Released · Telugu film · 2017
Nene Raju Nene Mantri
నేనే రాజు నేనే మంత్రి
Nene Raju Nene Mantri release date: 11 August 2017 (theatres). Directed by Teja; starring Rana Daggubati, Kajal Aggarwal and Navdeep.
- Film release
- 11 August 2017 · All 2017 films
- Director
- Teja
- Music
- Anoop Rubens
- Production
- Suresh Productions
- Runtime
- 153 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
No streaming platform is on file for this film.
Film release: 11 August 2017 · all 2017 Telugu films.
Source: the film’s Wikipedia article, checked 25 September 2026. It does not name a streaming platform or date; this page says so rather than guessing.
Nene Raju Nene Mantri (transl. I’m the King and I’m the Minister) is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language political action drama written and directed by Teja. It stars Rana Daggubati and Kajal Aggarwal, with Catherine Tresa, Navdeep and Ashutosh Rana. Released on 11 August 2017 to positive reviews, it was a blockbuster and was seen as a comeback for its director.
Story
Jogendra, a village moneylender, and his wife Radha are happily married and overjoyed when she finally becomes pregnant. A petty clash of egos at the village temple with the sarpanch’s wife ends in tragedy for the couple. Devastated, Jogendra enters politics, and his rise, driven by his love for Radha, turns him from a good man into an increasingly ruthless one.
Cast
- Rana Daggubati as Jogendra
- Kajal Aggarwal as Radha, in her 50th film
- Catherine Tresa, Navdeep and Ashutosh Rana in key roles
Production
Teja first planned a film called Aham with Rajasekhar, which was shelved in April 2016. Producer P. Satyanarayana Reddy wanted a different lead, and Teja approached Rana Daggubati, who was then finishing The Ghazi Attack. Rana’s father, Daggubati Suresh Babu, suggested Kajal Aggarwal as the heroine. Teja and Rana worked on the script for eight months. Lakshmi Bhoopal wrote the dialogue, Venkat C. Dileep was the cinematographer and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao the editor. The film was produced under Suresh Productions and Blue Planet Entertainments, and shooting began in Karaikudi in October 2016. A teaser was released on 6 June, the birth anniversary of Rana’s grandfather D. Ramanaidu.
Music and release
Anup Rubens composed the songs and score, and Junglee Music released the album on 30 July 2017. The film was dubbed into Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, with some scenes reshot with local actors for the Tamil version.
Reception
The New Indian Express called it a riveting political drama with hard-hitting dialogue. Firstpost singled out Kajal’s Radha as the biggest revelation, and Hindustan Times praised Rana’s powerful screen presence. Several critics, including The Hindu, Sify and The Indian Express, felt the second half lost its sharpness. Some were troubled that the film glorified a hero with violent methods.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Cast of Nene Raju Nene Mantri (2017)
- Rana Daggubati as Jogendra
- Kajal Aggarwal as Radha Jogendra
- Navdeep as Shiva
- Jaya Prakash Reddy
- Pradeep Rawat as Sarpanch
- Ashutosh Rana as Subbarayudu
- Ajay as CI/SP
- Catherine Tresa as Devika Rani
- Bithiri Sathi as News Reporter
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Tanikella Bharani as Chief Minister
- Kalpa Latha
- Posani Krishna Murali as Muniappa
- Sivaji Raja as Radha's Father
Also in the cast (TMDB): Ravi Joshi as Tirupathi, Jayaprakash Reddy as the jailor, Raghu Karumanchi as Chandramouli, Prabhas Sreenu as Subbarayudu's PA, Satya Prakash as MLA Choudappa, Bindu Chandramouli as Sarpanch's Wife, Venkateswara Rao Paruchuri as Jail Lawyer, Naveen Neni as Ravi, Priyanka Nalkari as Sushmitha.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
What critics said
Reviews cited in the article praised Teja's writing and Rana Daggubati's performance in the political drama, with some reservations about the second half.
- The New Indian Express (Purnima Sriram Iyer) called it a “riveting political drama” with hard-hitting dialogue.
- Firstpost (Hemanth Kumar) credited the performances and writing, calling Kajal Aggarwal's Radha the biggest revelation.
- Hindustan Times (Karthik Kumar) noted that the film rests on the bond between the leads and praised Daggubati's screen presence.
- Deccan Chronicle (Suresh Kavirayani) praised the performances but found an overdose of sentiment in the second half.
- The Hindu (Sangeetha Devi Dundoo) called Jogendra one of the most intriguing characters Rana has played, but found the later segments less sharp.
Summarised by Tollywood Desk from the reception section of the Wikipedia article Nene Raju Nene Mantri (revision 1376276675), which cites the reviews named above. Quotation marks show words quoted in that article; no ratings or scores are added here.
Source record: Q27590934 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.