Badri (2000 film)

Badri
Badri Movie Poster
Directed by	Puri Jagannadh
Written by	Puri Jagannadh
Produced by	T. Trivikrama Rao
Starring	Pawan Kalyan Amisha Patel Renu Desai
Cinematography	Madhu Ambat
Edited by	Marthand K. Venkatesh
Music by	Ramana Gogula
Production company	Vijaya Lakhshmi Movies
Release date	20 April 2000 (2000-04-20)
Running time	158 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Badri is a 2000 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film directed by Puri Jagannadh in his directorial debut. The film stars Pawan Kalyan, Amisha Patel, Renu Desai and Prakash Raj. This film marks the South Indian debut of Amisha Patel. The film's music was composed by Ramana Gogula, which marks his second collaboration with Pawan Kalyan after Thammudu (1999).^[1]

The film became a blockbuster at the box office.^[2] The film's dialogues and songs were huge hits with the youth. The dialogue "Nuvvu Nanda aithe nenu Badri Badrinath" and songs like "Ye Chikitha" and "Bangala Kathamlo" continued to be popular even after two decades.^[3] Puri Jagannadh later remade it in Hindi as Shart: The Challenge (2004).^[4]

Badri is an ad agency director who is challenged by his fiancé Vennela that no other girl on earth would probably love him more than Vennela does. Badri takes up the challenge immediately, where Vennela shows a beautiful girl named Sarayu and asks him to approach her. After a few meetings, Sarayu falls for Badri. However, Sarayu's brother Nanda, who is excessively fond and protective of Sarayu, wants to finish Badri as he knows that Badri and Vennela are destined for marriage, but all goes well as Badri realizes his love for Sarayu and reunites with her with Vennela and Nanda's approval.

Pawan Kalyan, already a successful actor with hits like Suswagatham (1998), Tholi Prema (1998), and Thammudu (1999), took a risk by working with new director Puri Jagannadh for Badri. The film was produced by T. Trivikram Rao, with its muhurtham shot being given a clap by Chiranjeevi.^[3]

The film employed a unique approach with its title cards, placing the names of the heroines first, followed by Prakash Raj, and then Pawan Kalyan, surprising the industry.^[2]

The music was composed by Ramana Gogula and it was released on Aditya Music. The song "Ye Chiquita" became one of the top songs almost for a year.

Badri initially received a lukewarm response on its release day but quickly turned into a blockbuster, helping to establish Puri Jagannadh as a director in Tollywood.^[2] The film went on to become a huge success, earning over ₹18 crore as distributor share.^[3]

The film became a blockbuster at the box office and its dialogues and songs were huge hits with the youth.^[3] The dialogue "Nuvvu Nanda aithe nenu Badri Badrinath" and songs like "Ye Chikitha" and "Bangala Kathamlo" continued to be popular even after two decades.^[2][3]

Badri played a crucial role in expanding Pawan Kalyan's appeal from class audiences, who admired his earlier hits like Suswagatham, Tholi Prema, and Thammudu, to a broader mass audience.^[2] The film, especially the intense scenes between Pawan Kalyan and Prakash Raj, remains a significant highlight in Pawan's career and continues to resonate in discussions about mass cinema.^[2]

• Badri at IMDb
• Sify review