Pokiri

2006 film by Puri Jagannadh
the 2007 Tamil remake

On 3 November 2004, Jagannadh met Mahesh Babu at the Taj Hotel in Hyderabad to outline the film's plot. It told the story of Uttam Singh, an undercover police officer, infiltrating a mafia gang as a criminal, with the intention of killing its kingpin. Babu liked the script but suggested Jagannadh tweak the script's backdrop to suit the Telugu speaking peoples' sensibilities. Jagannadh agreed and also replaced the existing title with Pokiri. Babu wanted the film's production to begin in 2005 allowing him to complete his current commitments. While he waited for Babu, Jagannadh directed Nagarjuna in Super (2005). While reworking the script, Jagannadh took inspiration from Marana Mrudangam (1988) and State Rowdy (1989). Pokiri was produced jointly by Jagannadh and Manjula Ghattamaneni's production companies, Vaishno Academy and Indira Productions respectively, on a budget of 1012 crore.

For Pokiri, Babu sported a longer hair style than in his previous films and shed five kilograms of weight. He used a new wardrobe and the same pair of shoes throughout the film. Jagannadh wanted to cast Ayesha Takia as the female lead. Due to a last minute change, the makers opted to replace Takia and considered several actresses including Deepika Padukone. Jagannadh approached Parvati Melton to play the female lead. She declined the offer because, at that time, her parents were against her decision to become an actress. He also approached Kangana Ranaut who could not accept the role because of scheduling conflicts with the filming of her scenes in Gangster (2006). After seeing stills of Ileana in her Telugu debut Devadasu (2006), Jagannadh signed her as the female lead since he needed a girl who looked like a teenager to play the role of the aerobics teacher. Sayaji Shinde and Nassar played the two other principal characters in the film. Jyothi Rana played the role of the mafia kingpin's moll, marking her debut in Telugu cinema. Mumaith Khan performed an item number in the film. Jagannadh wrote the film's story, screenplay and dialogue with Meher Ramesh assisting him as script associate. Though having worked with Chakri many times in the past, at Babu's suggestion, Jagannadh instead chose Mani Sharma to compose the film's music. Shyam K. Naidu was the film's cinematographer and Marthand K. Venkatesh its editor. Chinna and Krishna were the film's art director and executive producer respectively. Most of the scenes were shot in a single take though it took time for Babu to adjust to Jagannadh's style of filmmaking. Chennai based stylist Chaitanya Rao designed the costume styling for Babu and Ileana. By late February 2006, eighty percent of the film shoot had been completed with the film's climax and two songs remaining. This made it Babu's fastest shot Telugu film with him in the lead role. The song "Gala Gala" was shot in the province of Phuket in Thailand, and the city of Bangkok. Prior to the filming of the song "Jagadame", Shyam K. Naidu was busy on the set of Munna (2007) and was unable to shoot it so cinematographer K. V. Guhan, who had worked on Babu's Athadu (2005), was recruited instead. The film's climax sequences were shot in March 2006 at the defunct Binny Mills located in Chennai under the supervision of FEFSI Vijayan.

The official soundtrack of Pokiri was composed by Mani Sharma, with lyrics written by Bhaskarabhatla, Kandikonda, and Viswa. Jagannadh wanted Sharma to compose six songs, with two duets between the lead pair, three solo numbers by the male lead, and an item number. The film's soundtrack, marketed by Aditya Music, was released on 26 March 2006, at Hotel Viceroy in Hyderabad with Babu's father Krishna attending the event as the guest of honour. Sify called the soundtrack a peppy one and chose "Gala Gala" as the pick of the album. Cinegoer rated the soundtrack 3 out of 5 stars and stated: "The first time you hear Pokiri, the sound of it is good; it doesn't start to grow on you after a while, but a few of the numbers are hummable and ring in your ears", calling it a "mixed bag for Mani Sharma". The reviewer chose "Dole Dole" and "Gala Gala" as the picks of the album, rating each 3.5 out of 5.

Pokiri was scheduled for a worldwide release on 21 April 2006. clashing with the release of Bangaram and Veerabhadra. The film received an 'A' (Adults Only) certificate from the CBFC for containing obscene sequences and excessive violence. Dil Raju Sri Venkateswara Creations, Mallikharjuna films and Great India films acquired the theatrical distribution rights of Nizam, Ceded and overseas regions respectively.

Pokiri was re released in theaters worldwide on 9 August 2022, coinciding with Babu's birthday, with remastered picture and sound.

Pokiri received positive reviews from critics with praise for its direction, screenwriting, dialogues, soundtrack, musical score, plot twist, action sequences and Mahesh Babu's performance.

