Okkadu

Okkadu
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gunasekhar
Written by	Story & Screenplay: Gunasekhar Dialogues: Paruchuri Brothers
Produced by	M. S. Raju
Starring	Mahesh Babu Bhumika Chawla Prakash Raj
Cinematography	Sekhar V. Joseph
Edited by	A. Sreekar Prasad
Music by	Mani Sharma
Production company	Sumanth Art Productions
Release date	15 January 2003 (2003-01-15)
Running time	171 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹10 crore
Box office	₹40 crore

Okkadu (transl. The One) is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language masala film co-written and directed by Gunasekhar and produced by M. S. Raju. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Bhumika Chawla and Prakash Raj. In the film, Ajay Varma, a Kabaddi player from Hyderabad comes to Kurnool for a match, from there he rescues a girl named Swapna Reddy from a crimeboss Obul Reddy and takes her to his home and makes arrangements for her higher studies in a foreign country. But, she refuses to leave him. rest forms the plot.

The music was composed by Mani Sharma, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Sekhar V. Joseph and A. Sreekar Prasad.

Okkadu was released on 15 January 2003 to positive reviews from critics. The film received praise for its acting, action sequences, and direction and became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of the year.^[1] It has garnered eight Nandi Awards and four Filmfare Awards South, including Best Film – Telugu. It also led Mahesh Babu to achieve a major breakthrough in his career.^[2]

Okkadu was later remade into Tamil as Ghilli (2004), Kannada as Ajay (2006), Bengali as Jor (2008), twice in Bangladesh as Dapot (2006) and Bolona Kobul (2009), Odia as Mate Aanidela Lakhe Phaguna (2008), Hindi as Tevar (2015), and Sinhala as Kabaddi (2021).