Gulabi

Gulabi (meaning “Rose”) is a 1995 Telugu romantic crime film written and directed by Krishna Vamsi in his debut, and produced by Ram Gopal Varma with Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL). J. D. Chakravarthy and Maheswari play the leads, with Chandra Mohan and Brahmaji in supporting roles; Sashi Preetam composed the music and Nadiminti Narsinga Rao wrote the dialogue. Released on 3 November 1995, it was well reviewed, became a box-office hit and won the Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director.

What the story is about

Gulabi is an action-driven love story between Chandu and Pooja, set against the trafficking of young girls from Hyderabad to Dubai. The story was inspired by a real case that made headlines when police arrested Dubai-based businessmen trying to smuggle girls out of Hyderabad.

Cast

• J. D. Chakravarthy as Chandrasekhar, known as Chandu
• Maheswari as Pooja
• Brahmaji as Rambabu
• Chandra Mohan as Lakshminarayan Murthy, Chandu’s father
• Benarjee as Inspector Prasad
• Chalapathi Rao and Y. Vijaya as Pooja’s parents
• Jeeva

How it was made

After assisting Ram Gopal Varma on Siva and Gaayam, Krishna Vamsi was first assigned to direct Anaganaga Oka Roju but left it over creative differences and rising costs. While working on Antham, Nagarjuna had encouraged him to develop a strong story, and Vamsi found one in a news report about a 14-year-old girl sold to a 70-year-old sheikh in Dubai and rescued by an air hostess. As he told Idlebrain.com, the original big-budget action version was too expensive, so he kept the climax and rebuilt the story as a smaller love story. Varma, back in Hyderabad after Rangeela, agreed to produce it on condition that the budget stay within ₹75 lakh, and promised not to interfere; D. Suresh Babu was also interested but wanted to evaluate the script first, and Vamsi chose Varma. Vamsi originally wanted Tabu for the heroine but she was unavailable, and he cast Maheswari for her sophistication and expressive eyes, as he told Rediff. Chalapathi Rao played a rare soft role as Pooja’s father.

Music

Sashi Preetam, then relatively inexperienced, composed five songs. The first, “Ye Rojaithe Choosano Ninnu”, was the first song ever recorded at the newly opened Ramanaidu Recording Theatres. The soundtrack was very popular, and “Ee Velalo Neevu” became a classic hit.

Reception and legacy

Gulabi received positive reviews, including in Zamin Ryot, and Indiancine.ma records it as a box-office hit. It won Nandi Awards for Best First Film of a Director and for P. Madhusudhana Rao’s sound. Nagarjuna, impressed by Vamsi’s handling of key scenes, signed him to direct Ninne Pelladata (1996). Gulabi was dubbed into Tamil as Idhayame Idhayame and remade in Hindi as Aashiq (2001).

Where to watch Gulabi

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

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