# Varsham (2004 film)

Varsham (transl. Rain) is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film directed by Sobhan and produced by M.S. Raju under Sumanth Art Productions banner. The film stars Prabhas and Trisha in the lead roles, while Gopichand, Prakash Raj, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, and Chandra Mohan appear in supporting roles. The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad, while the cinematography was handled by S. Gopal Reddy.
Varsham emerged as a box office blockbuster, marking a breakthrough role for Prabhas and establishing Trisha in Telugu cinema. The film's success led to remakes in Tamil as Mazhai (2005) and in Hindi as Baaghi (2016).

## Plot

Venkat, an unemployed youngster, meets Sailaja, a middle-class girl, during a train journey in Warangal. They are immediately attracted to each other after dancing in a rain shower. At the same time, Sailaja catches the eye of Bhadranna, a dangerous and ruthless politician who also falls in love with her. Venkat and Sailaja keep encountering each other every time it rains, gradually falling in love.
Ranga Rao, Sailaja's father, is a selfish man with many bad habits. When Bhadranna approaches him with a marriage proposal, Ranga Rao instantly agrees. However, a film producer named Seenayya also approaches Ranga Rao, offering Sailaja an opportunity to act in movies. Seeing this as a more lucrative option than marrying her off to Bhadranna, Ranga Rao creates misunderstandings between Sailaja and Venkat, leading to their breakup. He then convinces Sailaja to pursue acting and leaves for the city with her, while Venkat moves to Vizag to stay with his uncle.
In Vizag, Sailaja becomes a successful actress, while Venkat starts working as a demolition expert at a quarry under his uncle’s guidance. Meanwhile, Bhadranna is cheated out of money by Ranga Rao and discovers Sailaja’s whereabouts. He kidnaps her and tries to force her into marrying him. As Sailaja's film shooting gets interrupted, a worried Seenayya seeks Venkat’s help on Ranga Rao’s advice, believing that Venkat still loves Sailaja. Venkat agrees and confronts Bhadranna, leading to a fierce battle to rescue Sailaja.
As the confrontation unfolds, Sailaja realizes her misunderstandings about Venkat and apologizes. They reconcile, rekindling their love. That night, Bhadranna, furious at his failure, kills his own brother Kaasi for not bringing Sailaja to him. Determined to destroy Venkat and forcibly marry Sailaja, Bhadranna returns from Hyderabad. During a festival, he stabs Venkat, but Venkat's uncle Sivayya intervenes. A fierce battle ensues, and Venkat ultimately defeats Bhadranna. As Venkat and Sailaja embrace, a burning statue of Ravana collapses on Bhadranna, killing him. The film ends with Venkat and Sailaja happily reuniting.

## Cast

* Prabhas as Venkat
* Trisha as Kola Sailaja "Sailu"
* Gopichand as Bhadranna
* Sriranjani as Amrutham, Venkat's mother
* Ranganath as Chandrasekhar, Venkat's father
* Geetha as Janaki, Bhadranna's mother
* Nassar as Satya Narayana Murthy, Bhadranna's father
* Sangeetha as Bharathi, Sailu's mother
* Prakash Raj as Kola Ranga Rao, Sailu's father
* Nadhiya as Prabhavati, Bhadranna's aunt
* Sudha as Lakshmi, Venkat's aunt
* Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao as Sivayya, Bhadranna's uncle
* Chandra Mohan as Chandram, Venkat's uncle
* Sunil as Jagan
* Ajay as Ajay, Venkat's friend
* Shafi as Kaasi
* Satyam Rajesh as Salim, Venkat's friend
* Suma as Swapna, Venkat's sister
* Sivaji Raja as Srinivas, Venkat's brother-in-law
* Pavala Syamala as Mutyalu, Sailu's grandmother
* K. Viswanath as Ramachandrayya, Sailu's grandfather
* Venu Madhav as Director
* Jaya Prakash Reddy as Producer Seenayya
* M. S. Narayana as Priest Narayana
* Gundu Hanumantha Rao as Priest Hanumantha
* Narra Venkateswara Rao as Home Minister
* Mallikarjuna Rao as Bus Passenger from marriage
* AVS as Bus Passenger from marriage
* Raghu Babu as Raghu, Bhadranna's henchman
* Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Gaali Gannaarao
* Narsing Yadav as Bus Driver
* Rajitha as Bus Passenger from marriage
* Vamshi Paidipally as Bus Passenger

## Soundtrack

Music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad and all lyrics were penned by Sirivennela Seetaaraama Saastry. Music was released on Aditya Music. Soundtrack album was released on 18 December 2003 through Aditya Music at the film's audio launch event at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad.

## Release
### Reception

Jeevi of Idlebrain.com wrote, "It's a love story with good technical values. You may definitely watch this film". A critic for Sify wrote, "The major drawback of Varsham is the second half, which has an overdose of violence and narration is marred by two dream songs. The director Shobhan loses grip on the story after the fast paced first half. Still Varsham is worth a look".

### Box office

The film celebrated a 50-day run in 125 centers and the film celebrated its silver jubilee (175 days) celebration with Chiranjeevi attending as the chief guest.

### Re-release

This movie was re-released on 11 November 2022 with a 4K resolution.

## Awards and nominations

| Awards | Category | Nominee | Result |
| Nandi Awards | Best Female Playback Singer | K. S. Chithra (for song "Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana ") | Won |
| Nandi Awards | Best Choreographer | Prabhu Deva | Won |
| Nandi Awards | Best Audiographer | Madhusudan Reddy | Won |
| 52nd Filmfare Awards South | Best Film | Varsham (M. S. Raju) | Won |
| 52nd Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor | Prabhas | Nominated |
| 52nd Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress | Trisha | Won |
| 52nd Filmfare Awards South | Best Villain | Gopichand | Nominated |
| 52nd Filmfare Awards South | Best Music Director | Devi Sri Prasad | Won |
| 52nd Filmfare Awards South | Best Female Playback Singer | K. S. Chithra (for song "Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana") | Won |
| 52nd Filmfare Awards South | Best Cinematographer | S. Gopal Reddy | Won |
| CineMAA Awards | Best Film | Varsham (M. S. Raju) | Won |
| CineMAA Awards | Sensational Hero | Prabhas | Won |
| CineMAA Awards | Best Actress | Trisha | Won |
| CineMAA Awards | Best Villain | Gopichand | Won |
| CineMAA Awards | Best Choreographer | Prabhu Deva | Won |
| CineMAA Awards | Best Music Director | Devi Sri Prasad | Won |
| CineMAA Awards | Best Cinematographer | S. Gopal Reddy | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Film | Varsham (M. S. Raju) | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Actress | Trisha | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Young Performer | Prabhas | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Music Director | Devi Sri Prasad | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Female Playback Singer | K. S. Chithra (for song "Nuvvosthanante") | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Lyricist | Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Cinematographer | S. Gopal Reddy | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Choreographer | Prabhu Deva | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Screenplay | M. S. Raju | Won |
| Santosham Film Awards | Best Dialogue | Paruchuri Brothers | Won |