Kashi ki poyaadu kaashayam manishi ayipoyadanukunnava?
Varanasilo brathukutunnadu tana varasa marchu kunnadanukunnava?
Ade raktam, ade pourusham !!
Simhasanamlo koorchune arhatha akkada aa Indrunidi ikkada ee Indrasenudidi !!!

declares Megastar Chiranjeevi in the record breaking , record setting biggest HIT in the 70 year old telugu movie history. And he does it in his own style, compelling the audience ranging from the Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues, almost all the big wigs of the telugu film industry, ever enthusiastic fans like you and me and the average common man to come to the theater and watch him perform in that ferocious SEEMA role. In short, the movie was seen by one and all.. AABALA GOPALAM in other words.

The movie was declared a superhit from the preview show itself. Big personalities like EVV, S.V. Krishna Reddy, Achi Reddy, young directors Ravi babu and V.N.Aditya, Nagendra Babu, AVS along with chiru fans like Srikanth, Uday kiran, Raviteja and pop singer Smitha attended the preview show unable to wait till it hits the theatres the very next day. The movie was released on July 24th and within a week almost all websites, film magazines and journalists expressed their opinion that INDRA would become the number one hit of Telugu film Industry taking into account Megastar's stamina. And YES!!! Chiru did not disappoint his enthusiastic fans, even more enthusiastic so called critics, movie analysts and a plethora of other people. INDRA is completing 100 days directly in 117 centres and 4 centres shifting generating a share of more than 30 crores, a feat that only CHIRU could achieve. Let us see in this editorial, what made INDRA, the biggest hit of tollywood.

INDRA had the best starcast in the tinsel town. Bollywood lass Sonali was roped in to act with Megastar for the first time. Her innocent looks, expressive eyes, subtle emotions along with swaying mannerisms added spice to that role named Pallavi in the movie. The scene where she says her mother's name is 'Silk Smitha' and the 'loose pant' scene evoked uncontrollable laughter from the audience. Arti Agarwal, in the role of Snehalata Reddy suited the role to the tee. Her facial expressions, walking style, dialogue delivery and balanced emotions gave the role the needed effect. The scene where she declares Shankar Narayana is actually Indrasena Reddy, the scene where she tells Chiru in his home that she is in love with him and the pelli choopula scene evoked good response from the audience. The other characters in the movie Aahuti prasad, Mukesh Rishi, Narra, Shivakrishna, Raza Murad, Telangana Shakuntala all performed well. The comedy created by Brahmanandam, AVS, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, M.S.Narayana and Sunil will be remembered for ages. The scene where AVS is duped is probably one of the highlights of the movie.

And what else could the audience ask when the MEGASTAR is himself in the scenes. CHIRU has proved once again that he is the numero uno of tollywood. He portrays the role of Shankar Narayana, a taxi driver cum guide with subtle emotions and balanced mannerisms with an undercurrent of comedy and sentiment. His addressing of "Ammay.." to Sonali evoked instant laughter from the audience. The scene where he says "Khuda Hafiz" to Shoukat Ali khan is enough to make the audience sit on the edge of their seats. In the role of SEEMA leader INDRASENA REDDY, Chiru's powerful performance outperforms everybody. His electrifying dialogue delivery coupled with dignified mannerisms added grace to the role. The role had an undercurrent of sacrifice. The scene where he plants the Tulsi plant and says "Veera Shankara Reddy", him sacrificing his property, pelli choopula scene, return to SEEMA scene were a few of the many scenes that left the audience spell bound. With the Veena Step in Dayi Dayi Damma song, Chiru once again proves that he is the best dancing hero not only in tollywood, but also the whole of India.

The technical crew did full justice to the movie. Mani Sharma gave melodious tunes coupled with Veturi's and Sirivennela's lyrics gave the much-needed musical effect to the movie. Kulashekar and Bhuvanachandra's songs were appreciated too. The movie had a unique combination of dream songs (Dayi Dayi Damma, Radhe Govinda, Ammadu Appachi, Ghallu Ghallu) and situational songs like Ghallu Ghallu and Bham Bham Bhole. Lawrence and Raju Sundaram's slow steps sent the front benches whistling for the whole song. Chinni Krishna proved that he is the in-demand storywriter with this movie again. Paruchuri Brothers proved that whenever they team with Chiru, the end result is of stellar quality, Gang leader, Gharana Mogudu, Bavagaru Bagunnara being some of the other movies in their combination. VSR Swamy's photography was good too. The make up, however needed improvement.

B.Gopal proved that when it comes to the elevation of the hero's character, he is second to none. His visualization of how a powerful SEEMA leader turns into a ordinary taxi driver and how a taxi driver returns to his SEEMA forms the base of the story. Ashwini Dutt proved that he is the top producer with this movie and celebrates the silver jubilee of "Vyjayanti Combines" in the way he dreamed of. Hats off to Ashwini Dutt for his bold investment, strong belief in Chiru's stamina and his uncompromised craving for top quality.

On this festive day for Chiru fans, idlebrain congratulates the cast and crew of the film for making the movie the biggest hit of tollywood. Idlebrain also congratulates all Chiru fans, exhibitors, distributors and all those people who directly or indirectly involved with INDRA and wishes them all the best in their future assignments.

Vanaparthy Ranganath
Guest Editor
[email protected]
30th October 2002