The Hindu wrote: "An out and out action flick, one can see the director's thirst to cash in on the audience craze for such films. Nevertheless it's Mahesh Babu's show all the way. Mahesh's understated performance in Pokiri allows him to effortlessly reclaim the title of a star, overshadowing more questionable recent career choices." Sify wrote "Pokiri was designed as a mass masala extravaganza which satisfies the undemanding viewers. Mahesh Babu has strong screen presence that works to the advantage of the film." Rediff wrote "Sporting a new, rugged look, 'Prince' Mahesh Babu has stolen the show. He carries the film on his shoulders, consolidating his winning streak after last year's Athadu. Another highlight of the film is its well choreographed action sequences (if you can digest the violence), which give it a slick look." IndiaGlitz wrote "In Pokiri, the hero is introduced to us a ruthless baddie, part of the huge underbelly of mafia. By the time we come to the denouement, there is much twist and turn. If you like some racy action, fun, glamour and love, then Pokiri would be your kind of film."

According to Sify, Pokiri took an "extraordinary" opening across the globe and was able to cash in on the four day weekend holiday. Pokiri was released in a single screen, the Jayaprada theatre in Chennai, where 98.5% of seats were sold putting it in second place in the city's box office chart, which Sify called an "awesome" feat. The film completed a fifty day run on 17 June 2006, in nearly 300 centres and had earned US$350,000 to become the highest grossing Telugu film in the United States. The film completed a 100 day run in 200 centres and a 175 day run in 63 centres. The film completed a 200 day run in 15 centres, and a 365 day run at a theatre in Kurnool, becoming the first Telugu film to do so in the last two and a half decades. The film was screened in Bhagiratha theatre, Kurnool for 500 days at the rate of four shows per day and collected a share of 60 lakh. It held that position until 2009 when Magadheera pushed it to second place after its nine day run. Pokiri grossed over 1.7 crore in its 2022 re release.

Ceremony Category Nominee Result Nandi AwardsBest Popular Feature FilmPuri Jagannadh & Manjula GhattamaneniBest EditorMarthand K. VenkateshBest Fight MasterFEFSI VijayanBest Male Dubbing ArtistP. Ravi Shankar Best Audiographer Radha Krishna54th Filmfare Awards SouthBest Director – TeluguPuri JagannadhBest Actor – TeluguMahesh BabuSantosham Film AwardsSantosham Film Award Best Actor MaleMahesh BabuVamsee Film Awards 2007Best Actor – MaleMahesh Babu

Pokiri has been remade in various languages across India. It was first remade into Tamil as Pokkiri in 2007 by Prabhu Deva, and marked his debut as a director of Tamil cinema. Deva remade the film into Hindi as Wanted in 2009. Wanted became the second highest grossing Hindi film of all time. Pokiri was remade into Kannada as Porki in 2010 by M. D. Sridhar. An unofficial Bangladeshi remake, Moner Jala, which was directed by Malek Afsari, was released on 22 April 2011.

[[File:Ileana D'cruz. jpg|thumb|200px|Ileana (pictured) received her breakthrough with this film's success which catapulted her to superstardom. After the film's release, many films were released subsequently that had titles bordering on cuss words including Jagannadh's next film Desamuduru (2007). Babu revealed that he became confused after the film's success:It was such a huge hit, that if someone came to me with a script, I would approach the result of the film before approaching the character. I only wanted to act in movies that were like Pokiri, I think that was a mistake. It all got to me, and I felt that I needed a break from films itself. Initially, I wanted just a seven month break. I signed Khaleja after nine months, but it just kept getting delayed, and the break ended up becoming a two year long holiday. But I didn't freak out I relaxed for the first time in life. Two dialogues spoken by Babu in Pokiri became popular: "Evvadu kodutge dimma tirigi mind blockaipothundo, vaade Pandugaadu" and "Okkasari commit aithe naa mata neene vinnanu" (Once I commit, I won't listen even to my own words). The film was Ileana's breakthrough in Telugu. In June 2006, Trade analyst Sridhar Pillai said that the Andhra Pradesh trade felt that her glamour, screen presence, and on screen chemistry with Babu worked to the film's advantage. Pillai called her the "new pin up girl of Telugu cinema". Talking about being typecast after her success in Ye Maaya Chesave (2010) as its female lead, Samantha Ruth Prabhu cited the example of Ileana being typecast in similar roles after the success of Pokiri saying that it had become mandatory for her to wear a bikini in every film since. Pokiri was parodied by several films. In Desamuduru, the character Gudumba Shankar, a saint played by Ali, is seen imitating Babu's mannerism from the song "Dole Dole". Brahmanandam's introduction scene in the film Jalsa (2008) is a spoof of Babu's introduction as a police in Pokiri. The same sequence was spoofed in the films Sudigadu (2012) where the protagonist is named Siva Manohar I. P. S., and also in Race Gurram (2014). In Dookudu (2011), Babu is briefly seen as a film director who makes Prudhvi Raj and M. S. Narayana recite the dialogue "Evvadu Kodutge Dimma Tirigi Mind Blockaipothundo, Vaade Pandugaadu" from Pokiri. The protagonist in Eega (2012), a fly, imitates Babu's mannerisms from the song "Jagadame" after injuring the antagonist played by Sudeep. Sayaji Shinde's dialogue in the film, "Tinnama Padukunnama Tellarinda", inspired a film of the same name. In Thank You (2022), Naga Chaitanya is briefly seen as a fan of Babu organizing and enjoying the film in Vishakapatnam.