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Anari (1993) is a Hindi romantic action comedy directed by K. Murali Mohan Rao, starring Venkatesh and Karisma Kapoor. It belongs to that durable Bollywood tradition in which a man of modest means and a woman of great wealth are thrown together and the film mines the gap between them for both laughs and fights, and it gives Venkatesh, already a major Telugu star, his Hindi-language showcase.

Anari (अनाड़ी) is a 1993 Hindi-language romantic action comedy film directed by K. Murali Mohan Rao, starring the Telugu star Venkatesh and Karisma Kapoor, and produced by D. Rama Naidu under the Suresh Productions banner.1 It marked Venkatesh Daggubati's debut in Hindi cinema2 and is a remake of the 1991 Tamil film Chinna Thambi, which had already been remade in Telugu as Chanti (1992), also with Venkatesh in the lead.2 • 3

Key factDetail
Release26 March 1993, India, Hindi language4
Director / producerK. Murali Mohan Rao; D. Rama Naidu, Suresh Productions1
OriginRemake of Chinna Thambi (Tamil, 1991) and Chanti (Telugu, 1992); story by P. Vasu2 • 4
LeadsVenkatesh Daggubati as Rama; Karisma Kapoor as Raj Nandini2
MusicAnand-Milind; lyrics by Sameer; 9-song soundtrack on Tips Music4 • 5
Box officeCommercial success / superhit2
Runtime159 min per Box Office India; 171 min per IMDbPro and other listings4 • 6

Spoilers

Plot

The story is set in a wealthy landowning household. Raj Nandini (Karisma Kapoor) is a young woman kept heavily sheltered by her overprotective brothers because of a prophecy, surrounded by servants and bodyguards.1 • 2 Rama (Venkatesh) is a naive village boy who never went to school, spends his time singing, and was raised by his widowed mother Savitri (Raakhee Gulzar).1

When Rama fights off Nandini's bodyguards and beats them, her brothers, impressed by his innocence and fighting skill, hire him as her bodyguard and cook.1 As Nandini and Rama grow closer and fall in love, they face the violent opposition of her brothers, and the film plays the gap between his modest origins and her wealth for both comedy and action.2 Box Office India's synopsis frames it as a story of innocent love that "knows no status, qualification, wealth, or any such thing".4

Cast and crew

The credited cast includes Venkatesh Daggubati as Rama, Karisma Kapoor as Rajnandini, Raakhee Gulzar as Savitri, Suresh Oberoi as the eldest brother Vikram Singh, Gulshan Grover as the youngest brother, Johnny Lever as Bablu, and Laxmikant Berde as Raghu.1 • 7 Johnny Lever's character is listed as Raj Jyotish in the IMDb credits, the astrologer whose prophecy motivates the brothers' protectiveness.7

Behind the camera, the story is credited to P. Vasu, the dialogues to Kamlesh Pandey, the cinematography to K. Ravindra Babu, and the editing to K.A. Marthand; Yash Raj Films is listed as distributor.4 • 8

Music

The soundtrack was composed by the duo Anand-Milind, with lyrics by Sameer, and was released on Tips Music.4 • 5 The album carries nine songs, including "Pyar Mein Dil De Diya" (Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik), "Phoolon Sa Chehra Tera" (Udit Narayan), "Kya Mausam Aaya Hai" (Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargam), "Chhoti Si Pyari Si Nanhi Si", "Jaane Jaan Jaane Jaan", "Bum Akar Bum Ke", and "Rona Chahe Ro Na Paye".5 • 9 A "Jhankar" version of the soundtrack was also issued.10

Remake lineage and reception

Anari sits in a three-language chain: P. Vasu's story first appeared as the Tamil film Chinna Thambi (1991), was remade in Telugu as Chanti (1992) with Venkatesh and Meena, and then in Hindi with Venkatesh repeating the lead role opposite Karisma Kapoor.1 • 3 The Telugu and Hindi versions both fared well at the box office, and B4U lists the Hindi film's status as a commercial success and superhit.2 • 3 For Venkatesh, already an established Telugu hero and son of producer D. Rama Naidu, the film served as his Hindi launch and was received as a hit.11

The film remains available decades after release: it currently streams on Amazon Prime Video, where it can also be rented or bought.12

References

  1. अनाड़ी (1993 फ़िल्म), Hindi Wikia
  2. ANARI, B4U Entertainment
  3. Bollywood's Love for T'town, The New Indian Express (2015)
  4. Anari, Box Office India
  5. Anari (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Spotify
  6. Anari (1993), IMDbPro
  7. Anari (1993) Full cast & crew, IMDb
  8. Anari, Moviebuff
  9. Anari, Indian Film History
  10. [Anari (Jhankar) [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/anari-jhankar-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1541082940)
  11. The Daily Pioneer, Hyderabad edition, 9 September 2019
  12. Anari streaming, JustWatch

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026

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Anari (1993) is a Hindi romantic action comedy directed by K. Murali Mohan Rao, starring Venkatesh and Karisma Kapoor. It belongs to that durable Bollywood tradition in which a man of modest means and a woman of great wealth are thrown together and the film mines the gap between them for both laughs and fights, and it gives Venkatesh, already a major Telugu star, his Hindi-language showcase.

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