Released · Telugu film · 2016
Janatha Garage
జనతా గ్యారేజ్
Janatha Garage release date: 1 September 2016 (theatres). Directed by Koratala Siva; starring Mohanlal, N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.
- Film release
- 1 September 2016 · All 2016 films
- Director
- Koratala Siva
- Music
- Devi Sri Prasad
- Production
- Mythri Movie Makers
- Writing credits
- Koratala Siva
- Runtime
- 162 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
JioHotstar holds the digital rights; the OTT release date is not announced yet.
Film release: 1 September 2016 · all 2016 Telugu films.
Source: the film’s Wikipedia article, checked 25 September 2026. Only what the source states is shown.
Janatha Garage OTT release dateNew OTT releases this weekUpcoming OTT releasesTelugu films on JioHotstar
Janatha Garage (meaning “People’s Garage”) is a 2016 Telugu-language vigilante action drama written and directed by Koratala Siva and produced by Mythri Movie Makers. It stars Mohanlal, N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Nithya Menen and Unni Mukundan. Released on 1 September 2016 to positive reviews, it was the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2016 and won two National Film Awards and seven Nandi Awards.
Story
Sathyam, a generous mechanic, moves from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad and opens a large garage. When the daughter of a close friend is murdered by influential men and the police say they can do nothing, he takes justice into his own hands, and his garage becomes a refuge for the oppressed. Anand, an environmental activist who comes to Hyderabad for a seminar, has an unexpected encounter with Sathyam that changes the direction of his life.
Cast
- N. T. Rama Rao Jr. as Anand
- Mohanlal as Sathyam
- Samantha Ruth Prabhu, the female lead
- Nithya Menen, the second female lead
- Unni Mukundan as the antagonist
- Devayani, Sai Kumar, Brahmaji and Rahman; Kajal Aggarwal in a song
Production
After Srimanthudu, Siva chose Rama Rao Jr. for his next film, announced by Mythri Movie Makers as #NTR26 and titled at a launch on 25 October 2015. Mohanlal signed on in November 2015 for his third Telugu film. A ₹3 crore set was built at Saradhi Studios, and shooting took place from February to August 2016 in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai. Devi Sri Prasad composed the music, with lyrics by Ramajogayya Sastry, Tirru shot the film and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao edited it.
Release and box office
Moved from August to 1 September 2016, the film opened on about 2,010 screens worldwide. According to the source it collected over ₹41 crore on its first day, the second-biggest Telugu opening at the time after Baahubali: The Beginning, and it ran 50 days in 39 centres. It was later dubbed into Malayalam, Hindi and Odia.
Awards
At the 64th National Film Awards, Mohanlal received a Special Jury Award and Raju Sundaram won Best Choreography. Its seven Nandi Awards included Best Popular Feature Film, Best Actor for Rama Rao Jr., Best Supporting Actor for Mohanlal and Best Story Writer for Koratala Siva, and it won the Telangana Gaddar Award for Third Best Feature Film.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Trailer from the official YouTube channel of Mythri Movie Makers, published 12 Aug 2016.
Cast of Janatha Garage (2016)
- Mohanlal as Satyam
- N. T. Rama Rao Jr. as Anand
- Samantha Ruth Prabhu as Bujji
- Nithya Menen as Anu
- Appaji Ambarisha Darbha
- Devayani as Padma Satyam
- Sai Kumar as K. Chandra Sekhar
- Brahmaji as Shankar
- మోహన్ లాల్
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Ravi Prakash as Dinesh Kumar IPS
- Rao Ramesh
- Raghu Babu as Reddy
- Vennela Kishore
- Rajiv Kanakala
- Benarjee
- Ajay as Bose
- Sachin Khedekar as Mukesh Rana
- Surya
- Kajal Aggarwal
- Vijayakumar
- Ashish Vidyarthi
- Sithara as Suresh's wife
- Rahman as Shiva
- Jeeva
- Tammareddy Chalapathi Rao
- Suresh as Suresh
Also in the cast (TMDB): Unni Mukundan as Raghava Sathyam, John Kokken as Satpal Singh Yadav, Aathma Patrick as Seena, Rajendran as Santhanam, Sravan Raghavendra as Mukesh's henchman, Rajeev Kanakala as Vikas, Meena Vasu as Vikas's wife, Vidisha Srivastava as Riya, Anitha Chowdary as Anu's Mother.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
What critics said
The article describes positive reviews, although several critics cited in it found the film predictable, with the performances of Mohanlal and Jr NTR as its strength.
- 123Telugu called it a character-driven film centred on serious emotions rather than a regular popcorn entertainer.
- The Times of India (Pranita Jonnalagedda) felt it needed some repair itself, but was still worth seeing.
- Onmanorama (G. Ragesh) applauded Koratala Siva for casting Mohanlal as the kind-hearted don.
- The Indian Express (Goutham V. S.) called it a predictable, run-of-the-mill drama despite a good message.
- India Today (Srivatsan) found it a bland revenge drama after a promising set-up.
- The Hindu (Sangeetha Devi Dundoo) wrote that the two leads “save an otherwise tepid film”.
- Deccan Chronicle (Govind Vijaykumar) found it slower than Siva's earlier films and outdated.
Box office: the article reports that the film collected more than ₹100 crore within a week.
Summarised by Tollywood Desk from the reception section of the Wikipedia article Janatha Garage (revision 1371558315), which cites the reviews named above. Quotation marks show words quoted in that article; no ratings or scores are added here.
Source record: Q21647252 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.