### OKKADU ###

Directed by	Gunasekhar
Produced by	M.S. Raju
Written by	Gunasekhar, Paruchuri Brothers
Starring	Mahesh Babu Bhumika Chawla Prakash Raj Mukesh Rishi Geetha
Editing by	A. Sreekar Prasad
Release date(s)	January 15, 2003
Language	Telugu
Budget	Rs.15 crores

Cast

• Mahesh Babu ... Ajay
• Bhoomika Chawla ... Swapna
• Mukesh Rishi ... Assistant Commissioner of Police (Father of Ajay)
• Prakash Raj ... Obul Reddy
• Geetha ... Mother of Ajay

Music The music for the film was composed by Mani Sharma. The lyrics were written by Sirivennela. Hare rama (sung by Shankar Mahadevan) Nuvvemmaya Chesavokaani (Shreya Ghosal) Sahasam Swasaga (Mallikharjun) Cheppave Chirugaali (Sujitha and Udit Narayan) Hai re hai (Karthik and K. S. Chitra) Atharintiki (Hariharan, Shreya Ghosal and the Priya sisters)
Production M.S. Raju,who is known to produce films with technicians/actors when they were down with failures,decided to make a film with director Gunasekhar,whose previous venture Mrigaraju bombed at the box office.Mahesh Babu was selected as the hero after his performance in Murari which inspired M.S. Raju.

Release

• The film released on 15 January 2003 with 150 prints in 225 screens.
• The audio was released on 19 December 2002.

Box-office performance

• The film collected a share of Rs.47.8 million in its opening week in Andhra Pradesh.It collected a distributors' share of nearly Rs.300-350 million (Inflation adjusted).
• The film had a successful 50-day run in 144 centres.
• The film had a successful 100-day run in 100 centres.
• The film had a 175 day run in 10 centres.

Filmfare Awards

• Best Film - M.S. Raju
• Best Director - Gunasekhar
  
  
  
  
• Best Actor - Mahesh Babu
• Best Music Director - Mani Sharma

[edit] Santosham Film Awards

• Best Film - M.S. Raju
• Best Villain - Prakash Raj
• Best Art Direction - Ashok

Trivia

• The movie was remade into Tamil, under the name Ghilli (2004), starring Vijay and Trisha Krishnan.
• The film was made into Kannada as Aajay (2006) starring Puneet Rajkumar and Prakash Raj.
• The first 15 minutes of the movie, is an adaptation of the hollywood classic West Side Story

Dialogues: Dialogues in this film are apt and well measured. Paruchuri brothers have done neat job in dialogues department. There are few effective mass dialogues in the film that elevated situations.

1. Mahesh: 'Nenu Kurnool Kabaddi aadataatiki Vachaanu. Kaani vere aata aadavalasi vachindi'
2. Prakash Raj to Mukesh Rushi (while taking Mahesh Babu in a Sumo to kill him): Em ACP! Nee kodukuni teesukuveltaante neeku tension gaa vunda?
Mukesh Rushi to Prakash Raj: 'avunu. Tension gaa vundi. Naa koduku gurinchi kaadu. Mee gurinchi'
3. Mahesh to Prakash Raj: 'Tella chokka vesukunna prativaadu factionist kaadu'
4. The dialogues where Bhumika humiliates Prakash Raj by talking about magatanam

Photography: Photography by Sekhar V Joseph is excellent. Cinematography is one of the outstanding aspects of Okkadu.

Sets: Set work by Ashok Kumar is very good. The 2 crore worth Charminar set is very good. And the devadas kind of set for the last song in this film is also exceptionally good.

Editing: Editing by Srikar Prasad is crisp. His sharp editing kept the pace of film in good condition.

Lyrics: As said by Sirivennela in audio function, the songs of the film are interlaced in the narration of story. All songs narrated the storyline and the mood of the film.

Stunts: Stunts for this film are extraordinary. The stunts have rich technique associated with it, but at the same time the mass fights (naatu kottudu) are rightly composed to enthrall the masses. First fight and last fight of the film are extraordinary.

Music: Mani Sharma has given excellent songs and background music. He can be proud of his 50th film. Here is the sequence of songs in the film