Vikramarkudu

Vikramarkudu is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language action film co-written & directed by S. S. Rajamouli from a story written by V. Vijayendra Prasad & dialogues written by M. Rathnam. The film is produced by M. L. Kumar Chowdary under Sri Keerthi Creations. The film stars Ravi Teja and Anushka Shetty. It follows a thief who discovers a girl insisting he is her father, while a series of events connect his life to her actual father, who is his look-alike. The film's music was composed by M. M. Keeravani with cinematography and editing by Sarvesh Murari and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao respectively.

Vikramarkudu was released on 23 June 2006 with 180 prints globally. Made on a budget of ₹11 crore (US$2.4 million), Vikramarkudu was commercially Blockbuster earning a distributors' share of ₹18.9 crore (US$4.17 million). The film was screened at the International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section.

Vikramarkudu was a breakthrough film for Anushka Shetty. The film was first remade as Ulta Palta 69 (2007) in Bangladesh, then in Kannada as Veera Madakari (2009), in Tamil as Siruthai (2011), in Hindi as Rowdy Rathore (2012), in Indian Bengali as Bikram Singha (2012), and also in Bangladesh as Action Jasmine (2015) with a female lead.

Plot
Atthili Satthi Babu indulges in thievery with his uncle Duvva Abbulu in Hyderabad; he chances upon Neeraja Goswami, a resident of Devgarh, Madhya Pradesh in a wedding she has come to attend. He flirts with Neeraja, he pinched her waist to which she moans but pretended as if she doesn't like it. Satthi Babu admits his profession and promises to abandon robbing for good but resolves to exploit one last person to amass a massive amount of money. In the railway station, Satthi Babu and Abbulu deceive a woman, who entrusts them with a trunk they flee with. Mahanti, a police official, inspects the trunk and in it, he discovers Neha, a young girl, who presumes Satthi Babu to be her father; as Mahanti uncovers a portrait of Neha with Satthi Babu, he believes her and compels Satthi Babu to look after the child and tells him that he would keep monitoring them. As Satthi Babu unsuccessfully attempts to get rid of her, he perpetually resists Neeraja from stumbling upon the child.

Eventually, Satthi Babu empathizes with Neha and begins to care for her; Neeraja and her parents overhear Neha addressing Satthi Babu as her father. Assuming that Satthi Babu has been deceiving her despite being the father of a daughter, Neeraja ends their relationship and departs. Later, goons attack Satthi Babu and Neha, misinterpreting the former to be Vikram Singh Rathore IPS, Neha's father and Satthi Babu's doppelgänger. Mahanti, Sub-inspector Razia (the woman who was carrying the trunk) and a few other police officials come to their rescue but they are overpowered. Subsequently, Vikram arrives to protect his daughter and Satthi Babu and kills all the goons but is severely wounded. In the hospital, Mahanti narrates Vikram's past to Satthi Babu and Abbulu.

In a flashback, Vikram receives his posting in Devgarh and relocates with Neha, his motherless daughter; he is introduced to his colleagues Mahanti and Razia. The inhabitants of Devgarh are tormented in the cruel reign of MLA Bavuji, a psychopath who carries out corruption, money laundering and several other illegal activities. His son Munna abducts Mahanti's wife and keeps molesting her. When Vikram discovers this, he rushes to rescue her and apprehends Munna, ignorant of Bavuji's influence. However, Bavuji is assisted by Home Minister. The DGP, succumbing to the Home Minister's pressure, warns Vikram of consequences, berating his fearlessness but he comes up with an intelligent answer and refuses to back off. Munna is proclaimed mentally unstable and acquitted of all the charges. A party is organized to celebrate his release and Vikram and his team are deputed to secure Munna during the party. Under the pretext of a game, Munna humiliates a police officer and forces him to disrobe himself but Rathore prompts him to slip due to bullets and hang to a belt, killing him. On Holi, Titla, Bavuji's brother, stabs Vikram under the guise of an idol and shoots him as he tries to protect a trapped kid. He is presumed to be dead but survives and sustains an injury in the brain. The villagers conceal his survival and he is moved to Hyderabad for treatment. To keep Neha in the dark about her father's condition, the police officials direct her to Satthi Babu upon discovering that he is Vikram's doppelgänger.

