Anji (film)
Anji is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna form a screenplay by Satyanand. Produced by Shyam Prasad Reddy, the film stars Chiranjeevi and Namrata Shirodkar while Tinnu Anand and Nagendra Babu play supporting roles. The film has music composed by Mani Sharma with cinematography by Chota K. Naidu.
| Anji | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kodi Ramakrishna |
| Produced by | Shyam Prasad Reddy |
| Written by | Satyanand |
| Starring | Chiranjeevi Namrata Shirodkar Tinnu Anand Nagendra Babu |
| Music by | Mani Sharma |
| Cinematography | Chota K. Naidu |
| Edited by | K. V. Krishna Reddy |
Production company | M. S. Art Movies |
Release date |
|
Running time | 148 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Box office | ₹5 crore< [1] |
Though the film is noted for its special effects, it was not commercially successful owing to its high budget.[2] In addition to two Nandi Awards, the film received National Film Award for Best Special Effects, becoming the first Telugu film to win a National Award in that category.
Plot
The Aatmalingam of the Himalayas possesses enormous divine powers. Once every 72 years, The Akasa Ganga from the sky flows into Aatmalingam. Those who drink Akasaganga's holy water become immortal and gain supernatural powers.
In 1932, during the colonial rule in India a youngster named Bhatia with two greedy tantriks in search for the Atmalingam from a cave which is guarded by a divine trishul & a gigantic cobra. They try to bring it but were failed resulting in the deaths of the two tantriks & Bhatia loses his right hand in the process. The sacred Aatmalingam gets swept away in the river & becomes invisible. As time progresses, Bhatia is now 99 years old. He searches for the Aatmalingam's traces, but in vain. The Akasaganga is slated to flow to earth for the Atmalingam in 2004. Finally, he gets to know about a professor who made a lifetime research on the Aatmalingam and Akasaganga who possesses vital information in a red diary.
Fearing for his life and this information, the professor sends the diary to his student Swapna, who is in the USA so that Bhatia will not be able to get immortal. After receiving the diary, Swapna, sensing danger to her professor, comes back to India in search of him, only to find him killed. While escaping from Bhatia, she runs into Anji , a Good Samaritan in the Uravakonda forest area who serves the most revered Sivanna, an ayurvedic specialist, while also raising four orphans.
One day, Anji stumbles on the Aatmalingam and gets it into his possession. After coming to know about it, Bhatia and his men are after Anji and Swapna. As the D-Day of Akasa Ganga is fast approaching, Sivanna advises Anji that the Aatmalingam should be sent back to where it belongs. So, Anji goes to the Himalayas to restore Aatmalingam in a temple which is built using Shaligram. The temple becomes visible only after 72 years. Anji faces many traps in the temple. But survives to restore Aatmalingam. But Bhatia drinks the water before Anji could drink it. One of the orphans gets shot. Anji and Bhatia get into a full-fledged fight and at last, Mahakalabhairava appears and kills Bhatia using his third eye. Anji manages to run away from the temple and a drop of the holy water revives the orphan who had been shot. Anji, Swapna and the 4 orphans return to their home and the Aatmalingam and the temple vanishes, never to be seen again.
Cast
- Chiranjeevi as Anji
- Namrata Shirodkar as Swapna
- Tinnu Anand as Veerendra Bhatia
- Nagendra Babu as Sivanna
- Bhupinder Singh as Young Bhatia
- Rajyalakshmi
- M. S. Narayana
- Akshay Reddy as Master Akshay
- Bharat as Master Bharat
- Vamsi as Master Vamsi
- Meghna Gummi as Baby Meghna
- Keerthana as Baby Keerthana
- Nithya as Baby Nithya
- Saraswatamma
- Madhusudhan Rao as Bhatia's henchman (uncredited)
- Ramya Krishna has a special appearance in song "Chikbuk Pori"
- Reema Sen has a special appearance in the song "Mirapakaya Bajji"
- Rajlaxmi Roy has a special appearance in the song "Manava Manava"
Production
The film was officially launched on May 1997. Shooting of the film began on 10 October 1997.
Soundtrack
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chikbuk Pori" (pictured Chiranjeevi & Ramya Krishna) | Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry | Kalpana & Shankar Mahadevan | |
| 2. | "Gumma Gulabi Komma" (pictured Chiranjeevi) | Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry | Karthik & Shalini Singh | |
| 3. | "Abbo Nee Amma Goppade" (pictured Chiranjeevi & Namrata Shirodkar) | Bhuvana Chandra | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Kalpana | |
| 4. | "Mirapakaya Bajji" (pictured Chiranjeevi & Reema Sen) | Bosubabu Siddey | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam & Radhika | |
| 5. | "Manava Manava" (Chiranjeevi & Rajlaxmi Khanvilkar (Roy)) | Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry | Sunita & Tippu | |
| 6. | "Om Santhi Om Santhi" (pictured Chiranjeevi & Namrata Shirodkar) | Chandrabose | Ganga Sitharasu & Shankar Mahadevan |
Reception
Sify rated the film 3/5 and wrote, "Despite all those special effects the film is unimpressive as the subject and style is outdated."[3]
Awards
- Best Special Effects – Sanath
- Best Cinematographer – Chota K. Naidu
- Best Makeup Artist – Chandra Rao[4]
References
- Anji budget was 18 crore
- "'Lakshmi Narasimha' VS 'Anji' in 2004". The Times of India. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- "Anji". Sify. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- "Nandi Film Awards G.O and Results 2004". APSFTVTDC.
