Aditya 369

Aditya 369 is a 1991 Indian Telugu-language science fiction film written and directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. It is considered to be the first time travel film made in Indian cinema. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna and Mohini while Amrish Puri, Tinnu Anand, and Suthivelu play supporting roles. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and Jandhyala wrote the dialogues. The film was produced by S. Anitha Krishna on Sridevi Movies banner with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as the presenter. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim and was a commercial success. It received two Nandi Awards. Aditya 369 is considered a landmark film in the science fiction genre in Indian cinema. The film explored dystopian and post-apocalyptic themes in a satirical manner.

Inspired by the H. G. Wells' novel The Time Machine (1895) which he read as a student, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao started working on a script in which the protagonist travels to the past and the future. He opted for Sri Krishnadevaraya's reign for the past period. After researching at the American Library in Madras about the future, he finished the script.

Made on a budget of ₹1.52 crore, principal photography of the film took about 110 days. Sets related to Krishnadevaraya's era were built at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad. Filming also took place at VGP Golden Beach and Vijaya Vauhini Studios in Madras. Forest scenes were shot at Talakona in Andhra Pradesh. Three cinematographers worked for the film and shot different time periods. P. C. Sreeram shot the scenes related to present-day but he opted out due to ill-health. V. S. R. Swamy and Kabir Lal performed rest of the cinematography. It was dubbed into Hindi as Mission 369 and into Tamil as Apoorva Sakthi 369.

Plot
The film began in 1991. Prof. Ramdas, a scientist, strives hard with enormous experiments and invents The time machine that travels in time. Besides, Raj Varma, a high-profile burglar, has peculiarly heisted antiques from world-renowned museums. He is passionate about the 16th-century diamond of the Vijayanagara Empire at the Salar Jung Museum. So, Raj Varma plots by mingling with the Curator when some school children visit an excursion where a naughty kid, Kishore, spends the night therein. He witnesses the robbery committed by Raj Varma's sidekicks Vasu & Dasu when a gallant Krishna Kumar guards and admits him to the hospital. Krishna Kumar loves Hema, the daughter of Ramadas, who considers her father's experiment futile.

At one time, Krishna Kumar was a guest at their house when Ramadas presented his time machine, but it broke down. Then, he, too, feels the same. Later, Krishna Kumar is cordial with Kishore, who constantly talks about the theft, which no one believes. In the concert of Raj Varma, Vasu & Dasu join in the hospital to wipe out Kishore, but in vain. Due to his annoyance, Krishna Kumar takes Kishore to the museum to display the diamond forged by a duplicate. All the same, Kishore stands in his word. In the interim, Kishore is acquainted with Ramadas via Hema and acquires knowledge of the time machine. Plus, he learns they can travel on the robbery day. One night, Kishore secretly visits Ramadas's residence, joins the remaining children in the hospital, and starts the time machine. Being conscious of it, Krishna Kumar & Hema rescue them but get struck, and it takes off. Parallelly, as an anecdote, a police constable hunting a thief is also trapped in the machine.

Now they reach 1526, the reign of the Emperor Krishnadevaraya, where Krishna Kumar saves a dancer in the royal court, Simhanandini, from a raid who invites them to the fort. Accordingly, they proceed when they come across various historical characters. Whereat, Krishna Kumar surprises Krishnadevaraya by reciting the poem of his court's poet Tenali Ramakrishna about to write. Simhanandini introduces him to the Emperor, who states they have come from the future. Though Krishnadevaraya finds it hard to believe, he offers them hospitality. After a while, Krishna Kumar catches sight of the stolen diamond in the prayer room of the Emperor, which belongs to their ancestors, and they adore it. Krishnadevaraya proclaims that it has divine power, which reflects on the eve of Karthika Punnami. It prophesied also that the diamond would be stolen twice, once during Krishnadevaraya's rule and again after 500 years. Fascinated by this, they stayed back to witness the event.

Meanwhile, Simhanandini lusts Krishna Kumar, but he turns her down. Further, Krishnadevaraya is worried about the arrival of Narsa Kavi when Krishna Kumar predicts victory is over and supports Tenali Ramakrishna to triumph. The delighted Emperor decides to honor him, but begrudged Simhanandini pauses it by accusing Krishna Kumar of the deceiver. After an intense argument, Krishna Kumar says Hema is the best dancer when the Emperor organizes a competition. Hema wins over, which dethornes Simhanandini. At that point, Krishnadevaraya grants to bestow anything when they request to view the diamond's effect on Karthika Punnami. Thus, the Emperor gives the guest of honor to them when Krishna Kumar & Hema are enthralled to view the diamond radiating seven colors of the rainbow because of the moonlight. Following this, Krishna Kumar gets ready to retrieve when to seek revenge. Simhanandini colludes with Senadhipathi and incriminates Krishna Kumar in the diamond robbery. Tenali Ramakrishna senses it, and the miscreant seizes him. Hence, Krishnadevaraya sentences him to death, but while executing, he guards him. Since Krishnadevaraya internally believes Krishna Kumar is innocent, he confirms it through Tenali Ramakrishna.

