| Anji | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Kodi Ramakrishna |
| Written by | Story & Screenplay: M. S. Art Movies Unit Dialogues: Satyanand |
| Produced by | Shyam Prasad Reddy |
| Starring | Chiranjeevi Namrata Shirodkar Tinnu Anand Nagendra Babu |
| Cinematography | Chota K. Naidu |
| Edited by | K. V. Krishna Reddy |
| Music by | Mani Sharma |
Production company | M. S. Art Movies |
Release date |
|
Running time | 148 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹25–35crore[1] |
Anji is a 2004 IndianTelugu-languagefantasyaction-adventure film directed byKodi Ramakrishna and produced byShyam Prasad Reddy. The film starsChiranjeevi in the titular role, alongsideNamrata Shirodkar,Tinnu Anand andNagendra Babu.[2] The film has music composed byMani Sharma with cinematography byChota K. Naidu. It was produced on an estimated budget of ₹25–35crore, making it the most expensive Telugu film at the time of its release.[1] The story follows Anji's quest to protect the mystical Aatmalingam, which grants immortality every 72 years, from the clutches of the ruthless billionaire Veerendra Bhatia.
The film was in production for over six years, facing multiple delays before its release on 15 January 2004, during theSankranthi festival.[3]Anji received praise for its visual effects and Chiranjeevi's performance, but struggled to achieve commercial success due to its high budget.[4] The film won twoNandi Awards and theNational Film Award for Best Special Effects, marking the first time a Telugu film won aNational Award in that category. Additionally,Anji was featured in theLimca Book of Records as the first Indian film to use3D digital graphics.[5] The film was later dubbed into Hindi asDiler - Daring, Tamil asKollimalai Singam, and Malayalam asChekavan.
TheAtmalingam, a symbol of LordShiva, possesses enormous divine powers. Once every 72 years, theAkasha Ganga (Heavenly dimension of theGanga river from the universe) flows onto the Atmalingam. Those who drink Akasha Ganga's holy water become immortal and gain supernatural powers.
In 1932, during thecolonial rule in India, a greedy youngster named Veerendra Bhatia with two greedytantriks are in search of the Atmalingam from a cave which is guarded by a divinetrident and a giganticcobra. They try to bring it but fail, resulting in the deaths of the two tantriks and Bhatia losing his right hand. The sacred Atmalingam gets swept away in the river and becomes invisible. Time progresses and Bhatia, now 99 years old, searches for the Atmalingam's traces, but in vain. Akasha Ganga is slated to flow to the earth for the Atmalingam in 2004. Finally, he learns about a professor who researched the Atmalingam and the Akasha Ganga and possesses vital information in a red diary.
Fearing for his life and this information, the professor sends the diary to his student Swapna, who is in the USA, so that Bhatia will not be able to become immortal. After receiving the journal, Swapna, sensing danger to her professor, comes back to India in search of him, only to find him killed. While escaping from Bhatia, she runs into Anji, a good samaritan in theUravakonda forest area, who serves the most revered Sivanna, anayurvedic specialist, while also raising fourorphans.
One day, Anji stumbles on the Atmalingam and takes its possession. After learning about it, Bhatia and his men go after Anji and Swapna. As the D-Day of Akasha Ganga is fast approaching, Sivanna tells Anji that the Atmalingam should be sent back to where it belongs. So, Anji and Swapna go to the Himalayas to reinstall the Atmalingam in a temple that was built usingshaligram stones by the legendary kingBhagiratha. The temple becomes visible only after 72 years. Using help from the diary, Anji enters the temple and faces many traps in the temple and survives to reinstall the Atmalingam in thesanctum of the temple. But the evil Bhatia drinks the water before Anji can drink it. One of the orphans gets shot. Anji and Bhatia get into a fight, and at last, LordShiva himself appears and kills Bhatia using histhird eye. Anji manages to run from the temple, and a drop of the holy water revives the orphan who had been shot by Bhatia. Anji, Swapna, and the four orphans return to their home in a helicopter, and the Atmalingam and the temple vanish, never to be seen again.
