Magadheera (lit. transl.
The Heroic Man)[3] is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language
fantasy action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli who co-wrote the film with V.
Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Ram Charan, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal and Dev Gill.
It was produced by Allu Aravind of Geetha Arts. The film is based on the themes of
reincarnation and eternal love.
Made on a budget of ₹35–44 crore (US$7–10 million),[b][c] Magadheera was the most
expensive Telugu film at the time.[a] The film's production began on 2 March 2008
while principal photography commenced on 19 March 2008. The soundtrack was composed
by M. M. Keeravani while the cinematography was done by K. K. Senthil Kumar. The
action sequences were choreographed by Peter Hein and the duo of Ram–Lakshman. It
was the first Telugu film to list a "visual effects producer" in its credits.
Magadheera was released on 31 July 2009 to critical acclaim and commercial success.
It collected a distributors' share of ₹73.6 crore and gross collections of ₹150
crore at the end of its theatrical run. It became the highest-grossing Telugu film
in history at the time.[1][2] Its 1000-day theatrical run surpassed Chandramukhi
(2005) as the longest-running South Indian film.[9] The film won the National Award
for Best Choreography and Best Special Effects at the 57th National Film Awards as
well as winning six Filmfare Awards, and nine state Nandi Awards. The film's
success catapulted the lead actors to stardom.
The film was dubbed into Tamil as Maaveeran and into Malayalam as Dheera: The
Warrior and was released on 27 May 2011.[10] Both the dubbed versions were
successful and earned a good fan base for Ram Charan in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.[2]
The Japanese-dubbed version of the film released in August 2018 and became one of
the highest-grossing Indian films ever at the Japanese box office.[6][2] In 2014,
it was remade in Bengali as Yoddha: The Warrior.
Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
2.1 Cameo appearances
3 Production
3.1 Development
3.2 Casting
3.3 Costume designs
3.4 Filming
3.5 Visual effects
3.6 Piracy
4 Themes and influences
5 Music
6 Release
6.1 Theatrical
6.2 Distribution
6.3 Mishaps
6.4 Accusation of plagiarism
6.5 Home media
7 Reception
7.1 Box office
7.2 Critical response
8 Legacy
9 Accolades
10 Remakes
11 Notes
12 References
13 Bibliography
14 External links
Plot
In 2009, Harsha, a street-bike racer, is travelling on an auto-rickshaw (auto) with
his friend to the airport. He spots the blurry outline of a woman trying to flag
the auto down and gestures to her that it is already occupied. As he does, their
fingers accidentally touch, and Harsha feels an electric current passing through
him, which triggers a few fleeting images. After recovering from the shock, he
flees the auto in search of the girl and inquires about her to a woman named Indira
"Indu", unaware that Indu is the same woman. Indu, thinking he is stalking her,
misdirects him by convincing him that the girl is her neighbour. She and her
friends exploit Harsha, having him take them to places and promising that the girl
will show. After Harsha beats up a group of men who were verbally harassing Indu,
she starts to fall in love with him.
Meanwhile, Indu meets her distant cousin Raghuveer, who is a powerful Rajasthani
monarch. Raghuveer falls in love with her after seeing her beauty and body. He
manipulates Indu and her father into trusting him. However, when he attempts to
touch a sleeping Indu, he sees visions of a warrior slitting his throat. Raghuveer
consults a tantrik, Ghora, who reveals that in a prior life, Raghuveer was a prince
who lusted after Indu, and was killed by her lover, a warrior. Raghuveer is
determined to find the reincarnation of the warrior and kill him. Meanwhile, Harsha
discovers how Indu and her friends have been tricking him, and after he pranks her
in retaliation, they start to fall in love. Raghuveer discovers that Harsha is the
reincarnation of the warrior, murders Indu's father, and frames Harsha. As
Raghuveer and Indu leave in a helicopter, Harsha fails to catch them; falling into
a lake, he faces a near-death experience and gets a full vision of his past-life in
1609 CE.
In 1609, Emperor Sher Khan is preparing to invade the kingdom of Udaigarh when he
hears of the brave warrior Kala Bhairava (Harsha). King Vikram Singh's daughter,
Princess Mithravindha Devi (Indu), loves Bhairava, but he holds himself back even
though he reciprocates her feelings. Ranadev Billa (Raghuveer), the king's nephew
and Mithra's cousin, lusts after Mithra and plans a competition between himself and
Bhairava; the winner will marry the princess and the loser will be banished from
Udaigarh. Bhairava's victory leads to Ranadev's banishment. Vikram Singh, however,
secretly requests Bhairava not to marry his daughter, because Bhairava will likely
die in the coming battle with Khan's forces, and he does not wish to see Mithra
widowed. Though shocked, Bhairava concedes to the king's request and publicly
declines to marry Mithra, leaving her distraught.
Bhairava takes Mithra, his soldiers, and his caretakers to the Bhairavakona Temple
atop a cliff to seek blessings from Lord Shiva before the attack. Mithra demands
that Bhairava admit his love for her. When he does not respond, she upsets the
sacred items they have brought for the puja and, using her blood, paints an image
of Bhairava on a rock picturing him leaving his true love to do his duty. An
injured soldier arrives to tell Bhairava that Ranadev has aided Khan's army, who
have killed Vikram Singh and are now rushing toward them. They arrive, and Khan
challenges Bhairava to kill at least 100 of his soldiers. Bhairava completes the
challenge but is severely injured in the battle. Khan, impressed by Bhairava's
bravery, has a change of heart and accepts him as his friend. However, Ranadev,
invoking Khan's promise to aid him in victory, continues attacking, eventually
stabbing Mithra in the stomach before being decapitated by Bhairava. A dying Mithra
asks Bhairava to confess his love, but before he can respond, she dies and falls
off the cliff. Distraught, he jumps off as well, following her to meet the same
fate.
In the present, Harsha is rescued by a fisherman named Solomon (the reincarnation
of Sher Khan) and, with Solomon's help, visits Udaigarh. He reaches Raghuveer's
palace and overhears Ghora telling Raghuveer that if Indu's past-life memories are
not revived within the day they never can be, and she will be with Raghuveer
forever. Harsha kidnaps Indu, with Solomon aiding him and takes her to the
Bhairavakona Temple, now in a dilapidated state, and in the process, Raghuveer
accidentally kills Ghora. Raghuveer arrives by helicopter and asks Indu to come
with him; however Indu sees Mithra's painting, and her past-life memories are
revived. She reunites with Harsha and asks him to forgive her. An angered Raghuveer
attacks Harsha who fights him, and with the help of Solomon, manages to kill him
and the couple reunites.
Cast
Ram Charan in a dual role as Harsha and Kala Bhairava
Srihari in a dual role as Sher Khan and Solomon
Kajal Aggarwal in a dual role as Indira "Indu" and Princess Mithravinda Devi
Dev Gill in a dual role as Raghuveer and Ranadev Billa
Brahmanandam as Kittu, Indu's neighbour (guest appearance)
Sunil as Gautam, Harsha's gullible friend
Surya as Pratap Varma, Indu's father
Sameer Hasan as Maan Singh
Subbaraya Sharma as Guru Devulu
Rao Ramesh as Aghora
Sarath Babu as King Vikram Singh, Mithravinda Devi's father
Hema as Sasikala
Chatrapathi Sekhar as Raghuveer's sidekick
Cameo appearances
