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Okkadu ( The One) is a 2003 Indian Telugu language-language Sports film action film co-written and directed by Gunasekhar and produced by M. S. Raju. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Bhumika Chawla and Prakash Raj.The music was composed by Mani Sharma, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Sekhar V. Joseph and A. Sreekar Prasad.
In the film, Ajay, a fiery Kabaddi player from Hyderabad, visits Kurnool for a tournament and rescues Swapna from a faction leader, Obul Reddy, who wants to marry her by force. As Ajay hides her and helps plan her escape abroad, a violent feud erupts, leading to love, loss, and a final showdown.
Okkadu was released on 15 January 2003 to critical acclaim. The film received praise for its acting, action sequences, and direction and went on to become a major commercial success grossing over ₹50 crore at the box office with a distributors' share of ₹25-30 crore. It became Mahesh Babu's first big blockbuster in his career after the successes of Rajakumarudu and Murari and led him to achieve stardom. It has garnered eight Nandi Awards and four Filmfare Awards South, including Best Film– Telugu.
Over the years, the film was remade in seven other languages: as Ghilli (2004) in Tamil cinema, as Ajay (2006) in Kannada, twice in Bengali language as Dapot (2006) and Bolona Kobul (2009), as Mate Aanidela Lakhe Phaguna (2008) in Odia language, as Jor (2008) in Bengali, as Tevar (2015) in Hindi, and as Kabaddi (2021) in Sinhala language.
In the process of saving Swapna, Ajay humiliates Obul by pushing him into a mud pond. Obul refuses to cleanse the mud until Swapna is found and brought back. Ajay takes Swapna to his house in the Old City and hides her in his room with the help of his sister, Asha, while he and his friends work to get her a Visa and passport. However, Ajay's parents learn about Swapna hiding in their house. Swapna escapes with Ajay and eventually falls in love with him. The next day, Vijay and his gang of friends surround the Charminar, where Swapna is hidden. Swapna, Ajay, and his friends reach Begumpet Airport. They also brought Swapna's parents to see her one last time. Meanwhile, all facts were known to Obul Reddy through Ajay's Kabbadi rivals, the "Soda gang," then Obul Reddy warns Vijay at his home for not finding his son and Swapna.
However, with hard struggle, Ajay successfully makes Swapna pass airport security, and then Ajay realizes that he loves Swapna, who later shows up and hugs him while proposing to him. But then, Vijay arrests Ajay, while Obul's men take Swapna away.
Later, Swapna taunts Obul, who tries to molest her, but she defends herself by telling that Ajay will definitely come for her and challenges him to defeat Ajay to get her. Obul goes to the prison and asks Ajay to come with him by Vijay's approval as a result of withdrawing his case. Vijay expresses that he is not worried about Ajay but is worried about Obul. The Obul attempts to kill Ajay again but realizes that it is a trap set by Ajay and his gang, and later, Obul and his henchmen are abducted by Ajay. Later, Ajay and his friends attend the finals of the national-level Kabaddi tournament and win the tournament. Meanwhile, Obul has escaped through Soda gang and called forces to kill Ajay.
Obul's elder brother Home Minister Siva Reddy is waiting at the venue of Obul's marriage with Swapna. After learning about his whereabouts, Siva reaches the stadium, along with Swapna and his mother. Ajay and Obul are fighting with each other, while Obul's mother gets killed in a bomb blast by her dog (after attempting to kill Ajay at the stadium). Finally, Ajay defeats Obul. Later, Obul regains his consciousness to kill Ajay, but Swapna's father, Dhasaratharami Reddy, later stabs him to death. Siva Reddy decides not to react as it would harm his position. Ajay and his friends celebrate their victory with Swapna and her family. Later, both Ajay and Swapna get married.
After the release of Mrugaraju (2001), Gunasekhar resumed work on the film's script. After reading an interview of Pullela Gopichand who pursued a career in badminton against his father's wishes and faced many hardships, Gunasekhar made the protagonist a person who aspires to be a kabaddi player against his father's wishes. He met Ramoji Rao who expressed his wish to produce the film and permitted Gunasekhar to erect a Charminar set at Ramoji Film City.
