Magadheera () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language epic romantic fantasy action film co-written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli, based on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad. Produced by Allu Aravind under Geetha Arts, the film stars Ram Charan, Kajal Aggarwal, Dev Gill and Srihari. 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 , 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.
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 in its Telugu version and grossing over during its initial theatrical run. It became the highest-grossing Telugu film in history at the time. Magadheera became the second Telugu film after Pokiri (2006) to achieve a reported 1,000-day theatrical screening milestone. 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.
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).
Plot In 1609 CE, atop the cliffside Bhairavakona temple in the Aravalli Range, a dying princess, Mithravinda Devi, begs the royal warrior Kaala Bhairava to confess his love for her. Before he can speak, she succumbs to her wounds and slips off the cliff; Bhairava leaps after her but fails to catch her, falling to his death. Assessing the tragic scene, a powerful invading Muslim general named Sher Khan retrieves Bhairava's armor and solemnly prophesies that the warrior will be reborn to reclaim his lost love.
Four hundred years later, in 2009, Harsha is a street-bike racer in Hyderabad. While casually moving through a crowd, his hand briefly brushes against that of a woman trying to board an auto-rickshaw. The physical contact triggers vivid, inexplicable historical visions. Determined to find her, Harsha unknowingly asks the woman herself, Indira "Indu", for help, not realizing she is the same person. Believing Harsha is an aggressive stalker, Indu mischievously conceals her identity and exploits his infatuation for personal favors. However, after Harsha selflessly defends her from local harassers, she develops genuine affection for him.
Meanwhile, Indu's father, Pratap, has been illegally evicted from their ancestral palace in Udaigarh, Rajasthan, by his late sister's husband, Omdev. To secure unhindered control of the estate, Omdev's ruthless son, Raghuveer, executes several lawyers before traveling to Hyderabad to eliminate Pratap. Upon encountering Indu, Raghuveer becomes deeply infatuated with her. When his father dismisses his obsession, Raghuveer murders Omdev, frames it as a natural death, and manipulates Pratap and Indu by returning their ancestral palace to earn their absolute trust.
One night, while attempting to touch a sleeping Indu, Raghuveer experiences a violent vision of a warrior slicing his throat. Seeking guidance, he consults Ghora, tantric priest, who reveals their past lives: 400 years prior, Raghuveer was Ranadev Billa, the treasonous commander-in-chief of Udaigarh who coveted Princess Mithravinda (Indu) and was killed by her protector, Kaala Bhairava (Harsha). Ghora warns that Bhairava has also reincarnated and must be eliminated before Indu's past memories awaken, or Raghuveer will lose her forever. Concurrently, Harsha discovers Indu’s initial deception, leading to a playful confrontation that culminates in the two confessing their love. When Bhupathi enthusiastically approves their marriage, Raghuveer murders Pratap, frames Harsha for the crime, and abducts a traumatized Indu in a helicopter. During the struggle, a physical touch from Indu throws Harsha into a lake, fully awakening his memories of his past life.
In 1609, Udaigarh is ruled by King Vikram Singh, who faces an imminent, massive invasion by Emperor Sher Khan. The kingdom's premier warrior, Kaala Bhairava, is deeply in love with Princess Mithravinda, who completely reciprocates his feelings, though military duty stops him from expressing it. Ranadev Billa, the king's nephew, desires both the throne and Mithravinda, forcing a royal duel where the loser is banished. Bhairava wins decisively, resulting in Ranadev's exile. However, King Vikram Singh privately implores Bhairava to reject Mithravinda's romantic advances, fearing the warrior will perish in the upcoming war and leave the princess a widowed ascetic. A heartbroken Bhairava complies out of loyalty.
Bhairava escorts Mithravinda and the royal entourage to the Bhairavakona temple to seek divine blessings before the war. Frustrated by his emotional distance, Mithravinda disrupts the ritual and paints Bhairava's portrait on a rock wall using her own blood. Their confrontation is shattered when an injured soldier reveals that Ranadev has allied with Sher Khan, assassinated King Vikram Singh, and is marching on the temple. Arriving at the cliff, Sher Khan, fascinated by Bhairava's reputation, challenges him to single-handedly defeat 100 elite soldiers. Although Bhairava successfully massacres the forces, he is left critically wounded. Deeply moved by his unmatched valor, Sher Khan calls a truce and befriends him. Defying the Emperor's order to stop, a vengeful Ranadev stabs Mithravinda from behind before Bhairava can react; a dying Bhairava immediately decapitates Ranadev. As Mithravinda falls from the cliff, the 1609 timeline ends with their tragic, unfulfilled deaths.