Presently, Krishna Kumar broads on the time machine and sets off, landing in 2504, a dystopian world destroyed by radiation after the end of the Third World War. Scientists of that era received them, and they view their cities as being built underground, where they find several wonders. However, a risk lurks for them as they can live only for 8 hours in that climate. Here, they notice Krishnadevaraya's diamond, through which scientists supply power, and Krishna Kumar watches the news from 1991. It reports that Krishna Kumar's efforts to retrieve the diamond from Raja Varma, but tragically, he died in the process. The time machine's malfunctioning is now repairing, and when the environment affects them negatively, they leave and return to the present. They got wind of Raja Varma abducting Prof. Ramdas and Kishore to get hold of the time machine. Krishna Kumar rescues them and combats Raja Varma, who locates the time machine on a hilltop. It blasts in the feud, and both are reported dead. At last, Krishna Kumar comes back safely by jumping off the cliff moments before it explodes, when Krishna Kumar comprehends that they have not gained complete information in the future. Finally, the movie ends happily.

Cast

 * Balakrishna Nandamuri as Krishna Kumar and Krishnadevaraya (dual role)
 * Mohini as Hema (dubbed by S. P. Sailaja)
 * Suthivelu as Police Constable
 * Tinnu Anand as Prof. Ramdas (dubbed by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam)
 * Master Tarun as Kishore
 * Silk Smitha as Simha Nandani
 * Amrish Puri as Raja Varma
 * Chandra Mohan as Tenali Ramakrishna
 * J. V. Somayajulu as Timmarusu
 * Brahmanandam as Scientist
 * Subhalekha Sudhakar as Scientist
 * Raavi Kondala Rao as Scientist
 * Gollapudi Maruti Rao as Curator
 * Chalapathi Rao as Senadhipathi
 * Tanikella Bharani as Raja Varma's henchman
 * Babu Mohan as Raja Varma's henchman
 * Annapoorna as Dr. Lalita
 * Sri Lakshmi as Madhavi
 * Baby Raasi as Kishore's friend
 * Kinnera as Tirumala Devi
 * Potti Prasad as Bhatudu

Development
Aditya 369 was inspired by the H. G. Wells novel The Time Machine (1895), which Singeetam Srinivasa Rao read as a student. Though the film has frequently been compared to Back to the Future (1985), according to Rao the similarities between the two stop "with the trouble that the protagonist faces in a different time zone".

Rao briefly discussed his story about time travel with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam who immediately liked it. Balasubrahmanyam recommended Nandamuri Balakrishna's name as he felt that Balakrishna would apt be for Krishnadevaraya's role. Balasubrahmanyam's relative Sivalenka Krishna Prasad who had bulk dates of Balakrishna agreed to produce the film. Several titles including Kaalayantram and Yuga Purushudu were considered, however, Aditya 369 was finalised symbolizing Aditya (the Sun) and the time machine's serial number 369 which was chosen as an increasing series symbolising time travel.

Cast and crew
The makers initially approached Vijayashanti as the lead actress but she could not sign the film due to scheduling conflicts. Later, they cast cinematographer P. C. Sreeram's relative Mohini in her place. Three cinematographers worked for the film who shot different time periods. Sreeram shot the scenes related to present-day but he opted out due to ill-health. V. S. R. Swamy and Kabir Lal performed rest of the cinematography. Jandhyala had written the dialogues for this film. While Amrish Puri played the prime antagonist, Tinnu Anand, Suthivelu, Chandra Mohan, and Silk Smita played important roles. The then child artiste, Tarun played a plot moving role.

Filming
Made on a budget of ₹1.52 crore, principal photography of the film took about 110 days. Sets related to Krishnadevaraya's era were erected at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad. Filming also took place at VGP Golden Beach and Vijaya Vauhini Studios in Madras. Forest scenes were shot at Talakona in Andhra Pradesh.

Music
Music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Music released on LEO Music Company. For the song "Janavule", Rao wanted a tune similar to the old historical films. Jikki was chosen to sing this song, Rao recalled that S. Janaki who was in studio stayed up till the end of song's recording to help Jikki with her lines.

Themes
Aditya 369 is considered as the first Indian film based on time travel. It dealt with exploratory dystopian and apocalyptic themes.

Release and reception
The film released on 18 July 1991. It received positive reviews and was a commercial success. It was dubbed and released in Tamil as Aboorva Sakti-369 during August 1992.

Legacy
Aditya 369 is considered a landmark film in the science fiction genre in Telugu cinema and Indian cinema. In September 2020, The News Minute 's Balakrishna Ganeshan wrote, "[The film] is considered to be a masterpiece because it perfectly blended the genre of sci-fi and drama with the mainstream template of songs and fight sequences to make it an entertaining watch. It also unlocked the imagination of scores of people to look beyond our realm by popularising Albert Einstein’s theories of time and relativity." Actor and producer Nandamuri Kalyan Ram cited Aditya 369 as one of his favourite films and an inspiration for producing the film Bimbisara (2022).

Future
In January 2017, Rao announced his intention to work on Aditya 369 's sequel. It is reported that the sequel would feature Balakrishna along with his son Mokshagna. Balakrishna named the title sequel as Aditya 999 max and wrote the story for this film.

Awards

 * Nandi Awards
 * Best Art Director - Peketi Ranga
 * Best Costume Designer - A. Samba Siva Rao