Released · Telugu film · 2016
Oopiri
ఊపిరి
Oopiri release date: 25 March 2016 (theatres). Directed by Vamsi Paidipally; starring Akkineni Nagarjuna, Tamannaah Bhatia and Prakash Raj.
- Film release
- 25 March 2016 · All 2016 films
- Director
- Vamsi Paidipally
- Music
- Gopi Sundar
- Production
- PVP Cinema
- Writing credits
- Vamsi Paidipally
- Runtime
- 158 min
- Language
- Telugu
OTT release
No streaming platform is on file for this film.
Film release: 25 March 2016 · all 2016 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.
Oopiri (meaning “Breath”) is a 2016 comedy drama directed by Vamshi Paidipally and produced by PVP Cinema, shot simultaneously in Telugu and in Tamil as Thozha. It stars Nagarjuna, Karthi, in his Telugu debut, and Tamannaah Bhatia, with Prakash Raj, Ali, Vivek, Jayasudha and Tanikella Bharani. The first Indian remake of the French film The Intouchables (2011), it was released on 25 March 2016 to critical acclaim.
Story
Vikramaditya, a wealthy entrepreneur, is left quadriplegic after a paragliding accident in Paris and cuts off contact with the woman he loves so that she can move on. Years later, living a joyless, routine life in his mansion, he interviews candidates for a full-time caretaker and picks the least qualified of them: Seenu, a street-smart convict on parole who only applied to impress the court. The unlikely pair’s friendship teaches both of them that relationships matter more than money or disability.
Cast
- Nagarjuna as Vikramaditya
- Karthi as Seenu, the caretaker
- Tamannaah Bhatia as Keerthi, Vikramaditya’s secretary
- Jayasudha as Seenu’s mother
- Prakash Raj, Ali, Vivek and Tanikella Bharani in supporting roles
- Anushka Shetty and Adivi Sesh in cameos, Anushka as Vikramaditya’s former girlfriend
Development and casting
Karan Johar and Guneet Monga bought the Indian remake rights in May 2014 and authorised PVP Cinema to make regional versions. N. T. Rama Rao Jr. was first signed as one of the leads and suggested Nagarjuna for the other, but left over dates for Nannaku Prematho and was replaced by Karthi in October 2014, which led to the Tamil version. At Nagarjuna’s request, flashback scenes were cut to keep the film closer to the original. Tamannaah replaced Shruti Haasan as the female lead. Nagarjuna used a customised wheelchair imported from Sweden and found keeping still for the role extremely challenging.
Production
Launched in Hyderabad and Chennai in early 2015, the film was shot from March 2015 to February 2016 in Chennai, Hyderabad, Paris, Belgrade and Novi Sad. Gopi Sundar composed the music, P. S. Vinod was the cinematographer, and Abburi Ravi wrote the Telugu dialogue.
Release and awards
Oopiri and Thozha were released worldwide on 25 March 2016 and were praised for the lead performances, cinematography and Paidipally’s adaptation. The film won Filmfare Awards South for Best Director – Telugu and Best Cinematography, and a SIIMA Best Director award for Paidipally. Film Companion named it one of the 25 greatest Telugu films of the decade.
Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.
Cast of Oopiri (2016)
- Akkineni Nagarjuna as Vikramaditya
- Tamannaah Bhatia as Keerthi
- Prakash Raj as Prasad
- Jayasudha as Seenu's Mother
- Karthik Siva kumar
Additional cast
Further acting credits recorded for this film; voice-only and dubbing credits are excluded.
- Tanikella Bharani as Kaalidasu
- Aadukalam Naren
- Shriya Saran as Priya
- Ali as Lawyer Lingam
- Raja Ravindra
- Thagubothu Ramesh
- Anushka Shetty as Nandini
- Praveen
- Satya Krishnan as Physiotherapist
- Adivi Sesh as Abhinav
- Vivek as Lawyer Lingam
- Santhana Bharathi
Also in the cast (TMDB): Karthi as Seenu, Kalpana as Lakshmi, Srinivasa Sayee as Seenu's Brother, Harsha Vardhan as Traffic Police, Pujita Ponnada as Vikramaditya's Assistant.
Character names as listed on TMDB, checked 10 Oct 2026.
What critics said
The article describes a positive reception for the film and its Tamil version Thozha, with praise for the cast and for Vamshi Paidipally's adaptation.
- The Hindu (Sangeetha Devi Dundoo) called it a “rare film that justifies its hype”, with an age-defying, graceful and restrained Nagarjuna.
- The Times of India (Pranita Jonnalagedda) wrote that it sets a benchmark for adaptations in Telugu cinema, praising the cast and the climax.
- Deccan Chronicle (Suresh Kavirayani) called it a beautiful, emotional journey.
- India Today (Kirubhakar Purushothaman) felt it keeps the soul of the original with the right cast and team.
- News18 (Karthik Keramalu) called it the best film of Paidipally's career so far.
- Sify described a breezy feel-good ride, though too long.
- Hindustan Times (Gautaman Bhaskaran, on Thozha) found it unduly verbose, losing its sense of male bonding once it turns to love stories.
Box office: trade analyst Trinath, cited in the article, reported a gross of ₹20 crore for the two versions within four days.
Summarised by Tollywood Desk from the reception section of the Wikipedia article Oopiri (revision 1374573765), which cites the reviews named above. Quotation marks show words quoted in that article; no ratings or scores are added here.
Source record: Q19899083 on Wikidata. Dates are those on record and can change; this is not a studio announcement. Spotted an error? Send a correction.