In a village in Rayalaseema, two rival clans, led by Bharathasimha Reddy and Veera Siva Reddy, are embroiled in a cycle of violence. A police inspector arranges a marriage between Bharathasimha Reddy's brother, Vijayasimha Reddy, and Siva Reddy's sister to broker peace. However, Siva Reddy's sister poisons Vijayasimha Reddy on their wedding night, leading to both their deaths. Following this betrayal, Siva Reddy and his men kill Bharathasimha Reddy. Siva Reddy is arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
With the male leaders of the Bharathasimha family dead, Bharathasimha's son, Indrasena "Indra" Reddy, steps up to lead the clan. In a powerful scene, Indra takes a sword and sits on the throne, symbolizing his new role as the clan leader, much to the delight of his paternal grandmother and the rest of the clan.
In 2002, Indra is living in Varanasi under the alias Shankar Narayana, a truthful and honest taxi driver. During a singing competition at his niece's college, her friend Pallavi, the daughter of Uttar Pradesh's governor Chenna Kesava Reddy, falls in love with Shankar and pretends to be an orphan to stay at his house. When Chenna Kesava Reddy discovers his daughter's whereabouts, he goes to Shankar's home but changes his mind upon recognizing him as Indrasena Reddy. Instead, he requests Shankar to marry Pallavi, but Shankar refuses due to his responsibilities towards his niece, Nandini.
Giri, an orphaned youth who has become Shankar's right-hand man, confesses his love for Nandini, and Shankar arranges their marriage. However, the wedding is disrupted by Snehalatha Reddy, who reveals that Giri is actually Veera Manohar Reddy, the son of Veera Shankar Reddy, Siva Reddy's elder son. She also addresses Shankar as Indrasena Reddy, shocking his adoptive family. After a confrontation, Valmiki, Indra's trusted associate, narrates Indra's past.
Indra, revered in his village, was dedicated to the welfare of the people. After Siva Reddy's release from prison, Indra warned him to stay away, but Siva Reddy instigated violence, leading Indra to kill him. Snehalatha, Siva Reddy's daughter, fell in love with Indra, but Veera Shankar Reddy sought revenge. Indra saved Veera Shankar Reddy's younger son from an accident, but Veera Shankar Reddy killed his own son to maintain his pride.
Indra confronted Veera Shankar Reddy, allowing the boy's mother to mourn before burying him and planting a "Tulasi" sapling over his grave, symbolizing the boy's soul. Indra warned Veera Shankar Reddy to protect the plant or face his wrath. Snehalatha fell for Indra and proposed marriage, but the village's drought led Indra to negotiate for the construction of a reservoir, which required land from Siva Reddy's family. Veera Shankar Reddy demanded Indra's entire property in return, to which Indra agreed. Snehalatha asked to marry Indra as her share of the land, and he accepted.
However, on their wedding day, Veera Shankar Reddy killed Indra's sisters and their husbands, orphaning Nandini and her brother Pradeep. Enraged, Indra killed Veera Shankar Reddy's three brothers and wounded him. Misled by her family, Snehalatha believed Indra was responsible for the violence and broke off the engagement. Indra then left the village for Varanasi to raise his niece and nephew.
In the present, Nandini attempts suicide after becoming pregnant with Manohar Reddy's child. Indra returns to the village, receiving a hero's welcome. He confronts Veera Shankar Reddy and demands that Manohar Reddy marry Nandini. Snehalatha learns the truth about her brothers' actions and tries to help, but is attacked. Indra saves her and decides to end the cycle of revenge without killing Veera Shankar Reddy. Manohar Reddy marries Nandini, but Indra remains focused on his duty to the people, rejecting marriage proposals from both Snehalatha and Pallavi. The film ends with Indra receiving widespread support from the villagers, solidifying his commitment to ending the violence in Rayalaseema.
