Varsham () is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film directed by Sobhan and produced by M.S. Raju under Sumanth Art Productions banner. The film stars Prabhas and Trisha in the lead roles while, Gopichand, Prakash Raj, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, and Chandra Mohan appear in supporting roles. The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad, while the cinematography was handled by S. Gopal Reddy.

Varsham emerged as a blockbuster, marking a breakthrough for Prabhas and established Trisha as a leading actress in Telugu cinema. It collected a distributor's share of ₹21 crore at the box office and became the second-highest Telugu grossing film of 2004. The film was dubbed in Tamil as Singamagan. The film's success led to remakes in Tamil as Mazhai (2005) and again in Hindi as Baaghi (2016).

Plot Venkat, an unemployed youth, meets Sailaja, a middle-class woman, on a train journey to Warangal. They bond instantly after dancing together in a sudden rainstorm. During the same time, Sailaja attracts the attention of Bhadranna, a ruthless and influential factionist leader who becomes obsessed with her. Venkat and Sailaja encounter each other repeatedly, each meeting marked by unexpected rainfall, and gradually fall in love.

Sailaja's selfish father, Ranga Rao, is approached by Bhadranna with a marriage proposal for Sailaja, and he readily accepts. However, when a film producer named Seenayya offers Sailaja an opportunity to act in his film, Ranga Rao realizes that acting is far more lucrative. To clear the path for her acting career, Ranga Rao creates misunderstandings between Venkat and Sailaja, causing them to break up. Ranga Rao then relocates to the city with Sailaja, while a heartbroken Venkat moves to Vizag to work with his uncle as a quarry demolition expert.

Meanwhile, Sailaja rises to stardom as a successful actress. Having been scammed by Ranga Rao, Bhadranna tracks Sailaja down, kidnaps her, and attempts to force her into marriage. With shooting brought to a halt, a desperate Seenayya seeks Venkat's help on Ranga Rao's suggestion, knowing Venkat's resourcefulness. Venkat agrees to rescue Sailaja and infiltrates Bhadranna's hideout, engaging his henchmen in a intense battle.

During the rescue, Sailaja learns the truth behind her father's deception, clears her misunderstandings with Venkat, and the two reconcile. Enraged by the escape, Bhadranna murders his own brother, Kasi, for failing to secure Sailaja. Seeking vengeance, Bhadranna tracks the couple to a local festival in Warangal and stabs Venkat during the celebrations. Despite his injuries, Venkat overpowers Bhadranna. As Venkat and Sailaja embrace, a burning effigy of Ravana collapses onto the defeated Bhadranna, killing him. With the threat eliminated, Venkat and Sailaja happily reunite as rain begins to fall once again.

Cast

Soundtrack

Music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad and all lyrics were penned by Sirivennela Seetaaraama Saastry. Music was released on Aditya Music. Soundtrack album was released on 18 December 2003 through Aditya Music at the film's audio launch event at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad. NaChaKi of Telugu Cinema wrote "DeviSri Prasad comes up with songs that can be elevated by visuals, but also can stand by themselves. Most numbers are mass-oriented and he uses his orchestra deftly to create the moods for the songs. Particular mention of the lyrics is surely necessary for this album. Seetarama Sastry penned all the lyrics and adds another 'single-card' to his credit. What is worth mentioning is his rendition of mass-oriented songs in a freely flowing, catchy manner using simple words and some words that are getting extinct, so to say!"

Release Reception Jeevi of Idlebrain.com wrote, "It's a love story with good technical values. You may definitely watch this film". A critic for Sify wrote, "The major drawback of Varsham is the second half, which has an overdose of violence and narration is marred by two dream songs. The director Shobhan loses grip on the story after the fast paced first half. Still Varsham is worth a look".

Box office The film celebrated a 50-day run in 125 centers and the film celebrated its silver jubilee (175 days) celebration with Chiranjeevi attending as the chief guest.

Re-release This movie was re-released on 11 November 2022 with a 4K resolution.

Awards and nominations Awards Category Nominee ResultNandi AwardsBest Female Playback SingerK. S. Chithra (for song "Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana ")Best ChoreographerPrabhu DevaBest AudiographerMadhusudan Reddy52nd Filmfare Awards SouthBest FilmVarsham (M. S. Raju)Best ActorPrabhasBest ActressTrishaBest VillainGopichandBest Music DirectorDevi Sri PrasadBest Female Playback SingerK. S. Chithra (for song "Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana")Best CinematographerS. Gopal ReddyCineMAA AwardsBest FilmVarsham (M. S. Raju)Sensational HeroPrabhasBest ActressTrishaBest VillainGopichandBest ChoreographerPrabhu DevaBest Music DirectorDevi Sri PrasadBest CinematographerS. Gopal ReddySantosham Film AwardsBest FilmVarsham (M. S. Raju)Best ActressTrishaBest Young PerformerPrabhasBest Music DirectorDevi Sri PrasadBest Female Playback SingerK. S. Chithra (for song "Nuvvosthanante")Best LyricistSirivennela Sitarama SastryBest CinematographerS. Gopal ReddyBest ChoreographerPrabhu DevaBest ScreenplayM. S. RajuBest DialogueParuchuri Brothers

References

External links