''Taarak'' is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film directed by Balasekaran and starring

Taraka Ratna Nandamuri Taraka Ratna (22 February 1983 – 18 February 2023) was an Indian actor who worked in Telugu cinema. After his debut in '' Okato Number Kurraadu'' (2003), he acted in several films as the lead actor and a few as the antagonist. He wa ...

, Sharmili and

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

Cast

* Nandamuri Taraka Ratna as Taraka "Taarak" Ram * Sharmili as Varsha *

as Jagadish Prasad *

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 JP *

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 College lecturer *

Giri Babu Yerra Seshagiri Rao, popularly known as Giri Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who primarily works in Telugu films. His son, Raghu Babu, is also a notable actor-director. Career Giri Babu hails from a middle-class agricultura ...

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 ...

* L. B. Sriram *

Dharmavarapu Subramanyam Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam (20 September 1954 – 7 December 2013) was an Indian actor, comedian and film director who worked in Telugu cinema. He was established as one of the highly paid and top most leading comedians in Telugu film industry. ...

* Sudhakar *

Chitram Seenu Chitram Srinu is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Telugu films. Srinu made his debut through the film '' Chitram''. He has acted in over 260 films. He turned hero for the unreleased films ''Viswadhabhi Rama'' and ''Mayasabha''. Origina ...

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 ...

Srinivasa Reddy Yaramala Srinivasa Reddy is an Indian actor known for his work in Telugu cinema. He began his career as a television anchor, hosting comedy programs before transitioning to films. Srinivasa Reddy made his acting debut with '' Ishtam'' (2001) and ...

Suman Setty Suman Setty is an Indian actor known for his comic roles. He appears in Telugu and Tamil films. He won the Nandi Award for Best Male Comedian for his role in '' Jayam'' film. Career Suman Setty debuted in Teja's '' Jayam'' (2002). He was sel ...

* Kaushal *

Murali Mohan Maganti Murali Mohan (born as Maganti Raja Ram Mohan Roy; 24 June 1940) is an Indian actor, producer, politician, and business executive from Telugu cinema. In 1973, Murali Mohan debuted in ''Jagame Maya'', produced by Atluri Poornachandra Rao. ...

(guest appearance) *Siva Krishna (guest appearance) *Seetu Singh (special song)

Production

Sharmili made her Telugu debut with this film.

Soundtrack

The music composed by

Mani Sharma Yanamandra Venkata Subrahmanyam (Telugu: యనమండ్ర వెంకట సుబ్రహ్మణ్యం; born 11 July 1964), professionally known as Mani Sharma, is an Indian composer and music producer known for his work primaril ...

was well received.

Release and reception

The film was scheduled to release on 11 April 2003 but was advanced to 3 April 2003. Gudipoori Srihari of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' opined that "The film has a vague story line and appears to have been influenced by a Hollywood movie. The characters are not well supported by dialogue. Tarak Ratna is a shade better and confident than what he looked in his earlier two films". Jeevi of ''

Idlebrain.com Idlebrain.com is an Indian entertainment website dedicated to Telugu cinema. Established in 1999 by G. V. Ramana, popularly known as Jeevi, a graduate of BITS Pilani, the site is among the oldest websites on the Internet focused on Telugu films ...

'' gave the film a rating of three out of five and said that "The director tried to create an impact of that using the flashback. But the narrative meanders from the basic objective towards the love track between hero and heroine". Mithun Verma of ''Full Hyderabad'' wrote that "The movie's intentions were sacred, aiming at the increasingly suicidal youth. But the execution will definitely not decrease any, to say the least".

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 3425186 Indian romantic drama films 2000s Telugu-language films Films directed by Balasekaran