Released · Telugu film · 2010
Khaleja
ఖలేజా
Khaleja release date: 7 October 2010 (theatres). Directed by Trivikram Srinivas; starring Mahesh Babu, Anushka Shetty and Prakash Raj.
- Film release
- 7 October 2010 · All 2010 films
- Director
- Trivikram Srinivas
- Music
- Mani Sharma
- Production
- Kanakaratna Movies
- Writing credits
- Trivikram Srinivas
- Runtime
- 164 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
No streaming platform is on file for this film.
Film release: 7 October 2010 · all 2010 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.
Khaleja (transl. “Courage”), also known as Mahesh Khaleja, is a 2010 Telugu fantasy action comedy written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. Mahesh Babu, returning after a three-year break and reuniting with the director of Athadu, plays a Hyderabad taxi driver who is hailed by a remote village as its prophesied saviour, with Anushka Shetty, Prakash Raj and Rao Ramesh. Released on 7 October 2010, it had mixed reviews and disappointed at the box office, but has since been re-evaluated and gathered a devoted following.
What the story is about
A remote village in Pali is struck by a mysterious disease. Its head prophesies that a saviour will come, and sends his assistant, Siddha, to find him. In Hyderabad, cab driver Raju sees two of his passengers murdered and his taxi wrecked. He travels to Rajasthan to hand insurance money to a victim’s family, picking up companions along the way: Subhashini “Subbu”, who has run away from a trip with her unpleasant fiancé, a journalist named Babji and a doctor who calls himself Tom Cruise. When Raju is attacked and badly wounded, Siddha finds him in circumstances that match the prophecy and carries him to Pali, where the villagers start worshipping him as a god. Raju wants none of it, at first. What he finds behind the village’s sickness is the rest of the film.
Cast and crew
- Mahesh Babu as Alluri Seetharama Raju
- Anushka Shetty as Subhashini “Subbu”
- Prakash Raj as GK
- Rao Ramesh as the village head
- Shafi as Siddha
- Sunil as Babji
- Ali as “Tom Cruise”
- Brahmanandam as a lawyer
- Subbaraju as Govardhan
- Kota Srinivasa Rao as Raju’s grandfather
- Tanikella Bharani as Subbu’s father
Writer-director: Trivikram Srinivas. Music: Mani Sharma, with lyrics by Ramajogayya Sastry and Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry. Production: Kanakaratna Movies. Runtime: 164 minutes.
Reviews
Most reviews centred on the star. Sify (3/5) said Mahesh was “the cynosure of the movie, shouldering the entire responsibility”. Rediff (3/5) called it “watchable, entertaining with good humour” and “Mahesh’s show all the way”. MSN (3/5) found it “just an above average venture” with a dull first half, and CNN-IBN felt the comedy diluted a serious theme. Looking back in 2020, Film Companion counted it among Mahesh Babu’s most underrated films.
Box office
Figures from the trade site Andhraboxoffice, as cited by Wikipedia, show a strong start followed by a steep fall: an Andhra Pradesh distributors’ share of about ₹4.18 crore on day one, ₹11.2 crore by the end of the first week, and about ₹18.08 crore over its full run, which counted as a disappointment against its budget and expectations. It faced competition from Brindavanam and Robo. When it was re-released on 30 May 2025, around Krishna’s birth anniversary, Filmibeat reported a re-release gross of ₹13 crore.
Awards
The song “Sada Siva” won two Filmfare Awards South: Best Lyricist – Telugu for Ramajogayya Sastry and Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu for Ramesh Vinayagam and N. C. Karunya.
Where to watch Khaleja
According to the film’s Wikipedia article, Khaleja is available on Sun NXT and Amazon Prime Video. We have not confirmed a platform listing, so check the service before you press play.
Sources: the Wikipedia article on Khaleja and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.
Cast of Khaleja (2010)
- Mahesh Babu as Alluri Seetarama Raju
- Anushka Shetty as Subhashini
- Prakash Raj as Gopala "G.K." Krishnan
- Indukuri Sunil Varma as Babji
- Brahmanandam as Miriyam
- Subbaraju as Govardhan
- Nassar as A Person
- Ali as Tom Cruise
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Rao Ramesh as Tantrik
- Tanikella Bharani as Durga Prasad
- Raghu Babu as Sundaram
- Kota Srinivasa Rao as Raju's grandfather
- Gundu Sudarshan as A Man at a Cafe
- Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Taxi Owner
- Archana Shastry
- Shafi as Siddha
- Ananth Babu as Ananth
Also in the cast (TMDB): Aman Dhaliwal as John, Archana as GK's PA, Amit Kumar Tiwari as G.K's Son, Supriya Karnik as G.K's Wife, Sudha as G.K's Assistant, Sriranjini as Devi Prasad's Wife, M. S. Narayana as Villager, Vajja Venkata Giridhar as A Man, Micky Makhija as Paranji.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
Source record: Q1010104 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.