Ramoji Rao walked out for unknown reasons and Mahesh Babu, along with Gunasekhar, met M. S. Raju at Padmalaya Studios office. Mahesh Babu asked Raju to permit them to erect a Charminar set as they cannot avail police permission to shoot at the original after a person committed suicide by jumping from the top. Raju agreed to do so after listening to the script narration and the project was subsequently announced.
Gunasekhar wanted to name the film as Athade Ame Sainyam (), but the title was already registered for another film which made Gunasekhar name the film as Okkadu after considering Kabaddi. The film was produced under the banner Sumanth Art Productions with a budget of 89 crore.
Paruchuri Brothers were signed to write the film's dialogues. Mani Sharma composed the score and Sekhar V. Joseph was its cinematographer. A. Sreekar Prasad edited the film, and Ashok Kumar was its art director. Sreekar Prasad called it a difficult film as it went through many forms of narration and he found it challenging to keep the pace very fast to make it slick and engaging. After the first copy was ready, Paruchuri Brothers suggested to Gunasekhar that a linear narrative be opted for over the non linear narrative. The latter, along with Sreekar Prasad, changed the non-linear narration to linear, within ten minutes.
The makers decided to create the roads near the set using computer graphics in order to reduce the budget. Principal photography began in the same set and fifteen generators were used for illuminating the area. Strada Cranes were used for filming key scenes after ordinary cranes proved to be futile. The film's climax was shot in December 2002 for 11 days and 1000 junior artistes participated in the film's shoot amid extreme climatic conditions. Despite receiving training in kabaddi, Mahesh Babu was injured several times during the film's shoot.
Home media
Okkadu was available to stream on Sun NXT.
Sify wrote, "Finally Mahesh Babu has managed to get the right mix and make Okkadu, a live-wire action thriller. Paruchuri brothers and director Guna Sekhar have made it racy and Mani Sharma has dished out some memorable tunes". Idlebrain wrote, "First half of the film is very good. Second half is good. The narration has become slow in the second half. But keeping in mind that there is only one thread (Mahesh sending Bhumika to USA) to be narrated, we can't expect a better second half. All the scenes that happen in Mahesh Babu's house provide lot of entertainment with subtle comedy. Mahesh Babu deserves an outstanding blockbuster and Okkadu has all the ingredients to become one".
| Nandi Awards | Best Feature Film (Silver) | M. S. Raju | ||
| Best Director | Gunasekhar | |||
| Best Music Director | Mani Sharma | |||
| Best Cinematographer | Sekhar V. Joseph | |||
| Best Editor | A. Sreekar Prasad | |||
| Best Art Director | Ashok Koralath | |||
| Best Choreographer | Raju Sundaram | |||
| Best Fight Master | FEFSI Vijayan | |||
| 51st Filmfare Awards South | Best Film – Telugu | M. S. Raju | ||
| Best Director – Telugu | Gunasekhar | |||
| Best Actor – Telugu | Mahesh Babu | |||
| Best Music Director – Telugu | Mani Sharma | |||
| Best Villain | Prakash Raj | |||
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Film | M. S. Raju | ||
| Best Villain | Prakash Raj | |||
| Best Art Direction | Ashok Kumar | |||
| Best publicity designer | Ramesh Varma | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Telangana Shakuntala | |||
| CineMAA Awards | Best Actor | Mahesh Babu | ||
| Best Director | Gunasekhar | |||
| Best Music Director | Mani Sharma | |||
| Best Cinematographer | Sekhar V. Joseph | |||
| Best Art Director | Ashok Kumar | |||
| Best Lyricist | Sirivennela Sitaramasastri | |||
| Best Dialogue Writer | Paruchuri Brothers | |||
| AP Cinegoers' Association 34th Annual Awards | Best Film | M. S. Raju | ||
| Best Actor | Mahesh Babu | |||
| Best Director | Gunasekhar | |||
| Best Villain | Prakash Raj | |||
| Best Screenplay | Gunasekhar | |||
| Best Fight Master | FEFSI Vijayan |
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