Chukkallo Chandrudu

Chukkallo Chandrudu (“Moon Among the Stars”) is a 2006 Telugu romance directed by Siva Ananth in his debut and produced by Alexander Vallabha for Creative Commercials. Siddharth, who also co-wrote the screenplay, stars with Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sadha, Charmme Kaur and Saloni Aswani, with music by Chakri. Released for Sankranti on 14 January 2006, it was well reviewed but lost out at the box office to the season’s other big releases.

What the story is about

Arjun, a cheerful NRI in Germany, lives with his wealthy grandparents, Krishna Rao and Padmavati. Padmavati’s last wish was to see him married, but Arjun refuses, convinced he will lose everything he loves. After her death, his heartbroken grandfather leaves for their native village, and Arjun follows, promising to come back with a wife. With the help of his childhood friend Puppy, he shortlists three childhood acquaintances, Shalini, a tennis star, Shravani, a medical student, and Sandhya, a women’s activist, and gets close to all three while posing as an ordinary young man named Krishna, only to be told by his grandfather that liking someone is not the same as true love.

Cast and crew

• Siddharth as Arjun / Krishna
• Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Krishna Rao, Arjun’s grandfather
• Sadha as Shravani
• Charmme Kaur as Sandhya
• Saloni as Shalini Rao
• Sunil as Puppy, Arjun’s friend
• Prathap K. Pothan as Shalini’s father and Ahuti Prasad as Sandhya’s father
• Tanikella Bharani and K. R. Vijaya as Shravani’s uncle and grandmother

Director: Siva Ananth. Screenplay co-written by Siddharth. Producer: Alexander Vallabha (Creative Commercials). Music: Chakri. Runtime: 147 minutes.

Making the film

Siddharth’s role in writing the screenplay was reported by Behindwoods in 2005 and by Rediff. Many scenes were shot around Innsbruck in Austria.

Reviews and box office

The Hindu wrote that “Siddharth shines brightest”, with good comic timing, and noted that Nageswara Rao, back on the big screen after a long time, “even matches the dancing steps along with the hero”, while calling Chakri’s music “enthralling”. Jeevi of Idlebrain gave it 3.25 out of five, calling it “a sophisticated comedy film for multiplex crowds” that “defies the routine formula”, and Full Hyderabad found it “an enjoyable movie” for the family.

Commercially, it struggled against the season’s other successful Sankranti films, Lakshmi, Style and Devadasu, and it was a box-office failure. It was later remade in Kannada as Sagar (2012), as IBN Live noted.

Where to watch Chukkallo Chandrudu

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

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