| Indra | |
| Director: | B. Gopal |
| Producer: | C. Aswani Dutt |
| Story: | Chinni Krishna |
| Starring: | |
| Music: | Mani Sharma |
| Cinematography: | V. S. R. Swamy |
| Editing: | Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao |
| Studio: | Vyjayanthi Movies |
| Distributor: | Eros International |
| Runtime: | 173 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Telugu |
| Gross: | [1] |
Indra is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by B. Gopal and produced by C. Aswani Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies banner. The film stars Chiranjeevi, Aarthi Agarwal, and Sonali Bendre while Mukesh Rishi, Sivaji, and Prakash Raj play supporting roles with music composed by Mani Sharma. The film won three state Nandi Awards and two Filmfare Awards South with Chiranjeevi winning both the Nandi Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu.
Released on 24 July 2002, the film collected a gross of over ₹55 crore on a budget of and ended up becoming the highest-grossing Telugu film in history at the time[2] as well as the all-time highest-grossing South-Indian film, surpassing Padayappa (1999). Indra was dubbed into Hindi as Indra: The Tiger.[3] [4] It was remade in Indian Bengali as Dada (2005) and in Bangladeshi Bengali as Goriber Dada (2006).
In a village in Rayalaseema, 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 the Bharathasimha family dead, Bharathasimha's son, Indrasena "Indra" Reddy, steps up to lead the clan. In a powerful scene, Indra takes a sword and sits on the throne, symbolizing 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 Varanasi 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 Uttar Pradesh's governor Chenna Kesava Reddy, falls in love with Shankar and pretends to be an orphan to stay 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 marriage. 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 "Tulasi" sapling over his grave, symbolizing the boy's soul. Indra warned Veera Shankar Reddy to protect the plant or face his wrath. Snehalatha fell for Indra and proposed marriage, 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 Varanasi 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.
| Indra | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Artist: | Mani Sharma |
| Caption: | Album cover |
| Released: | 2002 |
| Recorded: | 2002 |
| Genre: | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length: | 31:52 |
| Language: | Telugu |
| Label: | Aditya Music |
| Producer: | Mani Sharma |
| Prev Title: | Youth |
| Prev Year: | 2002 |
| Next Title: | Chennakesava Reddy |
| Next Year: | 2002 |
The audio soundtrack of Indra was released on the evening of 14 June 2002 at a neatly erected set in the first floor of Annapurna Studios. This event was a private affair between Chiru fans and the Vyjayanthi movie unit. The celebrities who graced this occasion were the Paruchuri brothers (dialogue writers), Aswini Dutt (producer), Chinni Krishna (story writer), VSR Swamy (cinematographer), Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry (lyrics writer) and Chiranjeevi. The function started off with a welcome by Raghu Kunche and Suma. Gemini TV 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, who was so elated that he tried to touch Chiranjeevi's feet, but Chiranjeevi stopped him from doing so. The audio hit the market on 17 June 2002.[5]
Indra was released on 24 July 2002 on 268 screens, including 223 in Andhra Pradesh, 30 in Karnataka, three in Odisha, and 15 in the United States.[6] It grossed more than on a budget of .[7] The film ended up becoming the highest-grossing Telugu films at the time of its release. It held the record of being the first Telugu movie to collect over crores during the first week .
Jeevi of Idlebrain.com 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."[8] A critic from Sify wrote that "On the whole the film is refreshing and a good entertainer with Chiru at his best".[9]
Indra is one of the biggest hits in Chiranjeevi's film career. It became the highest grossing Telugu film ever as well as the all-time highest-grossing South-Indian film, surpassing Padayappa (1999).
The film had an excellent run on Hindi television channels through the dubbed version Indra: The Tiger. Saudamini Jain of Hindustan Times wrote in 2015, "For a decade now, the Telugu blockbuster Indra dubbed in Hindi as Indra The Tiger seems to have become a permanent fixture on TV". TV and film writer Mushtaq Sheikh said of the film, "When I was heading Sahara One (in 2010-11) we had these perpetual, evergreen films: whenever you needed ratings, you could close your eyes and screen them. Indra was one of them." CEO of Applause Entertainment Sameer Nair noted, “We used to play Indra: The Tiger and our ratings were sorted for two weeks."
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Filmfare Awards | Best Actor – Telugu | Chiranjeevi | [15] | |
| Best Choreography | Raghava Lawrence | ||||
| 2002 | Nandi Awards | Best Actor | Chiranjeevi | [16] | |
| Best Choreographer | Raghava Lawrence | ||||
| Best Male Dubbing Artist | P. Ravi Shankar | ||||
| 2002 | CineMAA Awards | Best Actor – Telugu | Chiranjeevi | [17] | |
| Best Actress – Telugu | Aarthi Agarwal |