Narasimhudu

Narasimhudu is a 2005 Telugu action film directed by B. Gopal and produced by Chengala Venkat Rao, starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr. in the title role with Ameesha Patel and Sameera Reddy, in her Telugu debut. Puneet Issar, Kalabhavan Mani, Rahul Dev and Ashish Vidyarthi play supporting roles, and Mani Sharma composed the music. A remake of the 2004 Kannada film Durgi, it is the only remake in N. T. Rama Rao Jr.’s career. It released on 20 May 2005 amid heavy hype and was a box-office failure. Our record lists a running time of 174 minutes.

What the story is about

Orphaned as a child, Narasimhudu is raised by the whole community of Kondaveedu village and grows up to be its unofficial guardian, loved by everyone. The village’s peace is shattered when a young girl from Kondaveedu is assaulted and murdered by the sons of two powerful men, JD and Pothuraju, who use their wealth and connections to shield their sons from the law. Enraged by the crime and the injustice, Narasimhudu vows to punish not only the culprits but also the fathers who protect them, and the film follows his violent campaign against their empires.

Cast

• N. T. Rama Rao Jr. as Kondaveedi Narasimhudu
• Ameesha Patel as Subbalakshmi
• Sameera Reddy as Parvathy
• Puneet Issar as JD (Jayadev)
• Kalabhavan Mani as Ambarpet Pothuraju
• Rahul Dev as JD’s son
• Pradeep Rawat as Pradeep, Pothuraju’s henchman
• Ashish Vidyarthi as the police commissioner
• Brahmanandam, Ali and Satyam Rajesh as Narasimhudu’s friends
• Tanikella Bharani as a doctor
• Jaya Prakash Reddy as an MLA
• Aarthi Agarwal in the song “Rajamandrike”

Music

Mani Sharma’s soundtrack was released by Aditya Music at a launch at Taj Residency, Hyderabad, on 23 April 2005, attended by N. Chandrababu Naidu and V. V. Vinayak among others.

Reception and box office

Critics were disappointed. B. Anuradha of Rediff.com called it a “huge disappointment”, saying B. Gopal relied on songs, action, punchlines and comedy but failed “to pick the right plot”. Sify gave it 3/5 yet called it “devoid of a basic story”, and Jeevi of Idlebrain.com (2.5/5) said it started well with the hero’s introduction before sliding downhill.

Made on a budget of about ₹20 crore with big stars, publicity and overseas locations, the film ran into financial disputes with distributors that delayed its release and led to fan protests. After release, attendance fell away and it became a box-office bomb, as noted in The Hindu‘s round-up of 2005. The Telegraph reported at the time on the severe financial pressure the failure put on its producer.

Where to watch Narasimhudu

Narasimhudu streams on Aha. The platform’s own listing confirms it; we do not have the date it was added on file.

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