# Badri (2001 film)
**Badri** (பத்ரி) is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language sports drama film directed by P. A. Arun Prasad, starring Vijay as a carefree college student who becomes a kickboxer to redeem himself in his father's eyes after his elder brother is injured and cannot fight in a championship[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001). It is a remake of the director's own Telugu film *Thammudu* (1999)[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001), and it completed a 100-day theatrical run as a commercial success[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | P. A. Arun Prasad (director and story); dialogue by N. Prasanna Kumar[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674/fullcredits/) |
| Cast | Vijay (Badri), Bhumika Chawla (Janu), Monal (Mamathi), Vivek (Azhagu), Riyaz Khan (Vetri), Bhupinder Singh (Rohith)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674/fullcredits/) |
| Release | 12 April 2001 (India); runtime 160 minutes; certified U[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674) |
| Music | Soundtrack by Ramana Gogula; background score by Devi Sri Prasad[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001) |
| Production | Sri Venkateswara Art Films; producer B. Sivarama Krishna; cinematography Jayanan Vincent; editing N. Hari[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674/fullcredits/) |
| Remake lineage | Tamil remake of *Thammudu* (1999), which was itself inspired by *Breaking Away* (1979) and *Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar* (1992)[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001) • [4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/badri-2001-tamil) |
| Box office | Commercial success with a 100-day theatrical run[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Sri Badrinatha Moorthy, known as Badri, is a happy-go-lucky young man who spends his days with his friends, fails his exams repeatedly, and borrows money from his neighbor Janu and cars from her father's garage to impress girls[5](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3992/2001-badri). His father, a cafe owner, is disgusted by his irresponsibility and places his hopes on the elder son, Vetri, a college-level kickboxer expected to win the kickboxing championship[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/badri-2001).
Badri falls for Mamathi, a rich college girl, and poses as a wealthy industrialist's son to impress her[5](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3992/2001-badri). When she learns the truth she dumps him and insults him in front of his father, who then disowns him[4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/badri-2001-tamil). Vetri is meanwhile attacked by his enemies, including Rohit, Mamathi's new boyfriend, and is left bedridden, unable to compete in the championship[4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/badri-2001-tamil). Badri trains to fight in his brother's place, defeats Rohit in the final, reconciles with his father, and accepts Janu's love[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/badri-2001).
## Production and crew
The film was produced by B. Sivarama Krishna under the banner Sri Venkateswara Art Films, with Jayanan Vincent as cinematographer and N. Hari as editor[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674/fullcredits/). Vijay also worked as a playback singer on the soundtrack, and [P. Ravi Shankar](https://www.edgepedia.org/p-ravi-shankar) served as dubbing artist for Bhupinder Singh[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674/fullcredits/). The supporting cast included Kitty as Badri's father, [Malaysia Vasudevan](https://www.edgepedia.org/malaysia-vasudevan) as Janu's father, Dhamu, Anu Mohan, Shihan Hussaini, and Kazan Khan[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674).
## Music
The soundtrack was composed by Ramana Gogula, who had scored the original *Thammudu*, while the background score was by [Devi Sri Prasad](https://www.edgepedia.org/devi-sri-prasad)[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001). Playback singers credited on the film include Devi Sri Prasad, [Mano](https://www.edgepedia.org/mano-singer), Ramana Gogula, Shankar Mahadevan, and [Sunitha Upadrashta](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunitha-telugu-singer), with lyrics by Palani Bharathi[4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/badri-2001-tamil). A contemporary Tamil review in the magazine Thendral criticized the songs as Telugu-flavored music set to Tamil lyrics that did not blend well[7](https://www.tamilonline.com/thendral/article.aspx?aid=4039).
## Reception
The film ran for 100 days in theaters and was a commercial success[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001). Critical response was mixed. *The Hindu* wrote that the film "clearly reveals the diligence and sincerity of Vijay.
## Remake lineage and legacy
Badri is the Tamil remake of *Thammudu* (1999), directed by the same filmmaker, P. A. Arun Prasad, with largely the same crew[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240084/movieconnections/). *Thammudu* itself was inspired by the American film *Breaking Away* (1979) and the Hindi film *[Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar](https://www.edgepedia.org/jo-jeeta-wohi-sikandar)* (1992), which drew on the same American source[4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/badri-2001-tamil). In the Telugu original, [Pawan Kalyan](https://www.edgepedia.org/pawan-kalyan) played the lead role that Vijay took in the Tamil version[5](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3992/2001-badri).
India Today listed Badri among Vijay's ten best performances[1](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001). On IMDb the film holds a rating of about 6.9 to 7.0 from roughly 2,900 users[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674). As of the most recent streaming listings, the film is available on Amazon Prime Video in India[6](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/badri-2001), and it has also streamed through Sun NXT, including via Airtel Xstream Play[9](https://www.airtelxstream.in/movies/badhri/SUNNXT_MOVIE_8594).
## References
1. [Badri (2001) – Cast & Review, GudVibe](https://www.gudvibe.app/movies/3790-badri-2001)
2. [Badri (2001) – Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674/fullcredits/)
3. [Badri (2001) – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2778674)
4. [Badri (2001) – Moviebuff](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/badri-2001-tamil)
5. [Badri (2001) – TamilMDb](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3992/2001-badri)
6. [Badri (2001) streaming – JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/badri-2001)
7. [பத்ரி – திரைப்பட விமர்சனம், Thendral / TamilOnline](https://www.tamilonline.com/thendral/article.aspx?aid=4039)
8. [Thammudu (1999) – Connections, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240084/movieconnections/)
9. [Badhri 2001 – Airtel Xstream Play (via Sun NXT)](https://www.airtelxstream.in/movies/badhri/SUNNXT_MOVIE_8594)
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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) › Tamil films before 2000*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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