When Chiranjeevi-starrer Hit Film Indra Was Criticised For This Scene

Chiranjeevi is currently reeling under the poor performance of his film Bhola Shankar, directed by Meher Ramesh. Bhola Shankar received poor reviews from critics and audiences alike. There was a phase when Chiranjeevi was at the pinnacle of his career, and his films like Indra were well-received by the audience. Chiranjeevi was the recipient of the Filmfare Awards South, CineMAA Awards South, and Nandi Awards as well for this film. There was, however, a mistake in this film due to which the makers had to apologise to the audience on various occasions. The makers, in one of the scenes, had shown the film’s characters celebrating two different festivals – Holi and Rakhshabandhan – at the same time. This irked the viewers and they criticised the team for this loophole in Indra. Indra had a staggering run at the box office and earned Rs 55 crore. Indra was produced on a budget of Rs 8 crore. Indra was released on July 24, 2002.

Indra revolves around the animosity between the families of Bharatasimha Reddy and Veera Siva Reddy. In order to end the violence, a police inspector comes with a marriage proposal. This proposal is of Bharatasimha Reddy’s brother Vijayasimha Reddy with Siva Reddy’s sister. The plan, however, fails when Siva Reddy’s sister kills Vijayasimha Reddy by putting poison in his milk. Siva Reddy and his men then kill Bharatasimha after they come to know of this betrayal. Siva Reddy is arrested and goes to prison for 14 years. Bharatasimha’s son, Indrasena aka Indra Reddy, then steps forward to take his father’s place. How the rivalry between both families ends forms the core theme of this film.

Indra also starred Sonali Bendre, Prakash Raj, Puneet Issar, Mukesh Rishi, and Tanikella Bharani. Indra had earned a distributor’s share of Rs 24 crore. This film also had a 50-day run in 156 centres, including nine in Karnataka and two in Odisha. It also had a 100-day run in 122 centres, including four in Karnataka. Indra became the 2nd highest-grossing Indian film of 2002 after Shah Rukh Khan’s hit Devdas.

As of now, Chiranjeevi is looking forward to his other film titled The Journalist, directed by Vedanth Harsh. It is currently in its production process.