''Yamadonga'' ( Big Thief ''or'' Thief of

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...

) is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

action comedy film 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 acti ...

directed by S.S. Rajamouli who co-wrote the film with

V. Vijayendra Prasad Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad is an Indian screenwriter and film director who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He also worked in a few Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil films. His filmography consists of more than twenty five films as a screenwrit ...

. It stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Mohan Babu,

Priyamani Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer (born 4 June 1984), known by her professional name Priyamani, is an Indian actress and former model, who works in the South Indian film industry. She is a recipient of Several Awards. Priyamani made her acting debut ...

, and

Mamta Mohandas Mamta Mohandas is an Indian actress, film producer and a playback singer of Malayalam film industry, she has also worked in Tamil and Telugu productions. She has acted in more than 50 films and won several accolades including two Filmfare Awar ...

while

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 ...

and

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 perfor ...

play supporting roles. The film is produced by Cherry and Urmila Gunnam and presented by Rama Rajamouli under the banner of Visvamithra Creations. Inspired by the 1977 film ''

Yamagola ''Yamagola'' ( Havoc in Hell or The Great Havoc) is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language fantasy comedy film directed by T. Rama Rao who co-wrote the film with D. V. Narasa Raju. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and Jaya Prada, with music composed by Chak ...

'', the plot follows Raja, a thief who is killed by his rivals. Raja's soul travels to

Naraka Naraka ( sa, नरक) is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to some schools of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian and Malay ...

(hell) to face the trail for his sins by

, the Hindu god of death and justice. The film began its production in January 2007 and was made on a budget of 16–18 crore (US$4.3–4.8 million). Filming primarily took place in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

and

Ramoji Film City Ramoji Film City is an integrated film studio facility located in Hyderabad, India. Spread over 1,666 acres (674 ha), it is the largest film studio complex in the world and as such has been certified by the Guinness World Records. It was estab ...

. The film has music composed by M. M. Keeravani and cinematography by

K. K. Senthil Kumar K. K. Senthil Kumar is an Indian cinematographer who works in Telugu cinema. He is known for his frequent collaborations with S.S. Rajamouli. He graduated with a degree in cinematography from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. ...

. ''Yamadonga'' was released worldwide on 15 August 2007. Upon release, it received positive reviews from critics, and emerged as a commercial success collecting an estimated 29 crores ($7 million) as distributors' share. The film won four

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

while Jr. N.T.R. went on to win the

Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu The Filmfare Best Actor Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The awards were extended to "Best Actor" in 1972. Film world, p 43 The year indicates the year of release of the ...

. A year later after its success, it was dubbed in

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 ...

as ''

Lok Parlok ''Lok Parlok'' () is a 1979 Indian Hindi-language fantasy comedy film, produced by S. Venkataratnam under the Sree Pallavi Productions banner and directed by T. Rama Rao. The film stars Jeetendra and Jaya Prada, with music composed by Laxmika ...

''. It was also dubbed in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

as ''

Vijayan Vijayan is a South Indian name and may refer to: Given name *Pinarayi Vijayan (born 1944), Indian politician * Vijayan (actor) (1944–2007), Tamil & Malayalam film actor *Vijayan (stunt coordinator), action choreographer for South Indian films *Vi ...

'' in 2016.

Plot

Raja, an orphan boy, is a thief in

. Mahi, a young girl, falls in love with him. Raja manipulates her by gaining her sympathy. She gives him a necklace, which he throws away because it is worthless; however, it always comes back to him. 12 years later, Mahi's family treats her like a slave while they enjoy the money that her grandfather left behind. Mahi waits for her "prince" to come to rescue her. Raja is still a conman, but when he enters into the debt of Dhanalakshmi, a beautiful but not-so-innocent lender, he flees. Meanwhile, Mahi's family wants Mahi out of the way so that they can inherit all of her money. They hire someone to kill her, only to find out that in the event of Mahi's death, all the money goes to charity. Raja saves Mahi and treats her like a princess, which she waited for from her childhood. Raja made a deal with Mahi's uncles, which goes wrong. They hire a goon to kill Raja, and he kills Raja. Raja reaches Yamaloka. He gets to know that

planned his death to take revenge on Raja who once made fun of Yama drunkenly. Raja creates confusion by stealing the Yamapasam, since one in possession of Yamapasam becomes the King of Hell. Raja promises festivals and parties and to make Hell better than Heaven. Yama contests his claim.

