Indra

<p>In a village in , two rival clans, led by Bharathasimha Reddy and Veera Siva Reddy, are embroiled in a cycle of violence. A police inspector arranges a marriage between Bharathasimha Reddy’s brother, Vijayasimha Reddy, and Siva Reddy’s sister to broker peace. However, Siva Reddy’s sister poisons Vijayasimha Reddy on their wedding night, leading to both their deaths. Following this betrayal, Siva Reddy and his men kill Bharathasimha Reddy. Siva Reddy is arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison. With the male leaders of Bharathasimha’s family dead, his son, Indrasena “Indra” Reddy, steps up to lead the clan. In a powerful scene, Indra takes a sword and sits on the throne, symbolising his new role as the clan leader, much to the delight of his paternal grandmother and the rest of the clan. In 2002, Indra is living in under the alias Shankar Narayana, a truthful and honest taxi driver. During a singing competition at his niece’s college, her friend Pallavi, the daughter of ‘s governor Chenna Kesava Reddy, falls in love with Shankar and pretends to be an orphan to live at his house. When Chenna Kesava Reddy discovers his daughter’s whereabouts, he goes to Shankar’s home but changes his mind upon recognizing him as Indrasena Reddy. Instead, he requests Shankar to marry Pallavi, but Shankar refuses due to his responsibilities towards his niece, Nandini. Giri, an orphaned youth who has become Shankar’s right-hand man, confesses his love for Nandini, and Shankar arranges their wedding. However, the wedding is disrupted by Snehalatha Reddy, who reveals that Giri is actually Veera Manohar Reddy, the son of Veera Shankar Reddy, Siva Reddy’s elder son. She also addresses Shankar as Indrasena Reddy, shocking his adoptive family. After a confrontation, Valmiki, Indra’s trusted associate, narrates Indra’s past. Indra, revered in his village, was dedicated to the welfare of the people. After Siva Reddy’s release from prison, Indra warned him to stay away, but Siva Reddy instigated violence, leading Indra to kill him. Snehalatha, Siva Reddy’s daughter, fell in love with Indra, but Veera Shankar Reddy sought revenge. Indra saved Veera Shankar Reddy’s younger son from an accident, but Veera Shankar Reddy killed his own son to maintain his pride. Indra confronted Veera Shankar Reddy, allowing the boy’s mother to mourn before burying him and planting a ” ” sapling over his grave, symbolizing the boy’s soul. Indra warned Veera Shankar Reddy to protect the plant or face his wrath. Snehalatha then proposed marriage to Indra, but the village’s drought led Indra to negotiate for the construction of a reservoir, which required land from Siva Reddy’s family. Veera Shankar Reddy demanded Indra’s entire property in return, to which Indra agreed. Snehalatha asked to marry Indra as her share of the land, and he accepted. However, on their wedding day, Veera Shankar Reddy killed Indra’s sisters and their husbands, orphaning Nandini and her brother Pradeep. Enraged, Indra killed Veera Shankar Reddy’s three brothers and wounded him. Misled by her family, Snehalatha believed Indra was responsible for the violence and broke off the engagement. Indra then left the village for to raise his niece and nephew. In the present, Nandini attempts suicide after becoming pregnant with Manohar Reddy’s child. Indra returns to the village, receiving a hero’s welcome. He confronts Veera Shankar Reddy and demands that Manohar Reddy marry Nandini. Snehalatha learns the truth about her brothers’ actions and tries to help, but is attacked. Indra saves her and decides to end the cycle of revenge without killing Veera Shankar Reddy. Manohar Reddy marries Nandini, but Indra remains focused on his duty to the people, rejecting marriage proposals from both Snehalatha and Pallavi. The film ends with Indra receiving widespread support from the villagers, solidifying his commitment to ending the violence in Rayalaseema. Following the successes of (1991) and (1992), Chiranjeevi experienced a period without delivering an industry hit, although he continued to deliver major blockbusters. During this time, fans and industry analysts eagerly awaited his return with a strong mass entertainer. Chiranjeevi, meanwhile, considered taking on a family-oriented story to reconnect with his audience. Producer and director were approached by writer Chinni Krishna with a new story set in , addressing the region’s water crisis as a central theme intertwined with factional conflicts. While the script showed promise, there were concerns about audience reception to another faction-themed film, given B. Gopal’s association with such narratives. B. Gopal was also hesitant to direct the project due to his earlier unsuccessful collaboration with Chiranjeevi on (1993). However, writer