''Dharma Chakram'' () is a 1996 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 thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

written and directed by

Suresh Krissna Suresh Krissna (born 25 June 1959) is an Indian film director who has directed Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi Language films. His first independent film as a director was '' Sathya'' (1988), with Kamal Haasan. He is well known for h ...

, and produced by D. Ramanaidu under the

Suresh Productions Suresh Productions (also known as Suresh Movies, Vijaya Suresh Combines) is an Cinema of India, Indian film production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 19 ...

banner. The film stars Venkatesh,

Ramya Krishna Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Telugu and Tamil films, along with appearances in Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. Early life Ramya was born ...

, and Prema while

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian playwright, actor, film director, Kannada writer, and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwr ...

plays a pivotal role. The music was composed by M. M. Srilekha. Venkatesh received the

Nandi Award for Best Actor The Nandi Award for Best Actor was commissioned by the Nandi Awards committee in 1977. The winner is awarded a "Silver Nandi", "Sri Rajendra Prasad Gold Medal", cash award and a commendation certificate. Venkatesh has won the most Best Actor a ...

and the film won the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu). The film was dubbed in Tamil as ''Nakkeeran''. The film was successful at the box office.

Plot

Rakesh ( Venkatesh) is an angry young man who is an honest lawyer, a disciple of justice, and treated as a great personality by poor people. He lives with his mother Sarada (

Srividya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, she had acted in more t ...

), she is not only a mother but also a good friend to him. Rakesh has strong animosity toward his father Mahendra (

), a MLA, that's why he is separated from him. Sandhya (

Ramya Krishnan Ramya Krishnan (born 15 September 1970), also credited as Ramya Krishna, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Telugu and Tamil films, along with appearances in Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. Early life Ramya was born ...

), a journalist tries for an interview with Rakesh, but he does not cooperate, so she follows him like white on rice and falls in love with him. Sandhya tells of her love for Rakesh's mother Sarada, then she reveals Rakesh's past. 4 years back, Rakesh is an energetic guy who enjoys day-to-day life, he falls in love with a middle-class girl Surekha ( Prema), but his father Mahendra fixes his marriage with a big politician's daughter for his political growth. Rakesh rejects that match and makes marriage arrangements with Surekha, and to stop it, Mahendra traps Surekha and proves her as a prostitute in court, and for that, Surekha commits suicide. In anger, Rakesh goes to kill Mahendra, but he leaves him for his mother's sake and they both get separated from his father. After listening to this, Sandhya still loves him, she expresses her love to him and slowly he also starts liking her and prepares himself to marry her. Meanwhile, Mahendra gets a problem with his political career because of his family disturbances, he tries again to patch up with his family, but Rakesh turns down him, so in frustration, he kills his keep Balamani (Krishnaveni). To escape from the murder case, he asks Rakesh to take up the case, but Rakesh refuses, he blackmails him a lot, and even then Rakesh doesn't come down. At last, Mahendra plays with Sarada's emotions, which influence Rakesh to take up Mahendra's case, which irritates Rakesh a lot because he knows that he is doing injustice. Finally, his mother gives freedom to him to fight against Mahendra. Ultimately, Rakesh proves that Mahendra is a culprit and preserves justice.

Cast

* Venkatesh as Rakesh *

as Mahendra *

as Sandhya (Voice dubbed by

Roja Ramani Roja Ramani (also known as Chemparathy Shobana) is an Indian actress and dubbing artist who predominantly worked in Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil films. She was a child actor and her debut movie was '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1967) for which she r ...

) * Prema as Surekha (Voice dubbed by Silpa) *

as Mahendra *

as Sarada * D. Ramanaidu as Party President *

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 ...

* AVS as Gumastha Gurulingam * Rallapalli as Anjibabu * J. V. Somayajulu as Judge *

Subbaraya Sarma Subbbaraya Sarma is an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television. In a film career spanning more than fifty years, Sarma played a variety of roles as a character actor and comedian. In 1989, he received the Tri- ...

as Surekha's father * MVS Harinath Rao as Singaram * Kota Shankar Rao as Public Prosecutor *

Ananth Babu Punyamurthula Anant, known by his stage name Ananth Babu (or simply Ananth), is an Indian actor and comedian, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, I ...

as Singaram's Henchman * Saradhi as TV Shop Owner *

Telangana Shakuntala Telangana Shakuntala (27 March 1951 – 14 June 2014) was an Indian actress who worked in the Telugu cinema. She was known chiefly for playing comedy and villainous characters in Tollywood. Her performances in movies like '' Osey Ramulamma'', ...

* Krishnaveni as Balamani * Ratna Sagar *

Dubbing Janaki Dasari Janaki, known professionally as Dubbing Janaki, is an Indian actress and voice artist. She has appeared in several films and television shows in various South Indian languages. Early life Janaki was born in Peddapuram, East Godavari ...

* Dilip Kumar Salvadi as Newspaper boy

Soundtrack

Music composed by M. M. Srilekha. Music released on SUPREME Music Company.

Box office

* It had a 100-day run in 19 centres.

Awards

;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

(in

) * Best Actor - Venkatesh * Best Cinematographer - Ravindra Babu * Best Art Director - Plenti

References

External links

* {{Suresh Krissna 1996 films Indian courtroom films Indian legal films Indian crime thriller films Films about corruption in India Indian films about revenge Films directed by Suresh Krissna Indian action drama films 1990s Telugu-language films 1990s action drama films 1996 crime thriller films Suresh Productions films Films scored by M. M. Srilekha