Pokiri 19 years: How Mahesh Babu made history in Tollywood

Hyderabad: For many years, Tollywood was all about big action, strong heroes, and mass entertainment. These kinds of movies made many actors into superstars. But in 2006, a new kind of movie came out — one that showed heroes in a fresh and different way. That movie was Pokiri! Today, it celebrates 19 years!

Pokiri: A Big Turning Point

Pokiri was released on April 28, 2006, with Mahesh Babu and Ileana D’Cruz as the stars. Directed by Puri Jagannadh, it told the story of an undercover cop who joins the mafia to bring them down. Mahesh’s famous dialogue — “Okasari commit aithe, na mata nene vinanu” — is still loved by fans.

At first, the makers wanted Ravi Teja and Deepika Padukone for the lead roles. But when that didn’t happen, Mahesh Babu came on board — and the movie became a huge success! Made with a budget of just Rs. 12 crores, Pokiri earned a record-breaking over Rs. 40 crores at the box office!

How Pokiri Saved Salman Khan!

Pokiri was later remade in Hindi as Wanted with . At that time, Salman was going through many flops. Wanted gave his career a big boost and made him a superstar again!

Pokiri’s Fun Facts and Records

• Pokiri was written in just 15 days and shot in less than 100 days — super fast for such a big film!
• It collected over Rs. 40 crore share worldwide, making it a huge industry hit in South India.
• It created a record by running for 100 days in 200 centers across Telugu states, Chennai, Bangalore, and Mumbai.
• Pokiri also won 5 Nandi Awards and 2 Filmfare Awards.
• It was remade in Tamil (Pokkiri), Hindi (Wanted), Kannada (Porki), and Bengali (Moner Jala) — and all were hits!

Pokiri and the Re-Release Trend

Pokiri started a new trend in Tollywood — re-releasing old blockbuster movies for fans. Its re-release made new records, with packed shows in India and the U.S. After Pokiri’s success, many other films also planned re-releases, proving that old classics still have the power to create magic at the box office!

Pokiri didn’t just make Mahesh a bigger star — it changed Tollywood forever!

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