Gayatri (2018 film)

Dasari Sivaji, a stage artist by profession, runs Sarada Sadan, named after his late wife Shaarada, to help destitute children. One day, he rescues a girl named Gayatri from goons. Sivaji gets a call from Gayatri, and when he looks at her phone screen, he realizes that it is Shaarada. Sivaji then finds out that Gayatri is his long-lost daughter. He comes to her college graduation, where she says that she does not know how her father looks but only knows that he is a heartless brute as he sold her for 1,000 rupees in order to buy a bottle of liquor. Sivaji is distraught and later walks away to a temple. Gayatri is later told by Sivaji's friend Prasad that Sivaji is her father. Prasad hands Sivaji's diary to Gayatri, and she learns about Sivaji's past.

A young Sivaji is an orphan who found his calling in acting. He falls in love with Shaarada and marries her. One day, he fights some goons led by the MLA of their caste. Shaarada then talks to Sivaji and says that she would like to see him as a hero and not a rowdy. However, one day, Shaarada dies. The doctor tells Sivaji that she is suffering from stage three pelvic cancer and that he has to arrange a large amount of money to finance her treatment. Giri, Sivaji's friend, tells Sivaji that a man was refused bail and that if Sivaji goes to jail for two days, the amount will be paid. Later, a drunk Giri confesses to Sivaji that Shaarada and her daughter, whom she was pregnant with, passed away. Sivaji gets upset and tries to end his life by having a train hit him. Giri saves him but loses his life while doing so. Before Giri dies, he reveals that the baby was alive and that he thought of selling the baby for a bottle of liquor. The baby, Gayatri, grew up in Ramanujam Orphanage. On her birthday, she is gifted with a photo of her mother Shaarada, who died as soon as she delivered her.

The film goes back to the present, where Gayatri and Prasad go to Sivaji's house to try to find him, but to no avail. Sivaji is still at the temple, but he gets hit on the head and captured by goons. Gayatri and Prasad then go to the temple but do not find Sivaji. The goons who captured Sivaji turn out to be the henchmen of his lookalike, Gayatri Patel. Sivaji later meets Gayatri Patel in person. Soon after, Gayatri Patel soon gets arrested and sentenced to the death penalty for burning down a hospital, but Sivaji gets implicated in the case. Sivaji confesses to a police officer that he is Sivaji and not Gayatri Patel, but the police officer knew that he was Sivaji. Gayatri Patel calls Sivaji and tells him that the former's death sentence was because a girl was a witness to the crime, and that girl was none other than Gayatri. Gayatri Patel now wants to kill Sivaji.

Gayatri Patel (as Sivaji) then comes to Gayatri's house, where Gayatri apologizes to "him" for misunderstanding him. While Sivaji (as Gayatri Patel) is in jail, news reporter Shreshta Jayaram tells him that Gayatri Patel has gone to his house disguised as him. At Gayatri's house, Shreshta later interviews her and Gayatri Patel. While interviewing Gayatri Patel (as Sivaji), Shreshta secretly tells Gayatri that her "father" is Gayatri Patel and not Sivaji. However, Gayatri accuses Shreshta of calling her "father" an impostor. Meanwhile, Sivaji (as Gayatri Patel) is sentenced to the death penalty. In jail, Sivaji (as Gayatri Patel) tells Shreshta that his last wish is to watch Sivaji's acting. Many people want Sivaji to fulfill Gayatri Patel's wish. However, Gayatri Patel wants to replace Sivaji and asks his lawyer to book his flight to the US. As Gayatri Patel and Gayatri are in the car, the news reports say that Sivaji is ignoring Gayatri Patel's plea. Gayatri Patel (as Sivaji) is then questioned by numerous people, and Gayatri begs Gayatri Patel to do the wish. Gayatri Patel then does so and is lauded with applause.

Gayatri and Gayatri Patel then visit the jail, where Sivaji is there. Gayatri then reunites with him. The jailer realizes Sivaji's humanitarian nature and decides to have Gayatri Patel hanged. While Sivaji and Gayatri are leaving, Gayatri Patel attacks Sivaji, and both get into a fight. The police are not able to distinguish between the two even when they chant mantras. Soon, Gayatri is able to shoot Gayatri Patel. The film ends with Sivaji and Gayatri leaving the jail.

After a break of two years, Mohan Babu announced the film Gayatri, where he will be playing a dual role, the hero and the villain, produced by himself under the banner Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures co-starring his son Vishnu Manchu and Shriya Saran. Actors Brahmanandam, Posani Krishna Murali, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Tanikella Bharani, and Ali were signed to play important roles with S. Thaman providing the music. The film was shot at Tirupati and Ramoji Film City. Actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, who was shooting for Jai Simha, visited Gayatri crew and wished success.[7] Action director Kanal Kannan captured a fight sequence between Mohan Babu's that lasted for 11 days using Nero motion control rig used extensively for VFX.[8] The first look of the film was launched on 25 December 2017[9] and Vishnu Manchu-Shriya Saran's first look was launched on 1 January 2018.[10]

The music was composed by S. Thaman and released on Silly Monks Music.

Deccan Chronicle rated the film with 2.5 stars and wrote, "the film is strictly for Mohan Babu fans only and for others, the choice remain with us".[12] Firstpost wrote that the film could have been a taut thriller, but doesn't quite hit the mark saying Gayatri is a film tailor-made for Mohan Babu.[13] New Indian Express wrote that the "film packs a punch for the commendable performance of Mohan Babu and makes for a decent watch".[14]

• Gayatri at IMDb