# Narasimha Naidu (నరసింహ నాయుడు)
**Narasimha Naidu** (నరసింహ నాయుడు) is a 2001 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by [B. Gopal](https://www.edgepedia.org/b-gopal), produced by M. V. Murali Krishna, and starring [Nandamuri Balakrishna](https://www.edgepedia.org/nandamuri-balakrishna), Simran, and [Preeti Jhangiani](https://www.edgepedia.org/preeti-jhangiani), with music composed by Mani Sharma.[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%B8%E0%B0%B9-%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%A1/umc.cmc.6oirw48ucxaqwq8dfr6yz8gwj?l=te) It was released on 11 January 2001 and became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of its time, winning Balakrishna the Nandi Award for Best Actor.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 11 January 2001 (India), Telugu language[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640) |
| Director / producer | B. Gopal; M. V. Murali Krishna, Sri Venkataramana Productions[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/narasimha_naidu) |
| Writer / dialogue | Story and screenplay by Chinni Krishna; dialogues by Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao and Gopalakrishna Paruchuri[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640) |
| Music | Mani Sharma[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%B8%E0%B0%B9-%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%A1/umc.cmc.6oirw48ucxaqwq8dfr6yz8gwj?l=te) |
| Lead cast | Nandamuri Balakrishna (Narasimha Naidu), Simran (Sravani), Preeti Jhangiani (Anjali), Mukesh Rishi (Kuppi Swamy Naidu), K. Viswanath (Raghupathi Naidu)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640) |
| Awards | Nandi Award for Best Actor (Balakrishna); Filmfare nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640/awards/) |
| Other versions | Remade in Tamil as *Ezhumalai*; dubbed into Hindi as *Sabse Bada Jungbaaz*[5](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/narasimha-nayudu) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film is set against a feud between two neighboring villages, one headed by a good man and the other by a bad one.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640) [Narasimha](https://www.edgepedia.org/narasimha) (Balakrishna) lives as an unassuming dance teacher raising a young child on his own after his wife is killed in the village enmity.[6](https://www.jiotv.com/full-movie/narasimha-naidu/919d5f7208f05e15bfd1146884dc5741) Anjali (Preeti Jhangiani), the niece of a goon from the rival village, falls in love with him at first sight and joins his natya ashram as a student, and his true identity and violent past begin to unravel as former enemies interrupt his quiet new life.[7](https://www.filmibeat.com/telugu/movies/narasimha-naidu.html) • [8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/narasimha-naidu)
## Production
Chinni Krishna wrote the story and screenplay; it was his first film in Telugu.[9](https://yagnamurthy.blogspot.com/2011/01/) The Paruchuri brothers wrote the dialogue. According to a retrospective account, Gopalakrishna Paruchuri, one of the brothers, wrote the line "Kathulathu kaaadu kanti chooputho champestha" era dialogue while imagining [N. T. Rama Rao](https://www.edgepedia.org/n-t-rama-rao), and Chinni Krishna predicted after hearing it that the film would run 300 days.[9](https://yagnamurthy.blogspot.com/2011/01/) The same account credits the casting of [K. Viswanath](https://www.edgepedia.org/k-viswanath), a respected filmmaker-actor, as the heroine's father figure Raghupathi Naidu as a deliberate choice: writer Chinni Krishna argued that audiences would feel anger when a villain put his foot on the chest of a dignified figure like Viswanath rather than a conventional villain actor, and that this anger would strengthen the film.[10](https://tv9telugu.com/entertainment/tollywood/do-you-know-what-was-the-first-film-to-run-for-100-days-in-100-centres-it-was-balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-1831590.html)
During editing, 17,000 feet of footage reportedly came in and long scenes had to be cut, moving the interval point from a railway-station sequence involving 30 Tata Sumos to the Balakrishna–Simran wedding scene.[10](https://tv9telugu.com/entertainment/tollywood/do-you-know-what-was-the-first-film-to-run-for-100-days-in-100-centres-it-was-balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-1831590.html)
## Release and box office
*Narasimha Naidu* was released on 11 January 2001 for the Sankranti festival, the same day as Chiranjeevi's *Mrugaraju* and one day before Venkatesh's *Devi Putrudu*, and it outperformed both to become the festival winner.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640) • [10](https://tv9telugu.com/entertainment/tollywood/do-you-know-what-was-the-first-film-to-run-for-100-days-in-100-centres-it-was-balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-1831590.html)
