Sivaji and his family are uprooted from their community in Sri Lanka and wind up as bonded labourers in Vishakhapatnam. Like his legendary namesake, he rises up to become the saviour of the oppressed.
Direction
Rajamouli's early command of scale and emotional manipulation
Acting
Prabhas's physical transformation from vulnerable to demigod
Score
M.M. Keeravani's thundering themes that still slap
Director
S. S. Rajamouli
Prabhas
Sivaji
Bhanupriya
Sivaji's mother
Shafi
Ashok / Akash
Pradeep Ram Singh Rawat
Raj Bihari
Shriya Saran
Neelu
Chatrapathi Sekhar
Bhadram
Kamal Kamaraju
Sivaji's Friend
Ajay
Ajay
Kota Srinivasa Rao
Appala Naidu
Supreet
Katraju
Venu Madhav
Mahesh Nanda
Jeeva
Boat Agent
Jayaprakash Reddy
Commissioner
Srinivasa Reddy
Appal naidu's assistant
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Prabhas's first collaboration with Rajamouli and his breakthrough from romantic hero to mass action star. The 'Hamsa Naava' song was shot in New Zealand years before Rajamouli's obsession with foreign locations became his signature.
The Sri Lankan Tamil refugee angle was unusually political for 2005 Telugu cinema, though sanitized; real refugee struggles in Vizag were far harsher than this operatic retelling suggests.
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