''Rowdy Alludu'' () is a 1991 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 comedy
Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre.
Film
The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...
film 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 film was produced by
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 ...
under the banner of
Geetha Arts
Geetha Arts is an Indian film production and distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 1972 by Allu Aravind. The company is based out of Hyderabad. It has produced around 60 films majority of them in Telu ...
. It stars
Chiranjeevi
Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu language, Telugu, as ...
in a
dual role
A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...
, with
Sobhana and
Divya Bharti
Divya Bharti (; 25 February 1974 – 5 April 1993) was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Hindi and Telugu films. Known for her acting versatility and beauty, she was considered one of the most popular and highest paid Indian actres ...
. Upon release, the film received positive reviews and was a ''Super Hit'' at the
box office
A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
.
Plot
Kalyan is an industrialist, whose conniving enemy Venkat Rayudu and his partners, replace him with his doppelgänger Johnny, an
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
-based auto driver. They manages to frame Kalyan for murder, but Johnny realizes Kalyan's innocence and saves him. The duo manages to prove Kalyan's innocence, and also defeat Venkat Rayudu and his partners.
Cast
*
Chiranjeevi
Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu language, Telugu, as ...
as Kalyan and Johnny (dual role)
*
Shobhana
Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films with few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Fil ...
as Sita
*
Divya Bharti
Divya Bharti (; 25 February 1974 – 5 April 1993) was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Hindi and Telugu films. Known for her acting versatility and beauty, she was considered one of the most popular and highest paid Indian actres ...
as Rekha
*
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 ...
as Venkat Rayudu
*
Allu Rama Lingaiah
Allu Ramalingaiah (1 October 1922 – 31 July 2004) was an Indian character actor, comedian, and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. In 1990, He was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema. In 1998, he rec ...
as Papi Kondalu
*
Captain Raju
Raju Daniel (27 June 1950 – 17 September 2018), better known by his stage name Captain Raju, was an Indian army officer and Indian actor. He acted in more than 600 films in various languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannad ...
as Ranjith Kumar
*
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 Mental Doctor/ Photographer
*
Kaikala Satyanarayana
Kaikala Satyanarayana (25 July 1935 – 23 December 2022) was an Indian actor, producer, director, and politician who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. He appeared in over 750 films and served as the Member of Parliament in the 11th Lok S ...
as Kalyan's father
*
J. V. Somayajulu
Jonnalagadda Venkata Somayajulu (30 July 1920 or – 24 April 2004) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. In 1981, he received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu ...
*
Ironleg Sastri
Gunupudi Viswanath Sastri, popularly known by his screen name Ironleg Sastri, was an Indian comedian who predominantly worked in Telugu-language films. He acted in more than 150 films. E. V. V. Satyanarayana introduced him to Telugu Cinema.
L ...
*
Disco Shanthi
Santha Kumari (born 28 August 1965), famously known as Disco Shanti, is an Indian actress who was particularly famous in South India for her appearances in item numbers.
She has appeared in more than 900 films in different languages of India, ...
in an
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 ...
Production
The film was intended as a mass entertainer.
Allu Ramalingaiah originally questioned the use of the word ''Rowdy'' as a prefix to the title name, but was convinced to use the name by K. Raghavendra Rao, Chiranjeevi and Satyanand.
Divya Bharti
Divya Bharti (; 25 February 1974 – 5 April 1993) was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Hindi and Telugu films. Known for her acting versatility and beauty, she was considered one of the most popular and highest paid Indian actres ...
, the then popular Telugu actress, was signed for the role of Rekha and
Shobana
Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films with few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Fil ...
was signed for the role of Sita.
One
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
of the first movies in Tollywood to be shot in Switzerland, the budget didn't allow the producers to take a big crew to Zermatt. The producer Allu Aravind himself worked as costume and make up assistant for Chiranjeevi and Shobana made herself up. The actors and the director came up with the choreography based on the light and scenery around them for the 3 days they had to shoot the "Chiluka Kshemama" song.
Soundtrack
Box office
''Rowdy Alludu'' was a "Blockbuster" at the Box office and completed 100 days in almost every theater it was shown. It's Tamil dubbed version, ''Pokkiri Mappilai'' was also average in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
.
References
{{K. Raghavendra Rao
1991 films
1990s Telugu-language films
Films directed by K. Raghavendra Rao
Indian romantic comedy films
Films shot in Mumbai
Films set in Hyderabad, India
Films set in Mumbai
Films shot in Hyderabad, India
Films shot in Ooty
Films shot in Switzerland
Films scored by Bappi Lahiri
Geetha Arts films
1991 romantic comedy films