The Black Ticket Craze That Defines Legacy of “Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari”

The pride of Telugu cinema and a jewel in the crown of Megastar Chiranjeevi, “Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari”, is all set to hit the theatres once again. This K. Raghavendra Rao-directed iconic socio-fantasy film will be re-released on May 9, on the occasion of its 35th release anniversary.

Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari was originally released on May 9, 1990, broke numerous records at the box office and enthralled audiences across generations. To share an example of the film’s craze back when it was released, the tickets, which were priced at Rs. 6, were sold for as high as Rs. 210 in the black market during its first matinee show. Such was the craze that film enjoyed back then, became a cultural phenomenon and set a new benchmark in Telugu cinema.

Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari features Megastar Chiranjeevi as a tourist guide and the legendary Sridevi as Indraja (the celestial princess from Indra Lokam). The film also features various other talented actors, including Amrish Puri, Allu Ramalingaiah, Kannada Prabhakar, Brahmanandam, Tanikella Bharani, Rami Reddy, Baby Shalini, and Baby Shamlee.

The film was one of the most expensive Indian productions of its time, which was made without any compromise on grandeur by producer C. Ashwini Dutt under his prestigious Vyjayanthi Movies banner.

Sharing an interesting trivia about the iconic song ‘Abbani Theeyani Debba’, Megastar Chiranjeevi said, “People would be surprised to know that the song was composed in less than a day. Ilaiyaraaja garu started working on it at 9 a.m. and gave us a tune by around 12 or 12:30 p.m. Raghavendra Rao garu, Dutt garu, and I liked it immediately and felt it was simple and sweet. During lunch, Veturi garu wrote the lyrics. Balu garu then sang it in a jolly way.”

Speaking about another chartbuster, ‘Andalalo’, director K. Raghavendra Rao said, “As per the story, we needed to convey that the hero is a common man and the heroine is a goddess. We felt that could only be effectively conveyed through a song. That was the idea behind composing that iconic number.”

Producer Ashwini Dutt shared that Chiranjeevi shot the song ‘Dinakutta’ while running a fever of around 106 degrees. He said, “During each shot break, we used to cool his body by wrapping him with ice-packed clothes. He worked extremely hard for that song because we only had the last two days of Sridevi garu’s call sheets. After that, she was heading abroad for one and a half months for another shoot. So, we had to complete the shoot within those two days on a single set. Right after the shoot, Chiranjeevi garu was admitted to Vijaya Hospital and was discharged after 15 days.”

Meanwhile, in one of her old interviews, Sridevi said that her favourite song in the film was ‘Priyathama’. “It’s a very beautiful melody. Raghavendra Rao garu shot it with minimal movements and focused more on expressions. It was an unforgettable song.”

Renowned cinematographers Ajayan Vincent and K.S. Prakash were the men behind the stunning visuals of the movie. “Maestro” Ilaiyaraaja composed the timeless music. The songs of the film continue to rule the playlists of Telugu audiences even today. The story was penned by Yandamuri Veerendranath, and the screenplay was given by Jandhyala.

This summer, relive the magic of this timeless classic once again in its remastered version in 2D and 3D formats from May 9 in theatres near you.