Yamaleela

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Yamaleela (transl. “Yama’s divine play”) is a 1994 Telugu fantasy comedy written, directed and scored by S. V. Krishna Reddy. It gave the comedian Ali his first role as a leading man, opposite Indraja, with Kaikala Satyanarayana as Yama, the god of death. Released on 28 April 1994, it became a major box-office success and was later remade in Hindi and Tamil.

What the story is about

Suraj is a mischievous young man who keeps disappointing his mother. When he learns that his late father was a zamindar who lost the family estate, Swarna Palace, under a burden of debt, he vows to win it back for her at any cost. He is also chasing Lilly, a petty thief who wants nothing to do with him, and has made an enemy of Thota Ramudu, a local rowdy.

Up in the heavens, Yama and his aide Chitragupta lose the Bhavishyavaani, the book that records the future. It lands on the roof of Suraj’s house. Reading what is about to happen, Suraj quickly grows rich, while Brahma warns Yama and Chitragupta that they will lose their powers if they do not recover the book within a month. The two gods come down to earth to look for it, where people take them for a pair of stage actors. How the book changes Suraj’s plans for his mother is the heart of the film, and we will leave the rest for you to watch.

Cast and crew

• Ali as Suraj
• Indraja as Lilly
• Kaikala Satyanarayana as Yama
• Brahmanandam as Chitragupta
• Manju Bhargavi as Suraj’s mother
• Tanikella Bharani as Thota Ramudu
• M. Balaiah as Brahma
• Kota Srinivasa Rao as Inspector Ranjith
• Gundu Hanumantha Rao as Gundu
• Saakshi Ranga Rao as Rangayya
• Krishna in a special appearance in the song “Jumbare Joojumbare”

S. V. Krishna Reddy wrote, directed and composed the music. Runtime: 140 minutes.

How Ali got the lead

Krishna Reddy first had Mahesh Babu in mind for Suraj. He narrated the script to Mahesh’s father, the star Krishna, on a flight from Hyderabad to Madras, but Krishna turned it down because his son was still focused on his studies. The role then went to Ali. According to The Hindu, the film was made on a budget of ₹75 lakh and went on to be a commercial success, reportedly doubling its investment.

Remakes, sequels and awards

Yamaleela was remade in Hindi as Taqdeerwala (1995) and in Tamil as Lucky Man (1995). Krishna Reddy made a spiritual successor, Yamaleela 2, released in 2014 (Deccan Chronicle review). A television series, Yamaleela Aa Taruvatha, ran on ETV from 2020 to 2022 and continued the original story, with Ali and Manju Bhargavi returning as Suraj and his mother and Suman as Yama (The Times of India). The film’s choreographer, Suchitra, won the Nandi Award for Best Choreographer.

Where to watch Yamaleela

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

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