Simhadri

Simhadri is a 2003 Telugu action drama co-written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli from a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad, and produced by V. Vijay Kumar Varma under VMC Productions. N. T. Rama Rao Jr. plays the title role, with Bhumika Chawla, Ankitha, Mukesh Rishi, Nassar and Rahul Dev. Released in July 2003 (our record gives 11 July; Wikipedia gives 9 July), it was Rajamouli’s second film after Student No: 1, and together with Aadi it established Rama Rao Jr. as one of the biggest stars in Telugu cinema.

What the story is about

Simhadri is an orphan raised as a son by Ram Bhupal Varma, a wealthy and kind-hearted patriarch in Visakhapatnam. He is loyal and obedient, and Varma’s granddaughter Kasturi falls in love with him. What the family does not know is that Simhadri quietly visits and supports Indu, a young woman with amnesia living under a caretaker’s supervision. When that secret comes out on what should have been his wedding day, Simhadri refuses to abandon her, and the question of who Indu is, and who Simhadri really is, drives the rest of the film. The answers are the film’s big reveals, so we stop here.

Cast

• N. T. Rama Rao Jr. as Simhadri; he won the CineMAA Award for Best Actor for the role
• Bhumika Chawla as Indu
• Ankitha as Kasturi
• Nassar, Mukesh Rishi and Rahul Dev in supporting roles, with Brahmanandam and Venu Madhav

How it was made

The project was first planned with director B. Gopal and Balakrishna, but that version was dropped. With Rama Rao Jr. cast in the lead, shooting began under a different director and ran for nearly 40 days, but the makers felt the footage did not suit the star’s image after Aadi. Rama Rao Jr. suggested Rajamouli, who had directed him in Student No: 1, and the change became a career-defining break for the director. Vijayendra Prasad has said he got the idea for the story while re-watching Moondram Pirai (1982). Ravindra Babu was the cinematographer and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao the editor.

Music

M. M. Keeravani composed the soundtrack. He later revealed that Rajamouli mostly picked tunes that had been used before or rejected by other directors: “Ammaina Nannaina” came from Kishkindha Kanda (1994), “Chinnadamme” from Samarpana (1992) and “Singhamalai” from People’s Encounter (1991), and Keeravani acknowledged that “Chiraaku Anuko” was inspired by “Cotton Eye Joe”.

Release and box office

Simhadri was a major commercial success. Business Standard reported a 50-day run in 190 centres and a 100-day run in 150 centres, an all-time record in Telugu cinema at the time. Outlets including Filmfare describe it as an industry hit, though Wikipedia’s article gives conflicting budget and collection figures, so we do not quote a single total. The film was re-released in 4K on 20 May 2023, Rama Rao Jr.’s birthday, to mark its 20th anniversary.

What critics said

Jeevi of Idlebrain gave it a positive review, calling the story “pretty strong” and writing that the role gave Rama Rao Jr. “the chance to use all his histrionic capability”, which he used “to make a deep impact on the hearts of the viewers”.

Legacy and remakes

Simhadri was remade in Tamil as Gajendra (2004), directed by Suresh Krissna with Vijayakanth, and in Kannada as Kanteerava (2012) with Duniya Vijay.

Where to watch Simhadri

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for Simhadri on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

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