Sankranti. It opened to positive reviews praising the performances of Allu Arjun and Murali Sharma, Trivikram's writing/direction and Thaman's music.

Spelling 
The title of the film would be correctly transliterated as Ala Vaikunthapuramulo (or as  in the ISO transliteration system) according to the Telugu source text. However, it was officially released as Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and that spelling has thus entered into common use.

Plot 
Valmiki (Murali Sharma) and Ramachandra (Jayaram) work as clerks in the company of Aditya Radhakrishnan, or ARK (Sachin Khedekar). Ramachandra marries ARK’s daughter Yasu (Tabu), while Valmiki remains an employee. On the day of the birth of both Valmiki’s and Ramachandra’s children, Valmiki switches his child with Ramachandra’s. The nurse (Easwari Rao) who initially aids and later tries stopping Valmiki. Valmiki pushes the nurse accidently resulting in her falling off a ledge and going into coma.

The 2 boys, Raj Manohar (Sushanth) and Bantu (Allu Arjun), grow in 2 different worlds. Raj is a timid, slow and inexpressive young man while Bantu is a smart, hard working, middle class man. On his way to an interview at a travel agency, Bantu gets into a fight with Shekhar (Navdeep) and his friends and beats Shekhar without realizing it was a misunderstanding. Ravindra (Rahul Ramakrishna) interviews Bantu and reveals that Shekhar is the agency's HR manager. Bantu apologizes to Shekhar and convinces him with his wits, successfully getting a job at the travel agency. Bantu falls for his boss Amulya (Pooja Hegde), who is the CEO of the travel agency. Amulya gets to understand Bantu and they fall in love. However, in a turn of events, Amulya’s engagement in fixed with Raj, who is in love with his cousin Nandu (Nivetha Pethuraj).

Appala Naidu (Samuthirakani), a powerful and influential man, attempts to kill Ramachandra in his office when Ramachandra refuses Appal Naidu’s son Paidithalli (Govind Padmasoorya) to purchase 50% of ARK’s shares. Bantu saves Ramachandra and takes him to the hospital. Bantu meets with the nurse who reveals the truth of his birth before dying. Bantu reveals to Valmiki that he knows the truth about his birth and uses the doctor, Srinivas (Vennela Kishore) to enter Vaikuntapuram - Ramachandra's home. ARK, who is fond of Bantu for saving his son-in-law’s life, takes Bantu's help in sorting various issues taking place in the house and the company. 

ARK throws a huge party in happiness, where Yasu witnesses Bantu and Amulya sharing an intimate moment and reports it to the household, and Bantu is kicked out and Amulya’s and Raj’s engagement is cancelled. Appala Naidu uses this to his advantage, kidnapping Nandu and threatening to kill her unless Ramachandra signs off the shares for Paidithalli. Bantu uses the situation to solves family conflicts and correct his family and ends up rescuing Nandu as well. 

ARK reveals that he knows the truth about Bantu's parentage but chose to stay quiet to understand Bantu’s character. Yasu, however acknowledges Bantu as being just as much a son to her as Raj, and tells Raj that he will begin working for his place in the company.

Cast 

 Allu Arjun as Bantu
 Pooja Hegde as Amulya
 Tabu as Yasu
 Jayaram as Ramachandra
 Sushanth as Raj Manohar
 Navdeep as Shekhar
 Nivetha Pethuraj as Nandu
 Samuthirakani as Appala Naidu
 Murali Sharma as Valmiki
 Sunil as Sitaram
 Sachin Khedekar as Aditya Radhakrishnan (ARK)
 Harsha Vardhan as Kashiram
 Govind Padmasoorya as Paidithalli
 Rohini as Valmiki's wife
 Rajendra Prasad as G. Prajapati
 Rahul Ramakrishna as Ravindra
 Vennela Kishore as Dr. Shrinivas
 Brahmaji as Sudharshan
 Ajay as Satyam
 Tanikella Bharani as Amulya's father
 Chammak Chandra as money lender
 Vaishnavi Chaitanya as Bantu's sister
 Hyper Aadi as worker in port
 Brahmanandam in a guest appearance in the song "Ramuloo Ramulaa"
 Easwari Rao as Nurse Sulochana (cameo appearance)

