Magadheera

Magadheera (lit. 'Great Warrior') is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language epic romantic fantasy action drama film co-written & directed by S. S. Rajamouli, based on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad and with dialogues by M. Rathnam. Produced by Allu Aravind under Geetha Arts, the film stars Ram Charan, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal and Dev Gill. The film follows a street-bike racer who discovers his connection to a 17th-century warrior through reincarnation and sets out to rescue his lover from a vengeful adversary tied to their past lives.

Made on a budget of ₹35–44 crore, Magadheera was the most expensive Telugu film at the time of its release. The film's principal photography commenced on 19 March 2008. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by M. M. Keeravani, with cinematography by K. K. Senthil Kumar. Action sequences were choreographed by Peter Hein and the duo Ram–Lakshman. Notably, it was the first Telugu film to list a "visual effects producer" in its credits.

Magadheera was released on 31 July 2009 to critical acclaim and commercial success. It became the first Telugu film to enter the 100 crore club, collecting a distributors' share of ₹73.4 crore and grossing ₹150.5 crore during its theatrical run. It became the highest-grossing Telugu film in history at the time. Its 1000-day theatrical run surpassed Chandramukhi (2005) as the longest-running South Indian film. The film won the National Award for Best Choreography and Best Special Effects at the 57th National Film Awards, along with six Filmfare Awards, and nine Nandi Awards. In 2016, it was featured at the Fantastic Fest.

Magadheera was the first Telugu film to be released in the Blu-ray format in India. It was later dubbed into Tamil as Maveeran and Malayalam as Dheera: The Warrior, both released on 27 May 2011. The Japanese-dubbed version, released in August 2018, became one of the highest-grossing Indian films at the Japanese box office. The film was remade in Odia as Megha Sabarire Asiba Pheri (2010) and in Bengali as Yoddha: The Warrior (2014).