Released · Telugu film · 2012
Shirdi Sai
శిరిడి సాయి
Shirdi Sai release date: 6 September 2012 (theatres). Directed by K. Raghavendra Rao; starring Akkineni Nagarjuna, Srikanth and Srihari.
- Film release
- 6 September 2012 · All 2012 films
- Director
- K. Raghavendra Rao
- Music
- M. M. Keeravani
- Production
- AMR Sai Krupa Entertainments
- Writing credits
- K. Raghavendra Rao
- Runtime
- 142 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
No streaming platform is on file for this film.
Film release: 6 September 2012 · all 2012 Telugu films.
Source: the film’s Wikipedia article, checked 25 September 2026. It does not name a streaming platform or date; this page says so rather than guessing.
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Shirdi Sai is a 2012 Telugu-language biographical film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by A. Mahesh Reddy under AMR Sai Krupa Entertainments. Nagarjuna plays Sai Baba of Shirdi, the spiritual teacher of the 19th and 20th centuries, in a depiction of key episodes from his life and his teachings. Released on 6 September 2012, it drew mixed to positive reviews, and Nagarjuna’s performance was widely hailed as one of his best.
Story
A young Sai appears in the village of Shirdi and disappears again, returning after nine years in the Himalayas to make a dilapidated mosque his home. His presence and miracles lead the villagers to call him Sai Baba, and he helps those around him and preaches communal harmony and a single God. Some locals grow suspicious of his growing fame, and the film follows how Shirdi became a place of pilgrimage for people of all faiths, up to his samadhi.
Cast
- Nagarjuna as Sai Baba
- Srikanth, Sarath Babu, Rohini Hattangady, Sayaji Shinde and Sai Kumar in supporting roles
Music
M. M. Keeravani composed the music, released on Vel Records.
Reception
Critics singled out Nagarjuna’s serene, restrained performance. Idlebrain said he epitomised the saint and deserved awards, Rediff called it another feather in his cap after Annamayya and Sri Ramadasu, and The Hindu said that in the last hour one forgets he is a mainstream star. 123telugu felt it would appeal most to devotees, and NDTV described it as a spiritual journey unlike regular commercial cinema.
Place in Raghavendra Rao’s work
The film is one of several devotional biographies by K. Raghavendra Rao, alongside Annamayya, Sri Manjunatha, Sri Ramadasu and Om Namo Venkatesaya, and it won a CineMAA jury award for Best Film.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Cast of Shirdi Sai (2012)
- Akkineni Nagarjuna as Sai
- Srikanth as Dasaganu
- Srihari as Colonel Wales
- Sayaji Shinde as Bhatia
- Kamalinee Mukherjee as Radhakrishna Mai
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Tanikella Bharani as Bhooti
- Brahmanandam as Sandeham
- Sai Kumar as Nanavali
- Ali as Appoo
- Gundu Sudarshan
- Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Nayak
- Sarath Babu as Shiva Mahalsapati
- Ashok Kumar
- Sai Kiran as Lord Vishnu/Rama/Krishna
- Rohini Hattangadi as Ganga Bai
- Ananth Babu as Dappoo
Also in the cast (TMDB): Pramodini Pammi as Goddess Saraswathi, Vinaya Prasad as Baajiya Bai, Kaushik Babu as Tatya, Sameer Hasan as Lord Shiva.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
What critics said
The article describes mixed to positive reviews, with most critics hailing Nagarjuna's portrayal of Sai Baba as one of his best performances.
- Idle brain praised Nagarjuna's calm, authentic portrayal and suggested watching it as a biopic rather than a commercial film.
- Rediff.com wrote that Nagarjuna “steals the show” with the serenity the role needs, placing it alongside Annamayya and Sriramadasu.
- 123telugu.com applauded his courage in taking the role and said the film would appeal to Sai Baba's devotees.
Summarised by Tollywood Desk from the reception section of the Wikipedia article Shirdi Sai (revision 1373640145), which cites the reviews named above. Quotation marks show words quoted in that article; no ratings or scores are added here.
Source record: Q7498347 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.