Lakshmi Narasimha is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language action film produced by Bellamkonda Suresh under the Sri Sai Ganesh Productions banner and directed by Jayanth C. Paranjee. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna in the titular role, alongside Asin (in her acting debut) and Prakash Raj, with music composed by Mani Sharma. It is a remake of the 2003 Tamil film Saamy.
Plot
The story is set in Vijayawada, a city dominated by the criminal gangster Dharmabhiksham (Prakash Raj). DCP Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy (Nandamuri Balakrishna), a strict police officer, arrives in the city and enforces his own brand of justice, restoring law and order. He initially appears to accept bribes from Dharmabhiksham, but it is later revealed that he is doing so to rehabilitate villagers who were victims of the gangster's violence. Swamy falls in love with a college student named Rukmini (Asin). After a series of confrontations, including a bomb blast that kills Swamy's father, Swamy gathers evidence against Dharmabhiksham, arrests him, and ultimately kills him, disposing of the body to make it appear as a missing person case.
Cast
- Nandamuri Balakrishna as DCP Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy
- Asin as Rukhmini, Lakshmi Narasimha's wife
- Prakash Raj as Dharma Rao alias Dharma Bhiksham
- K. Viswanath as Ramachandraiah, Lakshmi Narasimha's father
- Nadhiya as Prabhavati, Lakshmi Narasimha's mother
- Suhasini Maniratnam as Snehalatha
- Brahmanandam as Ramakrishna
- Sunil as Raj
- Rao Ramesh as Sisupala
- Murali Mohan as Bhavani Prasad
- Chandra Mohan as Chandram
- Mukesh Rishi as Dhanraj
- Geetha as Janaki
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Mani Sharma and released on 25 December 2003 by Supreme Music Company. The soundtrack features six tracks with lyrics by Chandrabose and Veturi, performed by singers including Shankar Mahadevan, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Shreya Ghoshal, Sujatha, Karthik, and Mahalakshmi Iyer.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Devunne Pilichavante" | Shankar Mahadevan | 5:43 |
| 2. | "Andamlo Andhrakosta" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Shreya Ghoshal | 5:32 |
| 3. | "Jadathoti Kodithe" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha | 5:44 |
| 4. | "Marumalli Jabilli" | Shankar Mahadevan, Sravana Bhargavi, Muralidhar | 5:24 |
| 5. | "Pappesuko Charesuko" | Mallikarjun, Mahalakshmi Iyer | 4:23 |
| 6. | "Naathoti Neeku Panundi" | Karthik, Mahalakshmi Iyer | 5:44 |
Release and Reception
The film was released on 14 January 2004 (Sankranti festival) to positive reviews and was declared a commercial hit at the box office. It had a budget of approximately ₹10 crore and earned a distributors' share of ₹16 crore.
Local review site Idlebrain rated the film three and a half stars, praising Balakrishna's performance and the first half of the film, while noting that the runtime could have been trimmed. Sify Movies reported that the film took a "fantastic opening all over."
The film was later dubbed into Hindi as IPS Narasimha in 2010 by Aditya Music, and into Tamil as Latchmi Narasimman in 2021. It was re-released in 4K on 8 June 2025.
Controversy
On 3 June 2004, Balakrishna was involved in a shooting incident at his residence in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, in which he fired shots at producer B. Suresh and his associate Satyanarayana Chowdhary. Both victims were admitted to Apollo Hospital. The actor was arrested on 6 June 2004 and produced before a magistrate, but was later granted bail. The victims initially gave statements against the actor but later retracted them. The case generated significant controversy regarding the handling of the investigation.
