''Dhana 51'' is a 2005 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film directed by R. Soorya Kiran and starring

Sumanth Sumanth Kumar Yarlagadda (born 9 February 1975), known mononymously as Sumanth, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is the eldest grandson of Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He is also a partner in Annapurna Stud ...

and

Saloni Aswani Saloni Aswani is an Indian actress and model who appears in Telugu and Kannada films. After finishing her education, Saloni ventured into modelling, appearing in various television advertisements. She went on to pursue a career in acting, debu ...

with

Mukesh Khanna Mukesh Khanna (born 23 June 1958) is an Indian actor, talk show host and producer who works in Hindi language films and television shows. He is best known for his portrayal of Shaktimaan, the superhero character in ''Shaktimaan'' (1997–2005) ...

in a negative role. This film inspired the storyline of the Kannada film '' Bindaas'' (2008).

Cast

as Dhananjay a.k.a. Dhana *

as Lakshmi *

as Mahesh Chandra *

Tanikella Bharani Tanikella Bharani (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, poet, playwright and director who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has worked as an actor in more than 750 films, including some in Tamil and Hindi; while he was ...

Dharmavarapu Subramanyam Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam (20 September 1954 – 7 December 2013) was a popular Indian actor, comedian and film director who worked in Telugu cinema. He was established as one of the highly paid and top most leading comedians in Telugu film in ...

as Dhana's father *Rajakumar * Mallikarjuna Rao *

Kanta Rao Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao (16 November 1923 – 22 March 2009) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rao starred in more than four hundred feature ...

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

* Delhi Rajeswari * Radha Kumar *

Gautam Raju Gautam Raju is an Indian actor from Andhra Pradesh predominantly acted in Telugu films. He acted in more than 200 films. He got two Nandi Awards as a Best Male Comedian. He also received Rajababu award. Early and personal life Gautam Raju was ...

Gundu Hanumantha Rao Gundu Hanumantha Rao (10 October 1956–19 February 2018) was an Indian actor and comedian who worked in Telugu films, theatre, and television. He first appeared in Jandhyala's film '' Aha Naa Pellanta'' in 1987 and gained popularity in comedia ...

* R. Soorya Kiran (guest appearance) * Kalyani (guest appearance)

Production

After the success of '' Satyam'', R. Soorya Kiran, Sumanth and Chakri reunited for this film. The title was changed from ''51'' to ''Dhana 51'' because Sumanth's previous films named after the hero's character (''Satyam'' and ''

Gowri Gowri may refer to * Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical ...

'') were box office successes. This film marks the Telugu debut of Mumbai-based

and ''

Shaktimaan Shaktimaan is an Indian Hindi-language superhero television show, created by Mukesh Khanna that aired on DD National from 13 September 1997 to 27 March 2005. Producer Mukesh Khanna played the role of Shaktimaan and his alter ego "Pandit Gang ...

''-fame

Soundtrack

Music by Chakri. *"Aravirisina Mogga" – Chakri *"Avunanave Avunani" -

P. Unnikrishnan Parakkal Unnikrishnan (born 9 July 1966) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist and playback singer. Early life and background Unnikrishnan was born to K. Radhakrishnan and Dr. Harini Radhakrishnan in Palakkad, Kerala. The family home, Kesari Kutee ...

*"China Goda" –

Kousalya Kausalya () is the senior queen-consort of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is the mother of Rama, the titular hero of the epic, and the senior wife of Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital of Ayodhya. In some later accou ...

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tami ...

*"Dhana 51" – Soorya Kiran, Vasu, Vishwa, Lahari *"I Am In Love" – Anitha *"Kovaa Kovaa" – Balaji, Gowri Srinivas, Matin, Pallavi, Ravi Varma, Soorya Kiran, Vasu, Kameshwari

Release and reception

The film released on 14 January 2005 coinciding with

Sankranthi Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...

. Jeevi of ''

Idlebrain.com Idlebrain.com is an Indian entertainment website that features information, news, and reviews on Telugu cinema. It is one of the oldest websites on the Internet focusing on Telugu films. The site is especially popular for its film reviews writt ...

'' gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and opined that "''Dhana 51'' suffers with inadequate screenplay, uneven narration and confused characterization. ''Dhana 51'' is most unexpected from a director who made his debut with ''Satyam'' film". Ravi Kalaga of ''Full Hyderabad'' wrote that "A remake in the essence, albeit with changes in the locations, songs, sidekicks and vocations of the actors, ''Dhana'' is essentially a cut-copy-paste version of their earlier enterprise atyam with new fonts and colors (literally!)".

References

{{Reflist Films scored by Chakri 2000s Telugu-language films