Donga

Donga (meaning “Burglar”) is a 1985 Telugu action film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy and produced by T. Trivikrama Rao under Vijayalakshmi Art Pictures. Chiranjeevi and Radha star, with Rao Gopal Rao, Allu Ramalingaiah and Gollapudi Maruti Rao in supporting roles, and K. Chakravarthy composed the music. Released on 14 March 1985, it was a commercial success. Decades later its song “Golimar”, inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, became an internet phenomenon as the “Indian Thriller”.

What the story is about

Phani is a thief who steals only to help the poor. He is in love with Manju Latha, but her father, Kodandaramayya, is the man Phani holds responsible for his own father’s death, and he is set on revenge. At the same time Phani has to find ₹50,000 for the dowry so that his sister Malathi can marry Rajesh, the son of Anjaneyulu, while an income-tax officer, Viswanatham, is trying to marry his own sister to the same young man.

Cast

• Chiranjeevi as Phani, with Harish as the young Phani
• Radha as Manju Latha
• Rao Gopal Rao as Kodandaramayya
• Allu Ramalingaiah as Rama Subbaiah and Gollapudi Maruti Rao as Anjaneyulu
• Rajendra Prasad as Inspector Ravi
• Rajyalakshmi as Malathi, Raja as Rajesh and Sridhar as Viswanatham
• Nutan Prasad as Ranga, P. L. Narayana as Chandra Shekar Rao, and Silk Smitha

Music

K. Chakravarthy composed the songs, with lyrics by Veturi, released on AVM Audio.

Release and reception

Donga opened on 14 March 1985 and, according to Deccan Chronicle, was a commercial success; a Tamil dub was released as Kolai Karan. Reviewing it in Andhra Patrika on 29 March 1985, C. S. V. praised the lead performances and Chakravarthy’s music.

“Golimar” and the “Indian Thriller”

The song “Golimar” borrows its choreography and much of its look from the music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Clips of the sequence, often called the “Indian Thriller”, went viral, and a parody by Mike Sutton (Buffalax), “Indian Thriller with English lyrics”, added subtitles that turned the Telugu lyrics into sound-alike English sentences. The American producer Skrillex sampled “Golimar” in “Scary Bolly Dub”, a mashup with his “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”, and showed clips of the scene at live shows; the film Go Goa Gone also uses footage of the song. The film’s title was later reused for the Telugu dub of the Tamil film Thambi (2019), starring Karthi.

Where to watch Donga

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

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