Anji (film)

Anji
Theatrical release 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	15 January 2004 (2004-01-15)
Running time	148 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹25–30 crore

Anji is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action-adventure film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna and produced by Shyam Prasad Reddy under the M. S. Art Movies banner. The film stars Chiranjeevi in the title role, alongside Namrata Shirodkar, Tinnu Anand and Nagendra Babu.^[1] The film has music composed by Mani Sharma with cinematography by Chota K. Naidu. Anji was produced on an estimated budget of ₹25–30 crore, making it the most expensive Telugu film at the time of its release.^[2]

The film was in production for over six years, facing multiple delays before its release on 15 January 2004, during the Sankranthi 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 two Nandi Awards and the National Film Award for Best Special Effects, marking the first time a Telugu film won a National Award in that category. Additionally, Anji was featured in the Limca Book of Records as the first Indian film to use 3D digital graphics.^[5] The film was later dubbed into Hindi as Diler - Daring, Tamil as Kollimalai Singam, and Malayalam as Chekavan.

The Aatmalingam of the Himalayas possesses enormous divine powers. Once every 72 years, the Akasa Ganga from the sky flows into Aatmalingam. Those who drink Akasa Ganga's holy water become immortal and gain supernatural powers.

In 1932, during the colonial rule in India a youngster named Veerendra Bhatia with two greedy tantriks is in search of the Atmalingam from a cave which is guarded by a divine trisulam and a gigantic cobra. They try to bring it but fail, resulting in the deaths of the two tantriks and Bhatia losing his right hand. The sacred Aatmalingam gets swept away in the river and becomes invisible. Time progresses and Bhatia, now 99 years old, searches for the Aatmalingam's traces, but in vain. Akasaganga is slated to flow to the earth for the Atmalingam in 2004. Finally, he gets to know about a professor who researched Aatmalingam and Akasaganga 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 US, 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 the Uravakonda forest area, who serves the most revered Sivanna, an ayurvedic specialist, while also raising four orphans.

One day, Anji stumbles on the Aatmalingam and takes its possession. After coming to know about it, Bhatia and his men go after Anji and Swapna. As the D-Day of Akasaganga is fast approaching, Sivanna tells Anji that the Aatmalingam should be sent back to where it belongs. So, Anji goes to the Himalayas to restore Aatmalingam in a temple which is built using Saligrama by Bhagiratha. The temple becomes visible only after 72 years. Anji faces many traps in the temple and survives to restore the Aatmalingam. But Bhatia drinks the water before Anji could drink it. One of the orphans gets shot. Anji and Bhatia get into a fight, and at last, Mahakalabhairava appears and kills Bhatia using his third 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 Aatmalingam and the temple vanish, never to be seen again.

In May 1997, Zamin Ryot reported that Kodi Ramakrishna would direct Chiranjeevi in a big-budget film produced by Shyam Prasad Reddy.^[6] By 24 October 1997, it was noted that the film would commence on 1 November 1997.^[7] A week later, it reported that Shyam Prasad Reddy had already visited the United States four times to discuss the graphics work required for the project.^[8]

In December 1998, India Today revealed that Tinu Anand would portray a centenarian 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 the tantriks in the film's opening scene was portrayed by a beggar who frequented the L. 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 with Rediff that the film was yet to be titled, with options including Anji or Akasaganga. 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 May 2002, producer Shyam Prasad Reddy anticipated that the graphics work would be finished by 30 July, with the film expected to release shortly after 15 August 2002.^[18] However, by August 2002, it was reported that only the graphics work was pending, with potential release dates during the Dasara festival in 2002 or Sankranthi in 2003.^[19] 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.^[20]

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 120 shots.^[12][21]

Anji featured digitally enhanced animated characters. Noted director and illustrator Bapu created sketches of Lord Siva, Siva Lingam, and an old temple, which served as the basis for models and sets.^[5][22] Firefly Creative Studio handled the visual effects for the closing battle, the Lord Siva temple, one of the romantic songs, and the Maha Sivaratri festival scene.^[23] The graphics work also involved studios from the United States, Singapore, and Malaysia.^[12]

Mani Sharma composed the songs and background score for the film.^[24][25] The song "Chik Buk Pori" was composed by Sri but Mani Sharma did the rerecording of the song.^[20][26][27]

On 5 January 2004, producer Shyam Prasad Reddy announced that Anji would be censored 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.^[28]

On 8 January, conflicting release dates were reported in different newspapers, with Vaartha listing 14 January and Andhra 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.^[28]

To ensure timely delivery of the film prints, Mohini Films, the distributors for the Vizag region, booked a private air cargo to transport the prints from Hyderabad to Vizag—an unprecedented move in Telugu cinema.^[28] Despite the logistical challenges, Anji successfully released on 15 January 2004 during the Sankranthi festival. However, due to delays in printing the necessary number of film prints, the release was pushed to 16 January in some regions.^[28]

Jeevi of Idlebrain.com rated the film 3 out of 5, commending the visual effects and Chiranjeevi's performance while criticising the screenplay and direction.^[29] A critic from Sify rated the film 3/5 and wrote, "Despite all those special effects the film is unimpressive as the subject and style is outdated."^[30] A critic from Deccan Herald noted, "Anji teaches us how to make a movie out of a logic-defying story".^[31]

National Film Awards

• Best Special Effects – Sanath^[32]

Nandi Awards

• Best Cinematographer – Chota K. Naidu^[33]
• Best Makeup Artist – Chandra Rao^[34][33]

• Anji at IMDb