Maharadhi

Maharadhi (also spelled Maharathi) is a 2007 Telugu action drama directed by P. Vasu and produced by Vakada Appa Rao for Sri Lalitha Kalanjali Productions. Nandamuri Balakrishna plays several roles, with Meera Jasmine, Sneha, Navaneet Kaur, Jaya Prada and Naresh. Gurukiran composed the music. It was released on 1 February 2007 and was later dubbed into Tamil as Kuppathu Raja.

What the story is about

Bala teaches music at a college run by Naresh Chowdary. His look-alike, Krishna, is a dance master at a rival college run by the formidable Chamundeswari. Naresh’s daughter Kalyani falls for Krishna, with Bala’s help, but her father refuses to accept the match, and Kalyani locks herself in her room until he brings Krishna to her.

Behind the look-alikes lies another story, of Balayya, a simple, uneducated man in Visakhapatnam who lives with his mother Saralamma, and Bhairavi, a dance researcher who comes to study him, falls in love with him and turns out to be Chamundeswari’s daughter. How these lives connect, and the family rift at their heart, is what the film sets out to resolve.

Cast and crew

• Nandamuri Balakrishna as Bala, Krishna and Balayya
• Jaya Prada as Chamundeswari
• Meera Jasmine as Kalyani
• Sneha as Bhairavi
• Navaneet Kaur as Naveena
• Naresh as Naresh Chowdary
• Pradeep Rawat, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Ali and Kovai Sarala

Director: P. Vasu. Story: Thotapalli Madhu. Producer: Vakada Appa Rao. Music: Gurukiran. Runtime: 149 minutes.

Making the film

Balakrishna asked the writer Thotapalli Madhu for a story, which Madhu prepared in 15 days; impressed, Balakrishna then chose the producer and director himself. The film was launched at Ramanaidu Studios on 30 April 2006, its first schedule ran for twenty-two days in Uttaranchal, and filming finished on 12 October 2006. The soundtrack was released straight to the market on 6 November 2006.

Reviews

Idlebrain found the first half decent, with Balakrishna entertaining in his two roles, but the second half sluggish; it praised his effort “in a role of four different shades” and the music, but found the direction “a bit old-fashioned”. Rediff felt “the screenplay lacks consistency and is quite slack at places”, the music uninspiring and the narration too slow. Wikipedia records the film as a flop but cites no source or figures.

Where to watch Maharadhi

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for Maharadhi on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Maharathi and the reviews it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.