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

enters the scene and proposes an election. Both Yama and Raja agree. Yama, along with

Chitragupta Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, 'rich in secrets' or 'hidden picture') is a Hindu deity assigned with the task of keeping complete records of the actions of human beings and punishing or rewarding them according to their ...

, tries to get the Yamapasam, but fail. Raja wins the elections; however, Yama angrily insults him. Raja decides to use the Yamapasam to make Yama a human; however, the plan backfires when Yama ends up with the Yamapasam. After regaining power, Raja flees back to Earth, challenging Yama. Raja finds out about the cruelty that Mahi has suffered and decides to fight back against her cruel family. Raja steals a whip and thrashes her family with it, forcing them to become servants. Raja gets drunk and insults Yama again. This time, Yama decides that he and Chitragupta will enter Bhulokam (Earth) to avenge his insult. Yama disguises himself as the beautiful Dhanalakshmi, and Chitragupta acts like her father. Yama successfully manages in separating Raja and Mahi, whose love prevented Yama from interfering. After Mahi's uncles call upon the goons that previously killed Raja, the chief hitman kidnaps Mahi for himself, and hits Raja with his car. Raja is severely injured and falls off a cliff into the temple of

Lord Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

Simhachalam Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam, also known as Sinhachala or Simanchala is a Hindu temple situated on the Simhachalam Hill Range,which is 300 metres above the sea level in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is dedicated to Vis ...

. Yama sends the Yamapasam after him to take his life, however the divine power within the temple drives away the Yamapasam. Yama once again changes his form into Dhanalakshmi to lure Raja out, but Raja reveals that he knows Yama in disguise. Raja begs for only half an hour of life only in order to rescue Mahi, and apologizes to Yama for his sins and all he has said and done. Yama realizes his errors, and becomes sympathetic but regretfully informs him that he cannot call back the Yamapasam. Raja fights off his enemies and is close to death, when suddenly, the chain that followed him his whole life was revealed to have been blessed by Lord Narasimha himself, and it saves Raja's life. Raja and Mahi decide to live together and get married.

Cast

* Jr. N.T.R. as Raja / Young Yama Dharma Raja ** Sri Simha as young Raja * Mohan Babu as Yama Dharma Raja *

as Maheswari aka Mahi *

as Moneylender Dhanalakshmi *

as Sathi *

Khushbu Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian actress, politician, film producer and television presenter. She is known for her works predominantly in Tamil, besides Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a rec ...

's wife * Jaya Prakash Reddy as Maheswari's uncle * Siva Parvathi as Maheswari's aunt * Raghubabu as Maheswari's cousin * Ranganath as Maheswari's grandfather *

Rajiv Kanakala Rajeev Kanakala (born 13 November 1968) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu films and television. He started his career in television serials and short films, where he not only acted but also produced and directed. He is marri ...

as Indra * Naresh as

* Narsing Yadav as Guard in Yama's Palace * Bharani as Varuna Deva *

MS 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 ...

Narendra Jha Narendra Jha (21 January 1964 14 March 2018) was an Indian actor. He was known for his work in Bollywood productions; his most noted films being '' Haider'', '' Raees'', '' Ghayal Once Again'', '' Hamari Adhuri Kahani'', ''Mohenjodaro'', ''Sh ...

as Narayana * Stunt Silva as a goon * Rambha (special appearance in song "Nachore") * Navneet Kaur as Rambha (special appearance in a song "Young Yama") *

Preeti Jhangiani Preeti Jhangiani is an Indian model and actress. Jhangiani first appeared in Rajshri Productions music album ''Yeh Hai Prem'' in 1997. She is known for her work in the Telugu films '' Thammudu'' (1999), ''Narasimha Naidu'' (2001), Malayalam fil ...

Urvasi Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' scr ...

(special appearance in a song "Young Yama") * Archana Veda as Menaka (special appearance in a song "Young Yama") Actor Sr. N.T.R. is featured in a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

as himself using archived footage.

Production

''Yamadonga'' is the third collaboration between

S. S. Rajamouli Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli ( ; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is the highest paid director in India, and is known for his action, fantasy, and epic genre films. T ...

and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. after '' Student No.1'' (2001) and '' Simhadri'' (2003). In an interview with ''

Telugucinema.com Telugucinema.com is an entertainment website that features information, news, and Film criticism, reviews on Telugu cinema, Telugu films. It is the first website that was established on the internet focusing on Telugu film industry. It is founded ...

