# Aithe (ఐతే)
**Aithe** (ఐతే) is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language thriller directed by [Chandra Sekhar Yeleti](https://www.edgepedia.org/chandra-sekhar-yeleti) in his directorial debut, in which a Mumbai gangster with a ₹5 million (₹50 lakh) bounty on his head recruits four young men with no criminal records to help him hijack a flight out of [Hyderabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/hyderabad).[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/) • [2](https://filmibeat.com/telugu/movies/aithe/story.html) The film was produced by Gangaraju Gunnam under the Just Yellow banner and released in Indian theaters on April 11, 2003.[3](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=1066) It won the [National Film Award for Best Feature Film](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-award-for-best-feature-film) in Telugu at the 2004 awards and is remembered as an offbeat, low-budget thriller that stood apart from the formula films of its period.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/awards/) • [3](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=1066)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | April 11, 2003, in India; Telugu language[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/) |
| Director / writers | Chandra Sekhar Yeleti (director and screenwriter), with Gangaraju Gunnam as co-writer[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/) |
| Production | Just Yellow Media Pvt. Ltd.; estimated budget ₹12,000,000[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/) |
| Lead cast | Pavan Malhotra (Irfan Khan), Shashank (Kumar), Mohit Chadda (Ramu), Abhishek (Vivek), Janardhan (Shankar), Sindhu Tolani (Aditi)[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/) |
| Music | Kalyani Malik; the popular song is "Chitapata Chinukulu"[3](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=1066) • [5](https://www.aha.video/movie/aithe) |
| Awards | National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu (2004); Filmfare Award South for Best Villain, Pavan Malhotra (2004)[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/awards/) |
| Reception | IMDb rating 7.9/10 from about 1,700 votes; runtime 2h 12m (132 min)[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Irfan Khan ([Pavan Malhotra](https://www.edgepedia.org/pavan-malhotra)) is a key mafia affiliate in Mumbai with an Andhra background, on the police wanted list with a reward of ₹5 million (₹50 lakh) on his head. Wanting to leave India and settle in Dubai so he can remotely control his operations in Mumbai, he devises a plan to hijack a domestic flight from Hyderabad and take it to [Kathmandu](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathmandu).[2](https://filmibeat.com/telugu/movies/aithe/story.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/)
The plan requires a gang of four clean men with no criminal records to carry out the hijack operation. Khan's people get hold of four needy and capable young men who are desperate for money to survive.[2](https://filmibeat.com/telugu/movies/aithe/story.html) The four, however, have a plan of their own: believing they are dealing with Khan's partners, they kidnap Khan himself to claim the reward, hide him in a remote forest, and contact an Assistant Commissioner of Police who secretly works for the mafia. When negotiations break down, one of the kidnappers, Kumar, makes a deal with the mafia and receives a bag said to contain ₹20 million (₹2 crore), which turns out to hold a bomb. The arrival of Khan's assistant Musharraf and the attention of Intelligence Bureau agent [Zaheer Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/zaheer-khan), who has been watching the situation, tighten the suspense as the four friends must decide what to do.[5](https://www.aha.video/movie/aithe)
## Production and style
The film was made on a small budget, listed by IMDb at an estimated ₹12,000,000, with photography by Senthil Kumar and music by Kalyani Malik.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/) • [3](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=1066) Its cast was largely made up of actors who were not well known at the time, with Pavan Malhotra, a Hindi television actor, playing the gangster.[3](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=1066) A contemporary review in Lokvani described the film as "a refreshing change from the humdrum of Telugu films," calling it offbeat and technically sophisticated, and noted that it contained only one song.[3](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=1066) The film's Telugu tagline, printed on its release material, was "anni cinemalu okela undavu," meaning not all films are the same.[3](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=1066)
## Awards and reception
At the 2004 [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards), Aithe won the award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, credited to director Chandra Sekhar Yeleti.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/awards/) Pavan Malhotra won the Filmfare Award for the Telugu film industry as Best Villain the same year.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/awards/) The film holds a 7.9/10 rating on IMDb from about 1,700 user votes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/)
## Legacy and later versions
The film's influence on its producer's subsequent career was direct. In a 2009 interview, Gangaraju Gunnam said that after Aithe's April 2003 release he spent six years listening to story pitches from young directors, most of which, he said, retold Aithe with a few punctuation marks changed, or assumed he would green-light any project described as different; in that period he produced Chandu's concept [Anukokunda Oka Roju](https://www.edgepedia.org/anukokunda-oka-roju) and his own old script Amma Cheppindi before making Katha.[6](https://www.idlebrain.com/news/2000march20/katha-gangarajugunnam.html)
A Hindi version of the film was made under the title 50 Lakh; IMDb lists 50 Lakh (2007) as a version of Aithe, and [Letterboxd](https://www.edgepedia.org/letterboxd) records "50 Lakhs" as an alternative title for the original.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/) • [7](https://letterboxd.com/film/aithe/) The film later became available on streaming platforms, including Aha and Amazon Prime Video in India.[5](https://www.aha.video/movie/aithe) • [8](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/if-so) Yeleti followed it with a run of films including Anukokunda Oka Roju (2005), Okkadunnadu (2007), Prayanam (2009), and Sahasam (2013).[9](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/chandrasekhar-yeleti/filmography.html)
## References
1. [Aithe (2003), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/)
2. [Aithe: Story, Preview, First Day Box Office Collection, FilmiBeat](https://filmibeat.com/telugu/movies/aithe/story.html)
3. [Aithe – Telugu Film Review, Lokvani (Nirmala Garimella, 2003)](https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=1066)
4. [Aithe (2003) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460394/awards/)
5. [Watch Aithe Full Movie Online, Aha](https://www.aha.video/movie/aithe)
6. [Gangaraju Gunnam about Katha, Idlebrain (2009)](https://www.idlebrain.com/news/2000march20/katha-gangarajugunnam.html)
7. [Aithe (2003) directed by Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/aithe/)
8. [Aithe streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/if-so)
9. [Chandrasekhar Yeleti Filmography, Filmibeat Telugu](https://telugu.filmibeat.com/celebs/chandrasekhar-yeleti/filmography.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Telugu films of the 2000s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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