Takkari Donga

Takkari Donga (transl. “The sly thief”) is a 2002 Telugu Western directed and produced by Jayanth C. Paranjee, starring Mahesh Babu, Lisa Ray, Bipasha Basu and Rahul Dev, with music by Mani Sharma. It was shot mostly in the United States. Released on 12 January 2002, it drew mixed reviews and did poorly at the box office, but won five Nandi Awards, including a Special Jury Award for Mahesh Babu. Our record lists a running time of 146 minutes.

What the story is about

The film opens with the bandit Shaka killing his own elder brother for information about a hidden “diamond valley”, a secret also known to a rancher, Veeru Dada, who escapes by leaping from a cliff into a river. Eighteen years later, in Gajner, Rajasthan, a one-legged Veeru feeds tips to Raja, a daring outlaw who robs banks in style and splits the takings with him, while a scheming thief named Panasa and her uncle shadow Raja hoping to make off with his loot. Then Veeru makes Raja an offer: a large diamond, if he will escort Veeru’s daughter Bhuvana along a dangerous route to her uncle Dharma. Raja has his own reason for riding into the wilderness, a past he has never let go of.

Cast

• Mahesh Babu as Raja
• Lisa Ray as Bhuvana
• Bipasha Basu as Panasa
• Kolla Ashok Kumar as Veeru Dada
• Rahul Dev as Shaka
• Tanikella Bharani as Doobey, Panasa’s uncle
• Surya
• Krishna in a special appearance

Making and music

The film was launched on 8 October 2000 at Ramanaidu Studios and began shooting on 3 January 2001. Major portions were filmed on the Colorado Plateau in the US, including Monument Valley and Arches National Park, while the climax fight was shot in Chalakudy, Kerala. It was first titled Magadheera, with Veera also considered; Idlebrain.com even ran a title contest, but the director chose Takkari Donga, after the Krishna film Takkari Donga Chakkani Chukka. Mani Sharma’s songs, with lyrics by Bhuvana Chandra, Vennelakanti, Chandrabose and Kula Sekhar, include “Nalugurikee” sung by Shankar Mahadevan and “Chukkallu Chandhrudee” sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam.

Reviews

Critics admired the craft more than the story. The Deccan Chronicle called it “a smooth, technically brilliant movie” and “a refreshing break from the deluge of routine love stories”. The Hindu praised its technical quality and Jayanan Vincent’s dusty Wild West visuals, and The Times of India called it “a complete entertainer” if you can forgive half a dozen songs that slow it down. Jeevi of Idlebrain.com found it “a sweet and sensible film”, while Andhra Today admired the style and locations but warned of “a very weak storyline”.

Box office and awards

Wikipedia describes the film as a box-office bomb, citing Idlebrain.com, but gives no figures. Its Nandi Awards were Best Audiographer (P. Madhusudhan Reddy), Special Jury Award (Mahesh Babu), Best Fight Master (Vijayan), Best Cinematographer (Jayanan Vincent) and Best Child Actor (Koushik Babu). It was dubbed into Hindi as Choron Ka Chor and into Tamil as Vetri Veeran.

Where to watch Takkari Donga

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

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