In May 1997,Zamin Ryot reported thatKodi Ramakrishna would directChiranjeevi in a big-budget film produced byShyam Prasad Reddy.[6] By 24 October 1997, the same newspaper reported that the film would commence on 1 November 1997.[7] A subsequent report inZamin Ryot a week later revealed that Shyam Prasad Reddy had already traveled to theUnited States four times to finalize the graphics work for the project but namedD. Sabapathy as the director instead.[8]
In December 1998,India Today revealed thatTinu Anand would portray acentenarian searching for a magic potion that promises eternal youth.[9] By August 2000,Bhupinder Singh was confirmed as part of the cast,[10] and in March 2001, it was reported that Singh would play the main villain, with Tinu Anand portraying the older version of the character.[11] Additionally, one of thetantriks in the film's opening scene was portrayed by a beggar who frequented theL. V. Prasad Eye Institute.[12]
In June 2000,Idlebrain.com mentioned a tentative release date of 1 October 2000 for the film.[13] By 11 September 2000, producer Shyam Prasad Reddy announced that shooting would be completed by 15 October 2000, with the film set for a 22 December 2000 release.[14] However, Chiranjeevi later revealed in a 16 September 2000 interview withRediff that the film was yet to be titled, with options includingAnji orAkasaganga. He attributed the production delays to the extensive graphics work, which involved 20-24 minutes of 3-D animation, a first in Indian cinema. The graphics were managed by Chris, also known as UK-2, at London’s Digitalia Studio.[15]
By November 2001, filming was almost complete except for the songs, which were planned for December 2001 and January 2002, aiming for a February 2002 release.[16] When questioned about the lengthy production process, director Kodi Ramakrishna noted that the extensive graphics work justified the four-year timeline. He praised Shyam Prasad Reddy for his dedication to making an extraordinary film, rather than opting for a quick profit with a mass-market production.[17]
In January 2002,Telugucinema.com reported the film’s release date as 9 April 2002.[18] By March, it was reported that two songs had been completed, one featuring Chiranjeevi withReema Sen and another with Rajlaxmi, who had recently appeared in a special song in the Hindi filmAsoka (2001). A special number with a Bollywood actress was planned for April 2002, to be filmed on a market-themed set. The report also noted that the film was shot entirely in a forest and revolves around a search for Akasa Ganga, a mystical site containing a powerful Siva Lingam.[19]
In May 2002, producer Shyam Prasad Reddy anticipated completing the graphics work forAnji by 30 July, aiming for a release shortly after 15 August.[20] However, by August, the graphics work was still in progress at Digitalia in the UK, prompting a shift in potential release dates to theDasara festival in 2002 orSankranthi in 2003.[21]
By September 2002,Idlebrain.com reported that the graphic work forAnji was still underway under the supervision of Chris at Digitalia. Producer Shyam Prasad Reddy announced plans to release the film on 9 January 2003 but acknowledged potential delays if the visual effects required additional time. The report also stated that the film's budget was ₹35 crore, including extended production expenses and interest, and thatAnji needed to surpass the success ofIndra (2002) to recover its costs.[22]
In December 2003, Shyam Prasad Reddy confirmed that the film would have a theatrical release with five songs, with the "Gumma Gulabi Komma" song to be filmed and added during the fourth week of its run.[23]
A decade after the film's release, Kodi Ramakrishna revealed that Chiranjeevi wore the same shirt for two years without washing it to maintain continuity. He also mentioned that some scenes required 100 to 120shots.[12][24]
Anji featured digitally enhanced animated characters. Noted director and illustratorBapu created sketches ofLord Siva,Siva Lingam, and an old temple, which served as the basis for models and sets.[5][25] Firefly Creative Studio handled the visual effects for the closing battle, the Lord Siva temple, one of the romantic songs, and theMaha Sivaratri festival scene.[26] The graphics work also involved studios from theUnited States,Singapore, andMalaysia.[12]
