Rakhi

Rakhi is a 2006 Telugu action drama directed by Krishna Vamsi and produced under Sri Durga Arts. N. T. Rama Rao Jr. plays a young man who turns vigilante after his sister’s dowry murder, with Ileana D’Cruz, Charmme Kaur, Suhasini, Chandra Mohan and Kota Srinivasa Rao. Devi Sri Prasad composed the music, S. Gopal Reddy shot it and Shankar edited it. Released on 22 December 2006 to mixed reviews, it is remembered above all for NTR’s performance, widely counted among the best of his career.

What the story is about

Ramakrishna, “Rakhi”, is a middle-class young man who hopes to become a railway stationmaster like his father. His close friend and love interest Tripura is a TV reporter who exposes crimes against women. Rakhi’s world revolves around his sister Gayathri, who is married into a family that wants ever more dowry. When Gayathri, pregnant, is burned to death by her in-laws, and a corrupt lawyer, police officer and doctor help pass her death off as the suicide of a disturbed woman, the courts fail Rakhi’s family. Unable to accept it, Rakhi decides to take justice into his own hands, against everyone who abuses, exploits and kills women, and the city is soon divided over whether he is a criminal or a saviour.

Cast

• N. T. Rama Rao Jr. as K. Ramakrishna, “Rakhi”
• Ileana D’Cruz as Tripura Sundari
• Charmme Kaur as Gowri, Rakhi’s cousin
• Suhasini as police officer Meenakshi Iyer
• Chandra Mohan as Rakhi’s father and Kota Srinivasa Rao as his grandfather
• Manjusha as Gayathri and Ravi Varma as her husband
• Brahmanandam as the owner of a TV channel, Sunil as Mohan Reddy and Brahmaji as Ranga
• Sayaji Shinde as a state minister, Tanikella Bharani as a criminal lawyer and Sarath Babu as the police commissioner
• Prakash Raj as a judge (guest role)

Music

Devi Sri Prasad composed six songs, which were well received.

Release and box office

Rakhi was released on 545 screens, including 431 in Andhra Pradesh, 29 in Karnataka and 73 overseas, and was dubbed into Tamil, Hindi (The Return of Kaalia), Bhojpuri (Kaalia) and Kannada. Wikipedia calls it a sleeper hit with a distributors’ share of ₹14 crore and says it ran 100 days in 30 centres, but the only source it gives for the figure is a 2024 post on X by a box-office account, not a named publication, so we treat those numbers as unconfirmed.

Where to watch Rakhi

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

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Rakhi; Wikidata; our own cast and crew records.