Presently, the doctors declare Vikram dead and everyone chooses to keep it hidden from Neha, who still believes Satthi Babu to be her father. To avenge Vikram's death, Satthi Babu returns to Devgarh, poses as Vikram and targets Bavuji. Abbulu and others reveal the truth to Neeraja, who apologizes to Satthi Babu & reconciles with him and agrees to take care of Neha alongside him. Satthi Babu sets fire to Bavuji's wine factory and directs the villagers to rob his food storage. He defeats Bavuji's men and has him beaten up. Titla kidnaps Neha and Neeraja but Satthi Babu fights him and hangs him to death. Having settled scores, Satthi Babu leaves for a new life with Neeraja, Neha and Abbulu.

Production
The shooting was disrupted by quarry workers who started pelting the film's unit with stones, damaging most of the equipment and injuring some of the film crew, including the director Rajamouli. The quarry workers were asked, by the quarry manager, to stop their work and leave the area, for the shooting of particular scenes. What started as a small miff between the manager and the workers escalated with the workers showering stones, even as the film crew was leaving the quarry in their vehicles. The injured crew members were admitted to Apollo hospital. Director Rajamouli suffered a hairline fracture to his hand. A formal complaint was lodged against the quarry workers and its owner.

Music
The audio of Vikramarkudu was launched at a function arranged in a set erected near Hitec city on the night of 31 May. K Raghavendra Rao launched the audio and gave the first unit to YVS Chowdary. Ramesh Prasad, B Gopal and Gunnam Gangaraju were also invited as guests. The unit members who were present include ML Kumar Chowdary, Ravi Teja, Rajamouli, Anushka, Keeravani, Vijayendra Prasad, Brahmanandam, lyricist Danayya, Rajiv Kanakala, Ajay, Rama Rajamouli, Ravindra, Sarvesh Murari, Ram Lakshman, M Ratnam, Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao and Suresh Bujji. Suma anchored the event and Aditya Music bought audio rights.

The soundtrack received a very good response from the public as well as critics. The song "College Papala" (well known as Chinta Ta Chita Chita) was reused by Sajid–Wajid in the Hindi remake of this film, Rowdy Rathore and also by M. M. Keeravani in the Kannada remake film Veera Madakari

Box office
The film was commercially successful and was one of the highest grossers of Telugu cinema in 2006. and a theatrical run of 100 days in 54 centres. Vikramarkudu earned a distributors' share of {INR}18.9 crore (US$4.17 million) and worldwide gross collections of over ₹25 crore (US$5.5 million).

Critical response
It received positive reviews from critics. Idlebrain wrote: "On a whole, Vikramarkudu is another prospective blockbuster from the stable of Rajamouli". Totaltollywood wrote: "First half of the film goes in full entertainment mode. Second half gets into action part but the entertainment values are maintained at the same level.". Sify wrote: "On the whole, Vikramarkudu is a masala entertainer and is OK timepass fare.". Nowrunning wrote: "Watching Vikramarkudu is like eating a plate of Mirchi Bhajji from the roadside pushcart.". Fullhyd wrote: "Vikramarkudu is like one of those dishes that smell great during cooking, but just don’t taste the same way in the end. The film assiduously builds its story to a crest with your adrenaline pumping on all cylinders, but doesn’t quite know how to handle it thereon.". Cinegoer wrote: "One thing is that Vikramarkudu never bores you. It will keep you glued to the screen, because so many things happen all the time and the narrative moves quickly.".

Other versions
The film was dubbed into Malayalam, Hindi, and Bhojpuri as Vikramathithya, Pratighat: A Revenge in 2007, and Vikram Singh Rathod IPS in 2011 respectively. It was also remade twice in Bangladeshi Bengali as Ulta Palta 69 and Action Jasmine, in Kannada as Veera Madakari, in Tamil as Siruthai, in Hindi as Rowdy Rathore, and in Indian Bengali as Bikram Singha: The Lion Is Back.

Sequel
In September 2021, V. Vijayendra Prasad began writing the film's sequel, and Sampath Nandi entered into talks for directing it.