Mani Sharma composed the songs and background score for the film.[27][28] The song "Chik Buk Pori" was composed bySri, but Mani Sharma did thererecording of the song.[23][29][30]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chik Buk Pori" | Seetharama Sastry | Kalpana,Shankar Mahadevan | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Gumma Gulabi Komma" | Seetharama Sastry | Karthik,Mahalakshmi Iyer | 5:48 |
| 3. | "Abbo Nee Amma" | Bhuvana Chandra | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,Kalpana | 5:45 |
| 4. | "Om Shanthi" | Chandrabose | Ganga,Shankar Mahadevan | 5:49 |
| 5. | "Manava Manava" | Seetharama Sastry | Sunitha,Tippu | 5:37 |
| 6. | "Mirapakaya Bajji" | Bhuvana Chandra | Radhika,S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 5:57 |
| Total length: | 34:08 | |||
On 5 January 2004, producer Shyam Prasad Reddy announced thatAnji would becensored on 7 January, with a planned release on 9 January. However, on 7 January, MS Arts confirmed that the release had been postponed to 14 January due to delays in finalizing the graphics.[31]
On 8 January, conflicting release dates were reported in different newspapers, withVaartha listing 14 January andAndhra Jyothi listing 15 January. The confusion arose because the decision to postpone the release was made late on the night of 7 January, and by the time the news was communicated to the media,Vaartha had already printed its editions. The official release date was eventually confirmed as 15 January.[31]
To ensure timely delivery of the film prints, Mohini Films, the distributors for the Vizag region, booked a privateair cargo to transport the prints fromHyderabad toVizag—an unprecedented move inTelugu cinema.[31] Despite the logistical challenges,Anji successfully released on 15 January 2004 during theSankranthi festival. However, due to delays in printing the necessary number of film prints, the release was pushed to 16 January in some regions.[31]
Jeevi ofIdlebrain.com rated the film 3 out of 5, commending the visual effects and Chiranjeevi's performance while criticising the screenplay and direction.[32] A critic fromSify rated the film 3/5 and wrote, "Despite all those special effects the film is unimpressive as the subject and style is outdated."[33] A critic fromDeccan Herald noted, "Anji teaches us how to make a movie out of a logic-defying story".[34]Telugu Cinema wrote "Telugu Cinema audience generally come to a movie to watch the (their) hero play the "hero" in the movie. mRgaraaju was a disaster because of the same reason - the audience expected Chiranjeevi to kill the lion in the second reel, but the movie was dragged for 14 reels! Even in anji, the special effets overshadowed the hero, and this might be a negative point for the movie in the long run. The movie is definitely worth a watch, or good even for a repeated audience, though, if one does not expect Chiranjeevi (in the movie) to be omnipresent and omnipotent".[35]
Anji, which has been in production for more than seven years, is the costliest film ever made in Tollywood. Producer Shyam Prasad Reddy is said to have spent around Rs 25 crore for this film.
The Rs 28-crore film, which took nearly six years to complete .....
The Chiranjeevi-starrer Anji didn't run for long though the film took over Rs 30 crore and five years to complete.
According to the reliable sources, Anji's total budget has been 35 crores (if we include the interest rates and other expenses as it is being made for so many years).
The Rs 28-crore film, which took nearly six years to complete .....
Only graphic work is pending for the film. This film would get released as soon as the work is completed at Digitalia, UK. Anji might be released either for Dasara 2002 or Sankranthi 2003.
When shooting for Anji, we needed an illustration of Nataraja in full flow for the animation. Producer Shyam Prasad Reddy approached Bapu garu for the illustration and he readily obliged.
Creatives for visual effects: Bapu