'', Rajamouli revealed that the basic plot where the hero dies and goes to Yamalokam and comes back to Earth is inspired by the films '' Devanthakudu'' (1960) and ''

'' (1977) which starred Jr NTR's grandfather Sr. N.T.R.. Rajamouli mentioned that apart from the basic plot, ''Yamadonga'' has no similarities with earlier films. The film also features a scene with Jr NTR alongside his grandfather as an acknowledgement of ''Yamagola''. Rajamouli worked along with his father

to develop the script. Rajamouli chose veteran actor Mohan Babu to play the role of

as he felt Mohan Babu was the "perfect and only choice" for the role. Following the suggestion of Rajamouli, Jr NTR underwent extensive weight loss especially for the film. Actress

is cast opposite Jr NTR. She slipped while walking on the stones and got her ankle sprained with a minor bleeding injury during shooting. Principal photography of the film began in January 2007. Scenes related to

(or Yama Loka) were shot at a specially erected set at

. A few sequences were filmed at

Talakona Talakona is situated in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a resort with waterfalls, dense forests and wildlife. Talakona waterfall is in Sri Venkateswara National Park, Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. With a -fall, Talakona is ...

forest in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. A song was shot at

Golconda Fort Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparud ...

in Hyderabad, for which a waterfall was created at the location.

Release

The film was initially planned to release on 9 July 2007, but was ultimately released on 15 August 2007. The Tamil version of the film was released on 29 November 2019 under the title ''Vijayan''. ARK Rajaraja have written the dialogues for the Tamil version.

Home media

The DVD version of the film was released on 29 February 2008. This DVD release was distributed by ''Tolly2Holly'' all around the world, but for India. It is available in 16:9 Anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, progressive 24 FPS,

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

and

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

format. The film was also dubbed into Hindi language as ''Lok Parlok'', and in Odia as ''Yamraja''.

Reception

Critical response

'' Oneindia.in'' described as "The film is a visual treat for all ages and classes. Rajamouli has done an excellent job molding NTR Jr's character in the film much like his grandfather's and also for bringing NTR back on the screen in an animated form. NTR Jr's overall performance and his dialogue delivery are a joy to watch. Mohanbabu playing 'Yama' once again proved to be the versatile actor that he is". ''

Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...

'' gave an "average" verdict explained "This socio-fantasy film works, thanks to the new look of NTR and enigmatic performance of Mohan Babu. The songs and background score of MM Keeravani, the technical aspects and entertainer quotient in the first half make the film watchable". Jeevi of '' Idlebrain.com'' gave 3/5 stars said "First half of the film is entertaining. The second half should have been better. The plus points of the film are Mohan Babu, NTR, sets, cinematography and music. On the flip side, the screenplay of the film is not gripping in second half (after NTR returns to earth). The runtime of the film is pretty lengthy (3.05 hours)".

Box office

''Yamadoga'' was commercial success, earning distributor a share of over 29 crore. The film ran 50-days in 405 centers. It completed a 100-day run in 32 centres and become one of the top Telugu films of 2007 and gave NTR Jr. a massive success after his previous blockbuster Simhadri.

Music

The music was composed by M. M. Keeravani and released by Vel Records.

Awards

;

2008. * Best Editor –

Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao is an Indian film editor. In the film industry many call him Chanti Garu. He is the younger brother of Kotagiri Gopala Rao, who died on 6 November 2012, a known film editor and producer, who holds the banner of Giri ...

* Best Makeup Artist – Nalla Seenu * Best Costume Designer – Rama Rajamouli *

Nandi Award for Best Special Effects The Nandi Award for Best Special Effects instituted since 2005 is given after the Nandi Awards committee selects a film from all the films that released in that particular year, which has the best visual effects. The award is usually given to the ...

– Kamal Kannan ; Filmfare Awards 2008 * Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) – N. T. Rama Rao Jr. ;

CineMAA Awards The CineMAA Awards are presented annually by the Maa TV Group to honour artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Telugu Cinema. The awards were introduced in 2004. The CineMAA Awards are voted for by both the public and a commit ...

2008 * Best Actor – N. T. Rama Rao Jr.

Notes

References

External links

* {{S. S. Rajamouli 2007 films 2000s Telugu-language films Films scored by M. M. Keeravani Films directed by S. S. Rajamouli Indian action comedy films 2007 action comedy films 2000s fantasy comedy films Indian fantasy action films Indian religious comedy films Religious action films 2007 comedy films 2000s fantasy action films Films shot in Hyderabad, India Films set in Hyderabad, India Films shot in Andhra Pradesh Films shot at Ramoji Film City Films set in Visakhapatnam Yama in popular culture