It was an evening. When Krishna vamsi was smoking, his friend was talking to him about few curses that destroyed families. Krishna vamsi refused to believe in that and thought what nonsense. Later, an idea struck his creative mind. He developed a story about a young man who suffers due to a mistake that his ancestor made. That’s how Murari materialized.
Producer ramalingeswara rao is a huge fan of superstar Krishna. He wanted to make a film with Krishna vamsi as director and mahesh babu as hero. Till then, mahesh’s career as a hero didn’t quite take off. The debut was brilliant with Rajakumarudu becoming a smashing hit and even entering top 5 in many towns in the Telugu states. However, his next two films haven’t quite satisfied the audience. When thinking about a story, superstar Krishna wanted vamsi to make a romantic entertainer with mahesh. Vamsi had other ideas and pitched in this story. Even though Krishna and mahesh were hesitant, they went ahead with Vamsi’s decision. When thinking of a crucial song in the film, Krishna vamsi wanted a marriage song while superstar Krishna wanted a duet like “aunty koothura”. Vamsi believed that a classical marriage song will be remembered for decades together and will also suit the story. Vamsi was stubborn and everyone agreed.
After many hurdles, the film was supposed to release for Sankranti. Delays in post production and a crowded 2001 Sankranti with 3 Star heroes ( Chiru, Balayya, Venky) meant that the film had to arrive for February. The trade was extremely doubtful that the film will work in a dry season like February. The film released on February 17th. The initial talk was worrying. The length was said to be a drawback. Director vamsi refused to trim the film. Slowly, the response started to improve. Families started loving the film mainly for Vamsi’s taking, lead pair, mani sharma’s magical, and mahesh’s performance. Mahesh’s performance was praised by critics and audience. His performance in climax is hailed till today as one of the best in the history of Telugu cinema.
This film created a special image for superstar mahesh in family audience and A centers. It was the birth of an actor and birth of a star. It was also the film that created an own image and aura for mahesh babu. In many interviews, mahesh mentioned that his father patted him on his shoulder for his performance in the climax. He deserved that sort of applause for his wonderful acting. The film became a super hit and collected a double digit share despite coming in a dry season like February and with its limited appeal. It’s a memorable film that became an evergreen classic. The belief of actor mahesh, producer ramalingeswara rao, and superstar Krishna in creative director Krishna vamsi has paid off both at the box office and earned immense applause. The response for this 23 year old film today shows its status. An evergreen film for the industry.
