''Raghavendra'' 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

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Suresh Krishna and written by

Posani Krishna Murali Posani Krishna Murali (born 22 January 1958) is an Indian screenwriter, actor, director and producer who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He worked as a writer for over 150 Telugu films and directed a number of films. In 2009, he also conte ...

. It stars

Prabhas Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas (), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, Prabhas has featured in ''Fo ...

, Anshu and Shweta Agarwal. The music was scored by

Mani Sharma Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshina ...

. It was also dubbed in Hindi as ''Sanyasi: The Warrior Saint'' (2008) and Malayalam as ''Sakthi'' in spite of being remade by Suresh himself in Hindi as '' Rocky: The Rebel''. It was remade in Bangladeshi Bengali as '' Lover Number One '' starring

Bappy Chowdhury Bappy Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi film actor. He made his debut in 2012, appearing in ''Bhalobasar Rong'' as an actor opposite Mahiya Mahi. Career Bappy has made his acting debut in 2013 with ''Bhalobasar Rong''. He released two films " Lover ...

and

Pori Moni Shamsunnahar Smrity (born 24 October 1992), known by her stage name Pori Moni, is a Bangladeshi film actress. Her notable works includes ''Aro Bhalobashbo Tomay'', ''Rokto'', and '' Swapnajaal''. She was listed in Forbes Asia’s "100 Digital St ...

Plot

Raghava (

) is a hot-blooded, restless youth who cannot tolerate injustice that is being done in society. In the process, he picks up a fight with a local

don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

named Ankineedu (

Anandaraj Anandaraj (born May 15, 1959) is an Indian actor. He has acted in villain roles in several Tamil films and has appeared in over a two hundred films in different languages including Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. Career Anandaraj was bor ...

). Ankineedu stabs Raghava's ladylove Shirisha ( Anshu) to death. He also issues an ultimatum to Raghava's parents (

Murali Mohan Maganti Murali Mohan (born 24 June 1940) is an Indian actor, producer, politician, and business executive from Telugu cinema. In 1973, Murali Mohan debuted in ''Jagame Maya'', produced by Atluri Poornachandra Rao. He gained recognition with the ...

and Prabha) to leave the city in a few hours. The vexed parents ask Raghava to accompany them only if he agrees to listen to their words. Hopeless Raghava accepts to give up fighting and live like a Saint. They take Raghava to

Mantralayam Mantralayam is a pilgrim village in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, India, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River on the border with neighbouring Karnataka state. It is known for the brundavana of Raghavendra Swami, a saint who lived in 1 ...

, a relatives' place, and make him become a devotee of Raghavendra Swamy. This entire episode comes as a flashback. Raghava has a pretty fiancé called Maha Lakshmi (

Shweta Agarwal Shweta Agarwal is an Indian actress who has appeared in feature films such as Raghavendra (2003), Tandoori Love (2008), and Shaapit (2010). She is the wife of television host and Bollywood singer, Aditya Narayan. Filmography Films Referenc ...

) in Mantralayam. He becomes a saint-like man and does not respond when some goons humiliate Maha Lakshmi and take off her clothes in public. Raghava's parents, who forcibly restricted his helping nature, ask him to get rid of his maala and go back to society to serve people. Raghava goes like a wounded tiger and fights with Ankineedu's goons. In the end, Raghavendra kills Ankineedu to save people and avenge Sirisha's Death.

Cast

as Raghavendra * Anshu as Shirisha *

as Maha Lakshmi *

as Ankineedu *

as Raghava's father * Prabha as Raghava's mother *

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 Shirisha's brother * Rami Reddy as DSP *

Kota Srinivasa Rao Kota Srinivasa Rao (born 10 July 1942) is an Indian character actor known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He has also starred in a few films in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam. As a former politician, Rao has s ...

Mohan Raj Mohan Raj, better known by his stage name Keerikkadan Jose, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu-language films. Personal life Mohan Raj is married to Usha. They have two daughters, Jaishma and Kaaviya. He is settled a ...

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 ...

Vizag Prasad Korlam Parvati Vara Prasada Rao, better known by his stage name Vizag Prasad, was a Telugu theatre artist actor known for his negative character artiste roles. Career He started acting in plays at age 16. He acted in hundreds of plays befor ...

Raghu Babu Yerra Raghu, known professionally as Raghu Babu, is a Telugu comedian well known for his comic expressions and timing. He has worked in many successful films in Telugu industry. He is the eldest son of famous comedian and character actor Giri B ...

Rama Prabha Rama Prabha is an Indian actress who performs in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. She has acted in more than 1,400 films and is credited as a character artist who shared screen space with superstars across all generation of South Indian Cinema ...

*Ram Charan *

Simran Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...

item number In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and Be ...

Soundtrack

This movie has six songs composed by

. The song ''Calcutta Pan Vesina'' was based on the song ''Aal Thotta Bhoopathi Nanada'' from the Tamil film ''

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

'', composed by Sharma. The song ''Nee Styele'' was based on the song ''May Madham'' from the Tamil film ''

Shahjahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

'', composed by Sharma.

Reception

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 ...

'' opined that " 'Raghavendra' is definitely worth a look to see Prabhas's performance!" A critic from ''Full Hyderabad'' wrote that "''Raghavendra'' is a classic case of taking the Lord's name in vain".

References

External links

* 2000s Telugu-language films 2003 films Telugu films remade in other languages Films directed by Suresh Krissna Films scored by Mani Sharma 2000s masala films Indian action films Films with screenplays by Posani Krishna Murali 2003 action films {{2000s-Telugu-film-stub