Vikramarkudu

Vikramarkudu is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language action drama film co-written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli, based on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad. Produced by M. L. Kumar Chowdary, the film stars Ravi Teja and Anushka. The music was composed by M. M. Keeravani, with cinematography by Sarvesh Murari. The plot follows a thief who encounters a young girl claiming to be his daughter, leading him to uncover his connection to her real father, a look-alike with a turbulent past.

Vikramarkudu was released on 23 June 2006 with 180 prints globally. Made on a budget of ₹110 million (equivalent to ₹350 million or US$4.2 million in 2023), Vikramarkudu was a commercial blockbuster earning a distributor share of ₹189 million (equivalent to ₹610 million or US$7.2 million in 2023). The film was screened at the International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section.

The film was remade in several languages, including Bangladeshi Bengali as Ulta Palta 69 (2007), Kannada as Veera Madakari (2009), Tamil as Siruthai (2011), Hindi as Rowdy Rathore (2012), Indian Bengali as Bikram Singha (2012), and once again in Bangladeshi Bengali as Action Jasmine (2015), featuring a female lead.

Atthili Satthi Babu indulges in thievery with his uncle Duvva Abbulu in Hyderabad; he chances upon Neeraja Goswami, a resident of Devgarh, Madhya Pradesh, in a wedding she has come to attend. He flirts with Neeraja. After a lot of teasing and flirting, they fall in love. Eventually, Satthi Babu admits his profession and promises to abandon robbing for good, but resolves to exploit one last person to amass a massive amount of money. In the railway station, Satthi Babu and Abbulu deceive a woman, who entrusts them with a trunk they flee with. Mahanthi, a police official, inspects the trunk, and in it, he discovers Neha, a young girl, who presumes Satthi Babu to be her father; he believes her and compels Satthi Babu to look after the child and tells him that he will keep monitoring them. As Satthi Babu unsuccessfully attempts to get rid of her, Satthi Babu investigates the stuff Neha had in the trunk; he uncovers a portrait of Neha with her father, Satthi Babu’s lookalike. Meanwhile we see Satthi Babu’s Look alike killing a man and when he’s being chased by a few men he hides but same time Satthi Babu arrives, to save him The look alike runs again n gets chased, suddenly feels extreme pain in his head and falls in an under construction site, later at the hospital it’s revealed as Vikram Singh Rathore, and he has brain tumour but he is aching to meet his daughter.

One day, Satthi Babu returns Drunk and, in anger, breaks Neha’s Walkman. He wakes up to find her weeping as she can’t listen to her Dead Mother’s Song anymore, and this melts His heart. He fixes the Walkman and plays the song again, for which Neha hugs him. Eventually, Satthi Babu empathize with Neha and begins to care for her; Neeraja and her parents overhear Neha addressing Satthi Babu as her father. Assuming that Satthi Babu has been deceiving her despite being the father of a daughter, Neeraja ends their relationship and departs. Later, goons attack Satthi Babu and Neha, misinterpreting the former to be Vikram Singh Rathore IPS, Neha's father, and Satthi Babu's doppelgänger.

Mahanti, Sub-inspector Razia (the woman who was carrying the trunk), and a few other police officials come to their rescue, but they are overpowered. Subsequently, Vikram arrives to protect his daughter and Satthi Babu and kills all the goons, but is severely wounded. In the hospital, Mahanthi narrates Vikram's past to Satthi Babu and Abbulu.

In a flashback, Vikram receives his posting in Devgarh and relocates with Neha, his motherless daughter; he is introduced to his colleagues, Mahanthi and Razia. The inhabitants of Devgarh are tormented in the cruel reign of MLA Bavuji, a psychopath who carries out corruption, money laundering, and several other illegal activities. His son Munna abducts Mahanthi's wife and keeps raping her. When Vikram discovers this, he rushes to rescue her and apprehends Munna, ignorant of Bavuji's influence. However, Bavuji is assisted by Home Minister. The DGP, succumbing to the Home Minister's pressure, warns Vikram of consequences, berating his fearlessness, but he comes up with an intelligent answer and refuses to back off. Munna is proclaimed mentally unstable and acquitted of all the charges. A party is organised to celebrate his release, and Vikram and his team are deputed to secure Munna during the party. Under the pretext of a game, Munna humiliates a police officer and forces him to disrobe himself but Rathore prompts him to slip due to bullets and hang onto a belt, killing him. On Holi, Titla, Bavuji's brother, stabs Vikram under the guise of an idol and shoots him as he tries to protect a trapped kid. He is presumed to be dead but survives and sustains an injury to the brain. The villagers conceal his survival, and he is moved to Hyderabad for treatment. To keep Neha in the dark about her father's condition, the police officials direct her to Satthi Babu upon discovering that he is Vikram's doppelgänger.

Presently, the doctors declare Vikram dead, and everyone chooses to keep it hidden from Neha, who still believes Satthi Babu to be her father. To avenge Vikram's death, Satthi Babu returns to Devgarh, poses as Vikram, and targets Bavuji. Abbulu and others reveal the truth to Neeraja, who apologizes to Satthi Babu & reconciles with him and agrees to take care of Neha alongside him. Satthi Babu sets fire to Bavuji's wine factory and directs the villagers to rob his food storage. He defeats Bavuji's men and has him beaten up. Titla kidnaps Neha and Neeraja, but Satthi Babu fights him and hangs him to death. Having settled scores, Satthi Babu leaves for a new life with Neeraja, Neha, and Abbulu.