Following the successes of Gang Leader (1991) and Gharana Mogudu (1992), Chiranjeevi experienced a period without delivering an industry hit, although he continued to deliver major blockbusters. During this time, fans and industry analysts eagerly awaited his return with a strong mass entertainer. Chiranjeevi, meanwhile, considered taking on a family-oriented story to reconnect with his audience.[7]
Producer Aswani Dutt and director B. Gopal were approached by writer Chinni Krishna with a new story set in Rayalaseema, addressing the region's water crisis as a central theme intertwined with factional conflicts.[8][7] While the script showed promise, there were concerns about audience reception to another faction-themed film, given B. Gopal's association with such narratives. B. Gopal was also hesitant to direct the project due to his earlier unsuccessful collaboration with Chiranjeevi on Mechanic Alludu (1993). However, writer Paruchuri Gopala Krishna eventually persuaded him to take on the project.[7]
Chinni Krishna was tasked with further developing the story, which initially had the Krishna-Godavari river region as its backdrop. During discussions with Paruchuri Gopala Krishna, the setting was changed to Kasi (Varanasi) and the Ganga river region to expand the narrative's scope.[7]
Simran was initially considered for the lead female role, but Aarti Agarwal was eventually cast. Sonali Bendre was finalized as the second lead actress. For the role played by Sivaji, actors such as Venkat and Raja were considered before Sivaji was finalised.[7]
Filming
The film was completed in 120 working days with a budget of ₹7 crore, excluding Chiranjeevi's remuneration.[7] Sets resembling Varanasi were recreated at Annapurna Studios, while a Rayalaseema village set was constructed at Ramoji Film City. Two duets were filmed in Switzerland.[10]
The soundtrack of Indra was composed by Mani Sharma, with the song "Ayyo Ayyo Ayyayyo" composed by R. P. Patnaik due to Mani Sharma's unavailability.[7] The album featured six songs, chosen from 11 recorded tracks.[9]
The audio was released on the evening of 14 June 2002 at a set in the first floor of Annapurna Studios.[11] The audio album of Indra was released 45 days before the film's theatrical release, instead of the usual 20–30 days, to ensure the music had more time to resonate with the audience.[9]
Gemini TV covered this event and it was telecast as a 30-minute capsule on Gemini TV. Chiranjeevi selected a coupon from the lucky dip box and called the lucky fan to the stage. Chiranjeevi opened the audio box and handed over the first cassette to that fan. The audio hit the market on 17 June 2002.[11]
The release generated significant excitement, with long queues forming from midnight on 23rd July and large crowds gathering at theatres across the state. Reports of black ticket sales emerged in several locations, including complaints about police involvement in black marketing, particularly in Guntur.[13]
On 23rd July, the film's storywriter, Chinni Krishna, celebrated the release in his hometown, Tenali, by arranging a special premiere show at 9 pm. Fans from neighboring Karnataka cities, such as Kolar and Chikkaballapur, travelled to Madanapalle to watch the film on its release day.[13]
Several incidents occurred during the film's release, including die-hard Chiranjeevi fans storming a theatre in Ballari for an early screening. Additionally, a fan attempted suicide over ticket issues but was stopped by other fans.[13]
In September 2002, Indra faced widespread piracy as 70,000 pirated CDs originating from Bangalore flooded markets across Andhra Pradesh after the film crossed its 50-day mark, causing a significant drop in collections in areas like Ballari.[14]
Reception
Box office
Upon release, Indra became a major commercial success, setting several box office records for its opening day, week, and lifetime collections.
Indra grossed over ₹51.8 crore against a budget of ₹10 crore,[1] making it the highest-grossing Telugu film at the time of its release.[4] The film set a record by earning a share of ₹20 crore in just four weeks, with ₹17 crore from Andhra Pradesh and ₹3 crore from other states, including Karnataka, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu.[13]
Indra had a 50-day run in 152 centres, including nine in Karnataka and two in Orissa,[15] and a 100-day run in 122 centres, with four in Karnataka and one in Orissa.[16][17] The film also had a 175-day run in 32 centres, including a 247-day run at Satyam Theatre in Adoni.[18][4]
Jeevi of Idlebrain.com gave a rating of 4+1⁄2 out of 5 stating, "First half is a perfect blend of mass and class elements. It's extraordinary. The interval scene gives the right finishing touch to the first half."[19] A critic from Sify wrote, "On the whole the film is refreshing and a good entertainer with Chiru at his best".[20]
Legacy
Indra is one of the biggest hits in Chiranjeevi's film career.
The film had an excellent run on Hindi television channels through the dubbed version Indra: The Tiger.[6][2] Saudamini Jain of Hindustan Times wrote in 2015, "For a decade now, the Telugu blockbuster Indra dubbed in Hindi as Indra The Tiger seems to have become a permanent fixture on TV".[2] TV and film writer Mushtaq Sheikh said of the film, "When I was heading Sahara One (in 2010-11) we had these perpetual, evergreen films: whenever you needed ratings, you could close your eyes and screen them. Indra was one of them."[2] CEO of Applause Entertainment Sameer Nair noted, “We used to play Indra: The Tiger and our ratings were sorted for two weeks."[6] Diptakirti Chaudhuri, in his book Bioscope: A Frivolous History of Bollywood in Ten Chapters, listed Indra as one of the most-watched dubbed films on Indian television.[21]
^ abcS., Vidya; Lidhoo, Prerna (22 July 2022). "How Movies From the South Conquered Bollywood". Business Today. Retrieved 27 August 2022. Says Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair: "We used to play Indra: The Tiger (Hindi dub of Telugu film Indra) and our ratings were sorted for two weeks."
