Athadu

Athadu (transl. He) is a 2005 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film, written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by Jayabheri Arts. The film stars Mahesh Babu as a hitman hired to stage the assassination of a politician, only to be framed for the actual murder, forcing him to assume a new identity while evading the law. The supporting cast includes Trisha, Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj, Nassar, Sunil, Sayaji Shinde, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Brahmanandam. The music was composed by Mani Sharma, while K. V. Guhan handled the cinematography.

Athadu was released on 10 August 2005 and received positive reviews from critics and audiences, emerging as one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of the year. It won three Nandi Awards and a Filmfare Award South for Best Director – Telugu. Over time, Athadu gained recognition as a modern classic in Telugu cinema and holds the record for being the most telecast Telugu film, having aired over a thousand times on television. The film was remade in Hindi as Ek: The Power of One (2009) and in Bengali as Wanted (2010).