Production 

After the release of Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava, speculations arose that Trivikram would direct a film with Allu Arjun which would be based on Rayalaseema factionalism and also rumors stated that jayanth will be playing a cop who will be dealing with factionalism in his own way. This project was officially confirmed but there was no clue about the genre. On the eve of new year it was officially announced by Geetha Arts that their next film will be in the direction of Trivikram and also mentioned that it is a co-production with Haarika & Hassine Creations. On 8 April 2019, the lead cast and crew was announced on the occasion of Allu Arjun's birthday. On 13 April 2019, the film was formally started shooting by commencing a puja ceremony attended by film team.

The first schedule of the film started on 23 April 2019. The second schedule started on 5 June 2019, during this schedule the film added Pooja Hegde, Nivetha Pethuraj, Tabu and Sushanth in pivotal roles. The title, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, was revealed on 15 August 2019.

In mid-November, the team moved to France to film the song "Samajavaragamana". Parts of the song was shot at Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France, and the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. The song was also filmed at Lido de Paris, a world-famous cabaret theatre, and became the first South Indian film to shoot there. Tamil director and actor Samuthirakani was roped in to play a negative role.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Thaman S., marking his second collaboration with director Trivikram, after Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava and the director's third collaboration with Allu Arjun.

A glimpse of the first single "Samajavaragamana" featuring Sid Sriram's voiceover, was released in all social media platforms on 25 September 2019. A minute video featuring Thaman S. and lyricist Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, who penned the lyrics for the song, who shared their opinions about the song was released later in media platforms. The full song was released on 27 September 2019 and went viral within an hour of its launch. Rather than the usual lyrical video, the YouTube video had a band, including singer Sid Sriram and composer Thaman S., performing the song on a flashy stage with shots of Pooja Hegde and Allu Arjun, and others, from the film. On 1 December 2019, it became the fastest Telugu song to 100 million views on YouTube, less than two weeks after it became the first Telugu song to hit 1 million likes on YouTube. The female version of the song sung by Shreya Ghoshal was released on 3 January 2020.

The song teaser of the second single "Ramuloo Ramulaa" was released on 21 October 2019. The lyrics for the song written by Kasarla Shyam and sung by Anurag Kulkarni and Mangli Satyavati. The single was released on 25 October 2019, with the occasion of Diwali. The YouTube video included lyrics, footage of the musicians, an Allu Arjun voice-over, clips of the actual dance number from the movie, behind the scenes footage, and members of the cast wishing fans a happy Diwali at the end.

The song teaser of the third single "OMG Daddy" was released on 14 November 2019, as a Children's Day treats from the team. The teaser features Allu Arha and Allu Ayaan, the children of Allu Arjun. The song performed by Rahul Sipligunj, Rahul Nambiar, Roll Rida, Blaaze and Lady Kash with lyrics by Krishna Chaitanya was released on 21 November 2019. The promo of the third single "Butta Bomma" written by Ramajogayya Sastry and sung by Armaan Malik was released on 18 December 2019, followed by the song teaser on 22 December and full song was released on 23 December 2019.

The full album was released digitally on 5 January 2020, and the songs were performed by Thaman and his musical crew at the "AVPL Musical Concert" held on 6 January 2020, at Police Grounds in Hyderabad.

The Malayalam versions of "Samajavaragamana" sung by Vijay Yesudas was released on 10 November 2019 and "Aanddava Aanddava" was released on 21 December 2019. The Malayalam version of "OMG Daddy" sung by Rahul Nambiar, Nayana, Shruthi Gayatri, Blaaze and penned by B. K. Harinarayanan was released on 26 December 2019.All the songs are penned by B. K. Harinarayanan.

