Pokiri (2006)

Pokiri (English: Rogue) is a 2006 Indian Telugu action film, written and directed by Puri Jagannadh. The film was produced by Jagannadh and Manjula Ghattamaneni by their respective production companies Vaishno Academy and Indira Productions. The film stars Mahesh Babu and Ileana D'Cruz; Prakash Raj, Nassar and Sayaji Shinde appear in prominent roles. The plot revolves around the life of an undercover police officer, Krishna Manohar, who infiltrates a mafia gang headed by a Dubai-based don Ali Bhai, under the pseudonym Pandu.

Made on a budget of around ₹100—120 million, the film's principal photography commenced in November 2005 and lasted until April 2006. Most of the film was shot in and around Hyderabad and Chennai, except for a song which was shot at the province of Phuket in Thailand and the city of Bangkok. Shyam K. Naidu was the film's cinematographer, and it was edited by Marthand K. Venkatesh. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Mani Sharma.

Pokiri was released on 28 April 2006, to positive critical feedback, and collected a distributor's share of ₹420 million. The film grossed ₹660 million worldwide and remained the highest-grossing Telugu film for three years, until it was surpassed by Magadheera in 2009. The film was also one of the fourteen southern Indian films to be screened at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) Film festival in 2006. The film won four Nandi Awards and two Filmfare Awards. The film's success catapulted D'Cruz into stardom and brought recognition to Jagannadh as a writer and director.

The film was remade into Tamil as Pokkiri in 2007 by Prabhu Deva with Vijay and Asin portraying the lead roles. Deva remade the film into Hindi as Wanted in 2009 with Salman Khan and Ayesha Takia portraying the lead roles. In 2010, the film was again remade in Kannada as Porki by M. V. Sridhar with Darshan and Pranitha Subhash portraying the lead roles.

Synopsis

In Hyderabad, two rival mafia gangs headed by Dubai-based don Ali Bhai, and Narayana resort to criminal activities such as extortion, murder, and coercion for various reasons. The new commissioner of police, Sayyad Mohammad Pasha Qadri, focuses on making the city a better place by working at arresting all of them. Pandu, a remorseless gangster living in Hyderabad along with his friends, is hired by Narayana and attacks Ali Bhai's henchmen. He later joins Ali Bhai's gang for monetary reasons. He falls in love with Shruti, an aerobics teacher, who rejects his advances.

Acteurs