''Adhipathi'' () is a 2001 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

-language action drama film directed by

Ravi Raja Pinisetty Ravi Raja Pinisetty is an Indian film director known for his works in the Telugu cinema with actors such as Chiranjeevi, Nandamuri Balakrishna, Mohan Babu, Rajasekhar (actor), Rajasekhar and Daggubati Venkatesh. Some of his major hits include ' ...

and produced by

Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam Naidu, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films ...

under his

Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures is an Indian film production company established by Manchu Mohan Babu on the name of his daughter Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna, in 1982. The company is based in Hyderabad. The first movie was ''Pratigna'' which su ...

banner. It stars Mohan Babu,

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...

Preeti Jhangiani Preeti Jhangiani (born 18 August 1980) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi and Telugu films. She made her acting debut with the Malayalam film '' Mazhavillu'' (1999) and her Hindi debut with the multi-starrer romantic film ''Moha ...

and

Soundarya Sowmya Sathyanarayana (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress known for her works primarily in Telugu cinema. She was regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Telugu ...

, with music composed by

Koti Koti may refer to: Places * Koti, Armenia * Koti Department, Burkina Faso, and its capital Koti, Burkina Faso * Koti, Hyderabad, India * Koti, Novo Mesto, Slovenia * Koti Island, Mozambique * Koti (princely state), now part of Solan district, Hi ...

. The film is a remake of the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

film '' Narasimham'' (2000).

Plot

Yogendra is the son of Panduranga Rao, a High Court judge who got the first rank in civil services examinations. Dunnapothula Janardhan Rao, a politician, falsely implicates Yogi in a murder case to take revenge on Panduranga Rao, who had earlier given a jail sentence to him in a corruption case. Panduranga Rao gives the judgment for his son by jailing him for six years. After six years, Janardhan Rao dies on the same day when Yogi is released from jail. Dunnapothula Dharma Rao, Janardhan Rao's son, visits the shores of Godavari River to leave the ashes. Yogi foils the rites by resisting, then Dharma Rao challenges Yogi that he is going to mix the ashes of his father in the Godavari before Yogi mixes the ashes of his father, who is still alive, one day. Meanwhile, Yogi falls in love with Anuradha, the strong-willed and independent-minded daughter of Kaasi Visweswara Rao, Dharma Rao's henchman. Suddenly, there is an appearance of a girl named Thulasi (Seema), who claims to be Panduranga Rao's daughter, but Panduranga Rao flatly refuses the claim and banishes her. Forced by circumstances and at the instigation help of Dharma Rao, she reluctantly comes out open with the parentage claim. Yogi at first thrashes the protesters, but upon knowing the truth from his uncle Gnaneswara Rao, he accepts the task of her protection in the capacity as her elder brother. Yogi decides to marry Thulasi to his good friend. He also confronts his father and prods him to accept his mistake and acknowledge his parentage to Thulasi. Panduranga Rao ultimately regrets and secretly goes on to confess to his daughter. The very next morning when Yogi returns home, Thulasi is found dead. Panduranga Rao is accused of murdering her, but the whole act was planned by Dharma Rao, who, after killing Thulasi, forces Satya Murthy, Panduranga Rao's longtime servant, to testify against Panduranga Rao in court. In court, Jagan, a close friend of Yogi and famous leading criminal lawyer, appears as the defense council by cancelling his marriage with his girlfriend for friendship and wins the case to lay bare the murder plot and the hidden intentions of the baddies. Finally, Panduranga Rao is judged innocent of the crime by the court. After that, Yogi returns to his father, who now shows remorse for all his actions, including not believing in his son's innocence. He then dies at Yogi's feet. At Panduranga Rao's funeral, Dharma Rao arrives to poke fun at Yogi and also tries to carry out Janardhan Rao's postponed last rituals. Yogi interrupts the ritual and avenges for the deaths of his sister and father with Jagan's help.

Cast

as Yogindra / Yogi *

as Jagan *

as Anuradha *

as Jagan's fiancé *

Mukesh Rishi Mukesh Rishi (born 19 April 1956) is an Indian actor and film producer who works primarily in Hindi and Telugu films. He has also appeared in Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Marathi and Tamil films. He got his first break in Hindi in 1993 with ...

as Dunnapothula Dharma Rao * Vijayakumar as Justice Panduranga Rao *

Dasari Narayana Rao Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1942 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, lyricist, and politician, primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema. Over his four decade career, he directed more than 150 feature ...

as Judge *

Kota Srinivasa Rao Kota Srinivasa Rao (born 10 July 1942) is an Indian character actor known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He has also starred in a few films in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hindi cinema, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada and Ma ...

as Gnaneswara Rao *

Brahmanandam Kanneganti Brahmanandam (born 1 February 1956) is an Indian actor and comedian known for his work in Telugu cinema. Recognised as one of India's finest and highest-paid comic actors, he holds the Guinness World Record for the most screen cred ...