In the present, Harsha is pulled from the lake and rescued by Solomon, an influential fisherman who is the reincarnation of Sher Khan. Remembering his past identity, Harsha travels to Udaigarh with Solomon. Learning from Ghora that Indu's memories must be triggered at the original site within the day, Harsha and Solomon covertly rescue Indu and bring her to the ruined Bhairavakona temple. During the pursuit, an enraged Raghuveer accidentally kills Ghora. Harsha desperately tries to convince Indu of their past life, but she remains confused and untrusting. Raghuveer arrives via helicopter to reclaim her, but as Indu looks past him, she spots the 400-year-old blood painting of Bhairava on the temple wall. The visual instantly triggers her memories, and she tearfully reunites with Harsha.
A final, brutal duel ensues between Harsha and Raghuveer. When Raghuveer's mercenaries attempt to use the helicopter's spinning rotors to shred Harsha, Solomon heroically rams his car into the aircraft, destroying it. Realizing his total defeat, a desperate Raghuveer grabs Indu and attempts to drag her off the cliff with him. Harsha leaps forward, severing Raghuveer's hand mid-air to save Indu, while Raghuveer falls to his death. With the ancient cycle finally completed, Harsha and Indu safely reunite.
Cast
Cameo appearances Chiranjeevi featured after the song “Bangaru Kodipetta Remix” (archival footage was also used from the same song) Mumaith Khan as Reshma, the street bike race organizer. She also appears in "Bangaru Kodipetta" Saloni Aswani as Apilli, Solomon's love interest Noel Sean as Jayaram Kim Sharma as Hamsa, a dancer who appears in the item song "Jorsey" Prabhas Sreenu appears in the song "Jorsey" Amrapali Dubey as a girlfriend of Shyam, a biker
Production
Development
Screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad prepared a story for a film titled Jagadeka Veerudu with Krishna as the lead in the direction of Sagar. That story is about a bodyguard who serves a Rajamatha (queen mother). He fights 100 warriors and dies in his attempt to re-enthrone the Rajamatha after she is overthrown by her conspirators. He is reborn after 400 years and fulfills his ambition of placing her on the throne by making her a Chief Minister or a popular social worker like Medha Patkar. It was rejected as they didn't like the concept.
After fifteen years, Prasad's son S. S. Rajamouli selected this script for the film he was to direct with Ram Charan under Geetha Arts banner. But, he made several changes to it. Rajamouli re-characterized the Rajamatha character as a princess to create a vital love story for the film, as he felt that the relationship between a queen and a bodyguard would be only about loyalty and honesty.
Production for the film was officially launched on 2 March 2008 at Film Nagar Cultural Center (FNCC) in Hyderabad. B. V. S. N. Prasad co-produced the film with Allu Aravind under his production banner, Geetha Arts. M. Rathnam was announced as the dialogue writer while Rajamouli's usual collaborators K. K. Senthil Kumar, Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao, and M. M. Keeravani worked on the film's cinematography, editing, and music respectively. After many potential titles, Magadheera was considered and finalised in early February 2009.
Casting After considering several actresses (including Tamannaah) for the princess role, Kajal Aggarwal was selected by Rajamouli as the female lead opposite Ram Charan after conducting a photo shoot in his office. Rajamouli said that he wanted to cast her as the female lead in Yamadonga (2007) after her Telugu debut Lakshmi Kalyanam (2007), but she was unavailable. He added that he wanted somebody "good looking, who would look like a princess and who had dates available" and finalized her because she met all of these prerequisites. After conducting her photoshoot, Rajamouli explained the story and Mithra's characterization to her in 45 minutes. He said she needed to treat the hero arrogantly, but do so out of love for the hero. Kajal kept this in mind and acted accordingly while playing the dual roles of a princess from 400 years ago and a modern-day college student. Kajal called both her roles "unique and challenging".
Dev Gill was selected to portray the film's antagonist. Rajamouli was criticized for selecting him considering Gill's previous film, Krishnarjuna (2008), but remained adamant about casting him. He said that he had to cast a good-looking man as the film's villain because the heroine needed to find him trustworthy. For this film, Gill had to practice horse riding in Ramoji Film City; Ram Charan was already an experienced equestrian. Srihari was cast in his role in the film in early April 2008. Kim Sharma was selected to perform one of the two item numbers in the film in early June 2008. Saloni Aswani made a cameo appearance in the film and shot for three days. She was subsequently signed for Rajamouli's next project, Maryada Ramanna (2010), before Magadheera was even released.
Rao Ramesh was cast as a tantrik who helps Gill's character in the present era. Mumaith Khan was selected for another item number, a remix version of the hit song "Bangaru Kodipetta" from Gharana Mogudu (1992); Gharana Mogudu'''s music was also composed by M. M. Keeravani. Chiranjeevi made a special appearance after the song, making Magadheera the first film he appeared in after his entry into politics. When Rajamouli suggested the idea of a cameo appearance, Chiranjeevi was initially hesitant till the director narrated the complete sequence and the importance of the song.
Costume design