Gang Leader

Gang Leader is a 1991 Indian Telugu-language action crime film written, directed by Vijaya Bapineedu and produced by Maganti Ravindranath Chowdary.[1] The film stars Chiranjeevi and Vijayashanti, while Rao Gopal Rao, Anandaraj, Murali Mohan, and Sarath Kumar play other key roles. The soundtrack was composed by Bappi Lahiri with dance choreography by Prabhu Deva. The genre-bending semi-fiction film explores the concepts of exploitation of law enforcement by anti-social behaviour and the impact of mob psychology.[2][3]

Gang Leader
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vijaya Bapineedu
Produced by	Maganti Ravindranath Chowdary
Written by	Vijaya Bapineedu Paruchuri Brothers (dialogues)
Starring	Chiranjeevi Vijayashanti Rao Gopal Rao Anandaraj Murali Mohan Sarath Kumar
Music by	Bappi Lahari
Cinematography	Lok Singh
Edited by	Vijaya Bapineedu
Production company	Shyam Prasad Arts
Distributed by	Geetha Arts
Release date	9 May 1991
Country	India
Language	Telugu

The Chiranjeevi,Vijayashanti starrer film which opened to terrific response from the people garnered highly positive reviews from the critics and was recorded as an Industry Hit and a cult classic by becoming the Telugu's daily vernacular. It was screened at the International Film Festival of India.[2] It surpassed the box office collections of the blockbuster and industry hit Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari. Later, it was dubbed in Tamil with same title. The film's 100 days function's video footage was used in the Telugu comedy film Appula Appa Rao. The film was later remade in bollywood as Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj, which Chiranjeevi reprising his role and Meenakshi Seshadri playing the role of Vijayashanti, and in Kannada as Kutumba, starring Upendra.[2][1]

Plot

Raghupathi (Murali Mohan), Raghava (Sarath Kumar) and Rajaram (Chiranjeevi) are brothers. Raghupathi is the only breadwinner of the family, Raghava is preparing for the Civil Services Examination, and Rajaram is an unemployed, and freelance dancer who spends time with his four friends in search of jobs. They roam in the city until midnight. Rajaram comes home at midnight and sleeps until noon; his grandmother Sabari (Nirmalamma) yells at him for his irresponsibility and callousness. One day, Rajaram makes Kanyakumari (Vijayashanti) vacate the house on a payment basis as she is not paying the rent to the landlord. Consequently, she barges into Rajaram's house for accommodation.

At one situation, Rajaram goes to custody for money so that he can support his brother Raghava who is in need of funding for his IAS preparation. Meanwhile, Ekambaram (Raogopal Rao) a Mafia ringleader known for contract killing, and extortion, alongside his brother Kanakambaram (Anandaraj) kill Rajaram's elder brother Raghupathi as he witnesses a homicide. Rajaram was spending time in jail when this incident happens, however his friends are aware of Raghupathi's death. Rajaram, on the other hand, thinks that his brother's death was an accident.

Raghava becomes an IAS officer and marries Latha (Sumalatha), which was a scheme planned by Ekambaram and Kanakambaram so that they can escape criminal cases with his support. Latha hates Raghava's family members, whereas Kanyakumari loves Rajaram and his family members. Meanwhile, Rajaram comes to know about his brother's death and inquires as to who was responsible for the death. His friends are also murdered by Ekambaram and Kanakambaram at the time. Rajaram is framed by the murders, and Raghava disowns him. With Kanyakumari's help, Rajaram escapes from jail, and Kanyakumari reveals that she is Ekambaram's daughter. She ran away from home after her father killed her mother, and then she began moving into other people's houses. After hearing this, Rajaram falls for her. The film ends with Rajaram avenging his brother's death by killing the villains and in the process uniting his broken family.

Cast

Actor	Character
Chiranjeevi	Rajaram
Vijayashanti	Kanyakumari
Raogopal Rao	Ekambaram
Anandaraj	Kanakambaram
Murali Mohan	Raghupati
Sarath Kumar	Raghava
Nirmalamma	Sabari (Rajaram's grandmother)
Sudha	Lakshmi (Raghupati's wife)
Sumalatha	Latha (Raghava's wife)
Nutan Prasad	Home Minister Gali Subba Rao
Kaikala Satyanarayana	Jailer
Allu Ramalingaiah	Sidhanthi
Narayan Rao	Narayana
Hari Prasad	Hari
Maharshi Raghava	Raghava
Jayalalitha	Chukka
Nuthalapati Subbaro	House owner

Soundtrack

Gang Leader
Soundtrack album by Bappi Lahiri
Released	1992
Recorded	1992
Genre	Filmi
Language	Telugu
Label	Lahari Music
Bappi Lahiri chronology
Indra Bhavanam (1992) Gang Leader (1992) Rowdy Alludu (1992)

The Music and background score was provided by Bappi Lahiri and the lyrics were penned by Veturi Sundararama Murthy and Bhuvanachandra. The soundtrack was an instant hit and "Papa Rita" and "Vaana Vaana Velluvaye" were a rage in the entire state that time.

Bhuvanachandra noted that "Vaana Vaana" was his first song on rain, he was initially apprehensive about writing this song since other songs of same nature were popular. Bappi composed the tune at Suresh Guest House, initially tune was rejected however Bhuvan insisted that tune should be retained.[4] Later, the song "Vaana Vaana Velluvaye" was re-mixed by Mani Sharma for the 2012 film Rachcha.

Song Title	Singers	Lyricist
"Papa Rita"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam	Bhuvana Chandra
"Paala Bugga"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Chitra	Veturi Sundararama Murthy
"Bhadrachalam"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Chitra	Bhuvana Chandra
"Vaana Vaana Velluvaye"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Chitra	Bhuvana Chandra
"Vayasu Vayasu"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Chitra	Veturi Sundararama Murthy
"Panisaasasa"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Chitra	Bhuvana Chandra

Reception

The movie was a huge success. It is considered to be one of the top movies in Chiranjeevi's career. This movie earned more than 70 million of Distributory Share. Gang Leader did a 162-day run at Sudharshan theatre in Hyderabad. The movie successfully completed 100 days in more than 50 theaters. The movie was dubbed into Tamil and Kannada. It was a success in those areas also.[2][3]

Trivia

The classic car which was used in movie "Citroën CX pallas" at the time owned by Relangi Thirumalla Babu, was the only car in South India at that time. Car can be seen in the movie as Chiranjeevi and Vijayashanti are talking and scene cut to Marriage and Vijayashanti commands Chiranjeevi to follow her to marriage.[2][3]

References

1. "'Gang Leader' Vijaya Bapineedu passes away". 12 February 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
2. "Gang Leader – Chiranjeevi: Take a look at the actor's imprint in the showbiz world". The Times of India.
3. "Gang Leader (1991) | Gang Leader Movie | Gang Leader Telugu Movie Cast & Crew, Release Date, Review, Photos, Videos". FilmiBeat.
4. Narasimham, M. L. (22 September 2012). "'I wrote 'vana vana…' in the train'" – via www.thehindu.com.

External links

• Gang Leader at IMDb