as S.I. Pathodi *

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

Narra Venkateswara Rao Narra Venkateswara Rao was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema. He hailed from Agraharam village (Ramachandrapuram) in Zarugumilli, Zarugumalli Mandal, Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Career He acted in over 500 fi ...

as Dunnapothula Janardhan Rao *Seema as Thulasi *

Raghunatha Reddy Raghunatha Reddy is an Indian actor who works in Telugu-language films as a character artist. He is known for his metallic voice. Early life, career and personal life Raghunatha Reddy was born in Krishna District and did his schooling in Vij ...

as Kaasi Visweswara Rao *

Suthi Velu Kurumaddali Lakshmi Narasimha Rao (7 August 1947 – 16 September 2012), better known by his stage name Suthi Velu, was an Indian actor and comedian known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has acted in more than 200 films, and won four state ...

as Satya Murthy *

Brahmaji Brahmaji (born 25 April 1965) is an Indian who works in Telugu cinema. He is a regular actor in director Krishna Vamsi's films. Brahmaji appeared in an important role in Krishna Vamsi's debut film as a director, '' Gulabi''. He appeared in Kri ...

as Yogi's friend *

Tanikella Bharani Tanikella Bharani (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, poet and playwright who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has worked as an actor in more than 750 films, including few in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi; while he was al ...

as Lawyer *

Banerjee Banerjee, also known as Bandyopadhyay, is a Bengali Kulin Brahmin surname originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. The surname belongs to the Rarhi clan of the Hindu Bengali Brahmin caste. History Notable people N ...

as S.P. Ashok * Venniradai Nirmala as Lakshmi *

Jayalalita Jayalalita is an Indian character actor, who acted in about 650 films in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. Early life Jayalalita was born in Gudivada, a town in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. She completed her Bac ...

as Mangala *

Jaya Prakash Reddy Jaya Prakash Reddy (8 May 1946 – 8 September 2020) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Telugu films. Born in Sirvel of Andhra Pradesh, he came into the limelight with the film ''Samarasimha Reddy'' (1999) where he played the ro ...

as Surya Prakash * L. B. Sriram as Papa Rao *

Mohan Raj Mohanarajan (13 November 1955 – 3 October 2024), professionally credited as Mohan Raj, also known as Keerikkadan Jose, was an Indian actor and assistant enforcement officer. He primarily worked in Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil languages, an ...

as Gajendra *

M. S. Narayana M. S. Narayana (16 April 1951 – 23 January 2015) was an Indian actor and comedian who worked in Telugu cinema. Narayana worked in over 750 films in his career spanning 23 years. He died on 23 January 2015 due to organ failure in Hyderabad, Ind ...

* AVS * Chitti Babu *

Kazan Khan Kazan Khan (22 June 1972 – 12 June 2023) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu films. He was best known for his villain roles. Career Kazan made his acting debut in the year 1992 with Tamil f ...

as C.I. Shankar Narayan *Navabharat Balaji as Krishna Murthy *Gadiraju Subba Rao * Y. Vijaya *Devisri *Shobha Rani *Aruna Charlla *Uma Chowdary * Alphonsa as

item number In Indian cinema, an item number or special song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films ( Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu c ...

Music

Music for the film was composed by

. Audio soundtrack was released on TIPS Audio Company. ''Telugucinema'' wrote "The compositions in this movie cast a doubt on Koti's creativity! No tune gives a fresh feeling when heard. The "theme music" included makes one wonder how that can be called so! Koti could have done a lot better job than this. The songs are mostly based on beat, and are typically mass-oriented - the choice of lyricists proves that too!".

Reception

''Idlebrain'' wrote "The first half of the film is very ordinary and second half of it is OK. Touted as a multi-starrer, Adhipati fails to impress the viewers. The producer seems to have made this film keeping the success of Narasimha Naidu in mind. They have selected the same set of artists (Mukesh Rushi, Jaya Prakash Reddy as villains and Preethi as heroine) and dialogue writer and tried to emulate the formula of Narasimha Naidu. What this film lacks is powerful screenplay and pulsating direction". ''Telugucinema'' wrote "Basically this is the story with many unexpected twists and turns. It is of course different from today's flow of teenage love stories. It's a theme packed with action, loaded with sentiment thus giving a lot of scope for so-called action. But the problem arises when the director can not think beyond the formula, that they think has ruled and will rule the films. The routine trivial love track, the ill-mannered humor, and mannerism-oriented performance make the film shallow and unbearable despite the gripping thread in the story. And there is no clue why the film is titled as Adhipathi".

References

External links

* {{Ravi Raja Pinisetty 2001 films 2000s Telugu-language films 2000s Indian films Telugu remakes of Malayalam films Indian courtroom films Indian action films Masala films Films about corruption in India Films scored by Koti (composer) Films directed by Ravi Raja Pinisetty