Criminal

Criminal is a 1994 action thriller directed by Mahesh Bhatt and shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi. The Telugu version was produced by K. S. Rama Rao under Creative Commercials and the Hindi version by Mukesh Bhatt under Vishesh Films. Akkineni Nagarjuna, Manisha Koirala and Ramya Krishna star, with music by M. M. Keeravani (credited as MM Kreem in Hindi). The film is an Indian adaptation of the 1993 Hollywood thriller The Fugitive. The Telugu version was released on 14 October 1994 and the Hindi version on 4 August 1995. Its song “Thelusa Manasa” became a lasting favourite.

What the story is about

Dr. Ajay Kumar gives up his plans to move to the United States after seeing a woman die because she could not afford hospital treatment, and sets out to build “Amma Hospital” for people who cannot pay. His work makes him admired, especially by two women: Dr. Swetha, whom he marries, and ACP Ramya, who had hoped for more. When Swetha stumbles on evidence of an organ-smuggling racket at her hospital, she is attacked and killed, and the evidence points to Ajay. Convicted and sentenced to death, he escapes custody and goes on the run to prove his innocence while the police hunt him. As with The Fugitive, the pleasure is in the chase, so we stop here.

Cast

• Nagarjuna as Dr. Ajay Kumar
• Manisha Koirala as Dr. Swetha
• Ramya Krishna as ACP Ramya
• Nassar as SP Teja and Gulshan Grover as Rakesh Kumar
• Sarath Babu, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Brahmanandam in the Telugu version; the Hindi version was the last film of veteran actor Ajit

Music

M. M. Keeravani composed all the songs. “Thelusa Manasa” became a cult song; its humming portion was inspired by the German band Enigma, and K. S. Chithra spent four days practising to reproduce the humming in her own style. Keeravani kept Chithra’s humming in the Hindi version, “Tu Mile Dil Khile”, even after her vocals were replaced by Alka Yagnik’s. “Paapki Paapki” was inspired by the Canadian musician Snow’s “Lonely Monday Morning”. A Tamil-dubbed version was released as Ellame En Kadhali.

Release and reception

The Telugu version opened on 14 October 1994. Alluru Rahim of the Telugu weekly Zamin Ryot appreciated Nagarjuna’s performance and Keeravani’s music but felt the film lacked a good story and screenplay. Reviewing the Tamil version in 1995, K. Vijiyan of the New Straits Times wrote that Bhatt had made a faithful remake of The Fugitive. Wikipedia describes the film as a success, though it gives no box-office figures, so we do not quote any. The Malayalam film Nirnayam (1995), starring Mohanlal, is another Indian adaptation of the same story.

Where to watch Criminal

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

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Criminal (1994) and the reviews it cites; Wikidata; our own cast and crew records.