Release 
The film was released on 12 January 2020 to coincide with Sankranti and also released on 11 January 2020, in the US, a day before it's official release in India.

This film has dubbed version in Malayalam, titled Angu Vaikuntapurathu, and released simultaneously in Kerala. This film was also released in Japan on the same date.

Home Media
The film was made available for digital streaming via Netflix and Sun NXT on 27 February 2020, with English subtitles.

Marketing 
The team released a small behind the set's video to promote the start of films production. A small video to reveal the title of the film was released on 15 August 2019 as an Independence day treat. After unveiling the first glimpse, Allu Arjun's funny gesture made the audience and fans understood that this will be a middle-class family story with Trivikram's style of humour. The first look poster of the film was released on 1 September 2019. It gives the 'vintage Trivikram mark for its rich appeal and classy look of Bunny'.

The second look poster was released on 7 October 2019, coinciding with Dusshera which features Allu Arjun in an action avatar. Another poster, revealing the release date was launched on 13 October 2019. A new poster revealing Sushanth's character was released on 20 October 2019. Another poster from the film was released on 4 November 2019, on the occasion of Tabu's birthday.

The first look of the Malayalam version of the film was unveiled on 7 November 2019, coinciding with director Trivikram's birthday. The glimpse of film's teaser was released on 8 December 2019. The official teaser was released on 11 December 2019, and received positive response from audiences. The teaser of the film's Malayalam version was released on 19 December 2019. After releasing several posters in order to promote the film, the makers released the film's trailer  on 6 January 2020.

Critical reception 
The film received positive reviews especially for the performance of Allu Arjun, musical score by S. Thaman, and the script and screenplay penned by Trivikram, while the predictable storyline and the narrative of the film were criticised.

Hemanth Kumar of Firstpost gave the film 3.25 stars out of 5 and wrote "Trivikram Srinivas is a wordsmith of the highest order, and when he's in great form,everything he writes is like music to the ears. He makes you want to latch on to everything that the characters speak or sing throughout the story. However, in Ala Vaikuntapurramlo, he takes a detour from his path and focuses more on the emotional drama between the characters. More than the witty lines and humour, it's the depth in the emotional conversations between the characters that leave a strong impression."

A review posted by Rohit Mohan on Koimoi said the film to be "a perfect family entertainer to watch on this festive season of [Sankranti] with your near and dear ones, not only for Allu Arjun fans but also for every movie lovers." He gave the film three and a half stars out of five.

The Hans India gave the film 3.25 stars out of 5 stating that performances, narration and bgm are the major plus points of the film while also mentioning that there are no major minus points in the movie. Trivikram Srinivas received praise for his script while Allu Arjun was praised for his performance. It was concluded that Ala Vaikunthapurramlo is definitely a worth watching movie.

Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 stating "Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo has a bit of everything and despite the cliché and the predictable storyline : Trivikram manages to make it work and deliver what he promises. Watch this for Allu Arjun, especially if you're a fan, for he shines in this one and of course, the fun of it all."

Karthik Keramalu of The Quint called Ala Vaikunthapurramlo an entertainer that promises fun. According to him "Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo has a lot going for it because Bantu (weirdest name for a Telugu movie hero) spends time with other characters (played by Tabu, Jayaram, Sunil, Sachin Khedekar, Vennela Kishore, Rajendra Prasad, Rahul Ramakrishna, Nivetha Pethuraj etc...) and doesn't wallow in mediocrity for a long time. And P. S., Vinod's cinematography makes each frame in the action episodes appear as avant-garde paintings. And on top of it all, the songs are a treat!An absolute treat!"

Bhavana Sharma of International Business Times called the film a "paisa vasool" entertainer with amazing performances. She further added "Allu Arjun is back with a bang after a gap of two years. Living up to the expectations of the audiences and showing Trivikram's mark everywhere, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo rings in the celebrations of the Sankranti festival and proves that the film was worth the wait."

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu called the film an absorbing and entertaining drama presented by Trivikram - Allu Arjun duo. She said the film hits the right notes.