''Gangotri'' is a 2003 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

which was released on 28 March 2003 and was directed by

K. Raghavendra Rao Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao (born 23 May 1942) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and fiv ...

. The cinematography was by Chota K. Naidu. The actors

Allu Arjun Allu Arjun (born 8 April 1982) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. One of the highest paid actors in India, Arjun is also known for his extraordinary dancing skills. He is a recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Award ...

and Aditi Agarwal played the leading roles. This was

's debut as an actor and

's 100th film as a director.

Allu Aravind Allu Aravind (born 10 January 1949) is an Indian film producer and distributor in Telugu cinema under his banner Geetha Arts. He co-owns the Indian Super League club ''Kerala Blasters FC''. A part of the Allu–Konidela family, Aravind is th ...

and C. Ashwini Dutt produced the film.

Plot

Neelakantham Naidu is a big factionist who has a loyal confidant Narasimha, who is willing to give his life for the sake of his master. After many years, Neelakantham's wife Tulasi gives birth to a baby girl, but all the earlier babies born to Neelakantham died due to some unknown reason. The priests advise Neelakantham to name his daughter Gangotri. They also warn Neelakantham that the child has 'jalagandam', hence they ask him to take Gangotri to the holy place of Gangotri (after which she was named) in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

and perform 'abhyangana snanam' (bathe with turmeric, milk, etc.) for the next 15 years. After 15 years, Gangotri would be free of any danger. When nobody could entertain the child Gangotri, Simhadri, the son of Narasimha, entertains her with a song. Simhadri becomes a servant and friend to Gangotri. They grow up together. Simhadri and Gangotri become good friends. In the meantime, Simhadri's mother is shot by a bullet in a trap with bombs while trying to save Neelakantham. When Gangotri attains puberty, her paternal aunt restricts Simhadri from meeting Gangotri as it would be wrong. When Simhadri comes to Gangotri's place clandestinely to meet her, they are caught by Neelakantham. Neelakantham's sister speaks badly about their relationship. Neelakantham then beats Simhadri. Meanwhile, Narasimha comes to the spot and interferes. This causes a rift between Neelakantham and Narasimha. Neelakantham is misinformed about Narasimha's intentions; hence, he has bombs planted in Narasimha's house. Simhadri is away at that time. When Simhadri discovers that Neelakantham is responsible for the bombing, he goes to Neelakantham's house and challenges that he will marry Gangotri in a year. Then, Simhadri goes to the holy place of Gangotri and waits for his lover to come there for the final sacred bath. They try to elope, but Neelakantham stabs Simhadri with a sword, and Gangotri tries to commit suicide, which makes Neelakantham realize their love. Simhadri then gains consciousness with their favorite flute tune and gets back his love, and they both hug each other.

Cast

as Simhadri *Aditi Agarwal as Gangotri *

Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...

as Neelakantham Naidu * Suman as Narasimha *

Seetha Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

as Simhadri's mother *

Pragathi Pragathi Mahavadi (born April 17, 1975) is Indian film and television actress who has acted in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam languages. Personal life Pragathi was born in Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. Career Pragathi started her career as a model fo ...

as Tulasi *

Telangana Shakuntala Telangana Shakuntala (27 March 1951 – 14 June 2014) was an Indian actress who worked in the Telugu cinema. She was known chiefly for playing comedy and villainous characters in Tollywood. Her performances in movies like ''Osey Ramulamma'', ' ...

as Durgamma *

Brahmanandam Kanneganti Brahmanandam (born 1 February 1956), known mononymously as Brahmanandam, is an Indian actor, comedian, impersonator, and voice actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is particularly known for his comic performa ...

as Hindi Lecturer * Sunil as Exam Invigilator *

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 ...

as Anjaneya Shastri *

M. S. Narayana M. S. Narayana (16 April 1951–23 January 2015) was an Indian actor and comedian who worked in Telugu cinema. He died on 23 January 2015 due to organ failure in Hyderabad, India. Career Narayana has over 750 films to his credit. His debut film ...

Subbaraya Sharma Subbbaraya Sarma is an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television. In a film career spanning more than forty years, Sarma played a variety of roles as a character actor and comedian. In 1989, he received the Tri- ...

* A.V.S. *

Banerjee Banerjee or Bandyopadhyay is a surname of Brahmins originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent and from Bangladesh. Lineage and ancestry Banerjees are from the ancient Shandilya Gotra, which means all Banerjees are descended f ...

*Sobha * Master Teja Sajja as Young Simhadri *Baby Kavya as Young Gangotri

Soundtrack

The music was composed By M. M. Keeravani and released by

Aditya Music Aditya Music India Private Limited is a music company in India, which owns the label Aditya Music. It produces music for the Telugu cinema industry and is headquartered at Hyderabad, Telangana. Overview The company was founded by Umesh Gup ...

Release

The film was later dubbed into

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

under the name ''Simhakutty'' (2009) and ''Gangotri'' (2014 by Goldmines Telefilms) respectively. .

Awards

won the ''Nandi Award for Best Debut Hero'' *

won the ''Santosham Best Young Performers Award'' * Allu Arjun won the CineMAA Award for Best Male Debut *

won the

Nandi Award for Best Villain The Nandi Award for Best Villain winners since 1985: See also * Nandi Awards * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Award For Best Villain Villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine fo ...

(in

)

References

External links

* {{K. Raghavendra Rao 2003 films 2000s Telugu-language films Indian romantic drama films Indian romantic musical films Indian teen romance films 2003 romantic drama films 2000s romantic musical films 2000s teen romance films Cross-dressing in Indian films Films directed by K. Raghavendra Rao Geetha Arts films Films scored by M. M. Keeravani Films set in Uttarakhand Films shot in Uttarakhand