Released on 29 November 2002, the film was a blockbuster. The film won five Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards. The film is remade in Hindi as Insan (2005).
The film begins at a terrorist camp in Pakistan, where numerous terrorists are rigorously trained by the Pakistan Army to shoot and detonate bombs using cell phones. In this camp is Azar Khan, a man from Hyderabad, India, who has completed his training and receives a mission. His task is to bring back a notorious terrorist, Masood, whom they call the "great soldier of Islam." They can't afford to lose Masood, but he has been arrested by Indian police in Hyderabad. Azar is ordered to return to Hyderabad, meet their contacts who will make all the arrangements, and get Masood released at any cost. They emphasize that this is a sacred mission, and Azar accepts.
The film then shifts to Hyderabad, where Koti, an aspiring actor who dreams of becoming a hero in the film industry but never gets a chance, is kicked out of various film studios. His friend Murthy, who also dreams of becoming a director but faces similar struggles, stands by him. Temporarily, Koti works as a junior artist, and Murthy works as an assistant director, but they are both facing a financial crisis. They haven't been able to pay the rent on their house for six months. The house owner, M.S. Khaja, who owns a large general store in the old city, threatens to have them arrested by filing a false theft complaint against them if they don't pay the rent by the evening. He tells them that they won't have to worry about rent in jail. Frightened, Koti and Murthy seek help from Amjed Bhai.
Amjed Bhai, a true patriotic secular Indian Muslim and an auto driver who loves his country more than anything in the world, is introduced. He stops the Muslims in his community from burning down a bus full of Hindu devotees returning from a pilgrimage, protecting them from harm. He sees Koti as a brother and encourages him, telling him that he will become a big hero in the film industry. Amjed Bhai manages to fool M.S. Khaja and save Koti and Murthy. Amjed Bhai is in love with Zubeda, who is M.S. Khaja's daughter. He lives with his mother alone in the old city; he once had a brother who died in religious riots, leaving them grief-stricken.
A.C.P. Radhakrishna, a sincere and tough police officer, is introduced as an Islamophobe who believes that all Muslims are terrorists. He harbors an intense hatred toward them and has only one goal in life: to catch and kill Azar Khan. It is revealed that Radhakrishna's lover, whom he was about to marry, was killed by Azar Khan in a terrorist attack in Kashmir. When he learns that Azar has come to Hyderabad, he makes it his mission to catch or kill him.
The three main protagonists of the film—Koti, Murthy, and Amjed Bhai—eventually meet through Captain, a sincere army officer and a close friend of Radhakrishna. Captain's wife is a Muslim, and they both married with the help of Amjed Bhai. Captain learns about Koti's aspirations and encourages him to pursue his acting career. Through Captain, both Koti and Murthy get to know Radhakrishna, who initially ignores Amjed Bhai, seeing him as just another Muslim, and hates him.
As time passes, Koti experiences a love failure and becomes a drunkard. Amjed Bhai confronts him, urging him to forget his failed romance and focus on his career. With Amjed Bhai's encouragement, Koti and Murthy eventually get a chance in a film as a hero and director, respectively, after coercing a producer to listen to their story. The producer likes it and agrees to make the film. The film's success turns Koti into a star hero and Murthy into a star director.
Captain has to leave for an emergency operation, leaving his pregnant wife in the care of Amjed Bhai and Radhakrishna. Captain advises Radhakrishna not to judge Amjed Bhai like any other Muslim, insisting that he is different, but Radhakrishna remains skeptical. During Captain's absence, Radhakrishna expands his team to search for Azar Khan in the city. It is revealed that Azar Khan is actually Amjed Bhai's younger brother, who they believed had died in the riots. Azar tells his mother and Amjed Bhai to keep his identity a secret, warning them that he will be killed if others find out. Although reluctant at first, they agree to keep his secret.
After some days, they learn that Captain has been kidnapped and brutally killed by members of the Pakistani Army. The news of Captain's death enrages the three of them. When they witness some Muslims burning the Indian flag and chanting "Pakistan Zindabad," the three of them retaliate by beating up the offenders and protecting the flag.
Despite knowing everything about Radhakrishna's past, a girl named Pooja, who is also a friend of Captain, Amjed Bhai, and Koti, falls in love with him and confesses her feelings. In the middle of her confession, Radhakrishna receives a call from his teammate and, to his surprise, hears Azar's voice on the other end. Azar offers 5 crore rupees for any small piece of information about Masood's whereabouts. Radhakrishna, knowing the location, rushes there as soon as possible, leading to a shootout. Azar kills Radhakrishna's teammate and attempts to escape. Radhakrishna chases him, and Azar enters a masjid, leaving his footwear outside and entering barefoot. However, Radhakrishna, in his rage, tries to step into the masjid with his shoes on. Amjed Bhai and other Muslims stop him, leading to riots, and Azar manages to escape. This incident infuriates Radhakrishna, who then arrests everyone who tried to stop him from entering the masjid, including Amjed Bhai.
Koti and Murthy are working on a film shoot when they see Pooja, their neighbor and friend. They sit together and soon notice Azar among them. Suddenly, a group of armed men starts shooting at random passengers and closes the train gates. While Koti, Murthy, and Pooja are tense, Azar pulls out a gun and points it at them. Azar calls Radhakrishna and demands the release of Masood and Amjed Bhai, threatening to kill many people if his demands are not met. Radhakrishna, along with Masood and Amjed Bhai, rushes to the station. Azar forces Pooja to wear a bomb jacket and blackmails Radhakrishna to release Masood and Amjed Bhai. In the chaos, Koti strikes Azar from behind, and Amjed Bhai kills Masood. Radhakrishna defuses the bomb on Pooja and kills Azar.
Later, at the airport, Amjed Bhai and his mother are preparing to leave for Mecca. Radhakrishna apologizes to Amjed Bhai's mother for killing Azar. Amjed Bhai, however, tells him that Azar was not his brother and that Radhakrishna and Koti are his true brothers.
The soundtrack of the movie was composed by Devi Sri Prasad and lyrics were written by Sirivennela Sitaramasastri, Suddala Ashok Teja and Shakti. The concept behind the song "Govinda Govinda" is based on Adnan Sami's "Lift Karade".[4]
The film was dubbed into Hindi as Marte Dam Tak, into Tamil as Manik Baasha and into Bhojpuri as Bemisaal Hai Hum.[5][6]
Reception
Jeevi of Idlebrain.com wrote that "Though this film is made to represent the patriotic action film genre, Krishna Vamsi tried injecting all other five-genre elements. In that process, the patriotic aspect of the film did not get elevated".[7] A critic from Full Hyderabad wrote that "Krishna Vamsi certainly deserves three cheers - not just for making an offbeat movie but also for studiously avoiding patriotic jing bang to convey his message".[8]