Reported commercial figures differ by source and metric. TV9 Telugu states the film was made on a budget of ₹60 million (₹6 crore) and grossed ₹250 million (₹25 crore), calling it the first Telugu film to gross ₹250 million (₹25 crore).[10](https://tv9telugu.com/entertainment/tollywood/do-you-know-what-was-the-first-film-to-run-for-100-days-in-100-centres-it-was-balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-1831590.html) IMDb user trivia gives around ₹380 million (₹38 crore) gross with a distributor share of ₹217.5 million (₹21.75 crore).[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640) The Google Play listing cites a gross of ₹400 million (₹40 crore) on a budget of ₹60 million to 90 million (₹6 to 9 crore).[11](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Narasimha_Naidu?id=3D2EEAC24819C7DDMV) Telugu Rajyam reports a share above ₹200 million (₹20 crore) and total collections of ₹300 million (₹30 crore).[12](https://telugurajyam.com/news/balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-movie-creates-many-records-in-tollywood.html) What the sources agree on is that the film set Telugu industry records: TV9 calls it the first film in [South India](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-india) to run 100 days in 100 centers,[10](https://tv9telugu.com/entertainment/tollywood/do-you-know-what-was-the-first-film-to-run-for-100-days-in-100-centres-it-was-balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-1831590.html) while Telugu Rajyam puts the record as the first Telugu film to run 100 days in 105 centers.[12](https://telugurajyam.com/news/balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-movie-creates-many-records-in-tollywood.html) Oneindia credits it as the first Telugu film to collect ₹200 million (₹20 crore), following Chiranjeevi's *[Gharana Mogudu](https://www.edgepedia.org/gharana-mogudu)*, which had first crossed ₹100 million (₹10 crore).[13](https://telugu.oneindia.com/cinema/narasimha-naidu-gharana-mogudu-which-of-these-two-industry-hits-is-the-best-movie-476855.html)
## Reception and legacy
Balakrishna won the Nandi Award for Best Actor for the film, and the film received Filmfare Award South nominations for Best Actor (Balakrishna) and Best Actress (Simran).[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640/awards/) Viewer ratings on aggregators have remained favorable: IMDb lists 7.0/10 from about 1,100 votes,[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640) and [BookMyShow](https://www.edgepedia.org/bookmyshow) shows 9.7/10 from over 3,700 votes.[14](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/bengaluru/narasimha-naidu/ET00361195/user-reviews) [Letterboxd](https://www.edgepedia.org/letterboxd) reviewers commonly describe it as typical faction cinema and single out [Mani Sharma](https://www.edgepedia.org/mani-sharma)'s songs and background score.[15](https://letterboxd.com/film/narasimha-naidu/reviews/)
The film was remade in Tamil as *Ezhumalai* starring [Arjun Sarja](https://www.edgepedia.org/arjun-sarja) and Simran, and dubbed into Hindi as *Sabse Bada Jungbaaz*.[5](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/narasimha-nayudu) For Balakrishna's 64th birthday in 2023, a 4K-restored version was re-released worldwide in a planned 750 to 1,000 theaters; director B. Gopal said at the time that the film was still remembered for its emotional and action scenes and Mani Sharma's music.[16](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/nandamuri-balakrishnas-narasimha-naidu-is-to-be-re-released-in-over-1000-theatres-on-account-of-his-64th-birthday/articleshow/100868429.cms) The film is available on streaming services including Sun NXT and Eros Now.[8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/narasimha-naidu)
## References
1. [నరసింహ నాయుడు – Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%B8%E0%B0%B9-%E0%B0%A8%E0%B0%AF%E0%B0%A1/umc.cmc.6oirw48ucxaqwq8dfr6yz8gwj?l=te)
2. [Narasimha Naidu (2001) – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640)
3. [Narasimha Naidu – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/narasimha_naidu)
4. [Narasimha Naidu (2001) – Awards – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1575640/awards/)
5. [Narasimha Naidu – Moviebuff](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/narasimha-nayudu)
6. [Narasimha Naidu – JioTV](https://www.jiotv.com/full-movie/narasimha-naidu/919d5f7208f05e15bfd1146884dc5741)
7. [Narasimha Naidu – Filmibeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/telugu/movies/narasimha-naidu.html)
8. [Narasimha Naidu streaming – JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/narasimha-naidu)
9. [తెర వెనుక: నరసింహనాయుడు (రెండో భాగం) – Yagnamurthy blog, January 2011](https://yagnamurthy.blogspot.com/2011/01/)
10. [బాలయ్య నమ్మకమే నిజమైంది.. 100 కేంద్రాలలో 100 రోజులు ఆడిన తొలి సినిమా – TV9 Telugu](https://tv9telugu.com/entertainment/tollywood/do-you-know-what-was-the-first-film-to-run-for-100-days-in-100-centres-it-was-balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-1831590.html)
11. [Narasimha Naidu – Google Play Movies](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Narasimha_Naidu?id=3D2EEAC24819C7DDMV)
12. [21 ఏళ్ల క్రితం 30 కోట్ల వసూళ్లు – Telugu Rajyam](https://telugurajyam.com/news/balakrishna-narasimha-naidu-movie-creates-many-records-in-tollywood.html)
13. [నరసింహ నాయుడు, ఘరానా మొగుడు.. ఏది బెస్ట్? – Telugu Oneindia](https://telugu.oneindia.com/cinema/narasimha-naidu-gharana-mogudu-which-of-these-two-industry-hits-is-the-best-movie-476855.html)
14. [Narasimha Naidu user reviews – BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/bengaluru/narasimha-naidu/ET00361195/user-reviews)
15. [Reviews of Narasimha Naidu (2001) – Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/narasimha-naidu/reviews/)
16. [Narasimha Naidu re-release in over 1000 theatres – Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/nandamuri-balakrishnas-narasimha-naidu-is-to-be-re-released-in-over-1000-theatres-on-account-of-his-64th-birthday/articleshow/100868429.cms)
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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 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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