eventually persuaded him to take on the project. Chinni Krishna was tasked with further developing the story, which initially had the – river region as its backdrop. During discussions with Paruchuri Gopala Krishna, the setting was changed to (Varanasi) and the river region to expand the narrative’s scope. The film marked Chiranjeevi’s third collaboration with , following (1990) and (1998). After two months of filming, Aswani Dutt suggested the title , which Chiranjeevi approved. was initially considered for the lead female role, but was eventually cast. was finalized as the second lead actress. For the role played by , actors such as and were considered before Sivaji was finalised. The film was completed in 120 working days with a budget of ₹7 , excluding Chiranjeevi’s remuneration. Sets resembling Varanasi were recreated at , while a Rayalaseema village set was constructed at . Two duets were filmed in . Portions of the film were shot in Varanasi and in January 2002. The soundtrack of was composed by , with the song “Ayyo Ayyo Ayyayyo” composed by due to Mani Sharma’s unavailability. The album featured six songs, chosen from 11 recorded tracks. The audio was released on the evening of 14 June 2002 at a set in the first floor of . The audio album of was released 45 days before the film’s theatrical release, instead of the usual 20–30 days, to ensure the music had more time to resonate with the audience. covered this event and it was telecast as a 30-minute capsule on Gemini TV. Chiranjeevi selected a coupon from the lucky dip box and called the lucky fan to the stage. Chiranjeevi opened the audio box and handed over the first cassette to that fan. The audio hit the market on 17 June 2002. All lyrics are written by Dev Kohli. was released on 24 July 2002, on 268 screens, including 223 in , 30 in , three in , and 15 in the . The release generated significant excitement, with long queues forming from midnight on 23rd July and large crowds gathering at theatres across the state. Reports of black ticket sales emerged in several locations, including complaints about police involvement in black marketing, particularly in . On 23rd July, the film’s storywriter, Chinni Krishna, celebrated the release in his hometown, Tenali, by arranging a special premiere show at 9 pm. Fans from neighboring cities, such as and , travelled to to watch the film on its release day. Several incidents occurred during the film’s release, including die-hard Chiranjeevi fans storming a theatre in for an early screening. Additionally, a fan attempted suicide over ticket issues but was stopped by other fans. In September 2002, faced widespread piracy as 70,000 pirated CDs originating from flooded markets across Andhra Pradesh after the film crossed its 50-day mark, causing a significant drop in collections in areas like . Upon release, became a major commercial success, setting several box office records for its opening day, week, and lifetime collections. grossed over against a budget of , making it the at the time of its release. The film set a record by earning a share of ₹20 crore in just four weeks, with ₹17 crore from Andhra Pradesh and ₹3 crore from other states, including , , and . It was the first Telugu film to gross over ₹50 crore, a record later surpassed by (2006). It became the ever as well as the all-time , surpassing (1999). It was the second highest-grossing Indian film of 2002, following . had a 50-day run in 152 centres, including nine in Karnataka and two in Orissa, and a 100-day run in 122 centres, with four in Karnataka and one in Orissa. The film also had a 175-day run in 32 centres, including a 247-day run at Satyam Theatre in Adoni. The 175-day celebration event was held in , with Chief Minister as the chief guest. Jeevi of gave a rating of out of 5 stating, “First half is a perfect blend of mass and class elements. It’s extraordinary. The interval scene gives the right finishing touch to the first half.” A critic from wrote, “On the whole the film is refreshing and a good entertainer with Chiru at his best”. is one of the biggest hits in Chiranjeevi’s film career. The film had an excellent run on Hindi television channels through the dubbed version . Saudamini Jain of wrote in 2015, “For a decade now, the Telugu blockbuster dubbed in Hindi as seems to have become a permanent fixture on TV”. TV and film writer Mushtaq Sheikh said of the film, “When I was heading (in 2010-11) we had these perpetual, evergreen films: whenever you needed ratings, you could close your eyes and screen them. was one of them.” CEO of Applause Entertainment Sameer Nair noted, “We used to play and our ratings were sorted for two weeks.” Diptakirti Chaudhuri, in his book , listed as one of the most-watched dubbed films on Indian television.</p>