Eduruleni Manishi (2001 film)

Plot

Surya Murthy commands great respect as the head of his village, though the troublemaker Nazar is an exception. He shares his home with his grandparents and a six-year-old girl named Rani. His younger brother, Satyamurthy, called Satya, looks exactly like him and is studying computer science engineering in Hyderabad. Satya has a girlfriend named Sri, who does not speak Telugu.

Worried because Surya Murthy has decided to remain unmarried for life, Satya sets out to find a bride for him. At a temple, he meets Vasundhara and decides she is perfect. He asks her to marry his brother.

Vasundhara later witnesses Surya Murthy’s bravery and kindness when he comes to Hyderabad to see Satya. She then discovers that Surya Murthy and Satya are the younger brothers of the man who married her elder sister, Bhavani. Bhavani tells Vasundhara that Surya Murthy ruined their lives, driving her husband to death from heavy drinking caused by endless troubles.

She also claims that after her husband died, Surya Murthy forcibly took her daughter Rani away. Determined to get revenge, Vasundhara plans to marry Surya Murthy and slowly tear his family apart. She accepts Satya’s proposal. They put on a show, with Vasundhara moving into the village and rescuing Rani from various dangers.

After Rani and the rest of the family beg him repeatedly, Surya Murthy agrees to marry Vasundhara. Right after the wedding, she bribes a priest to delay the first night by twenty-two days. Then, with help from a petty thief, she sends money and jewelry to her sister’s house. The thief, however, runs off without delivering the goods and gets caught by the police.

Meanwhile, Satya figures out Vasundhara’s scheme and tells her the real story of Rani, revealing that Bhavani was actually a woman of loose character. By the time Vasundhara understands her error, the thief is brought before Surya Murthy and questioned about who gave him the jewelry. To protect his sister-in-law, Satya acts oddly and claims he stole the jewelry himself, telling Surya Murthy he wants a share of the property to fund a software business.

Critical reception

Idlebrain noted that debutant director Jonnalagadda Srinivasa Rao showed his mettle in a few sentimental scenes and the portrayal of Surya Murthy, but was insensible in handling class scenes, and that his attempt to give mass appeal made the film lose sophistication. Full Hyderabad wrote that the film could have been good if the director had known how to handle a serious and sensitive subject, though the comedy track by Brahmanandam, Ali and L B Sriram managed to evoke laughter. Indiainfo described the much-hyped film as a disappointing fare for Nagarjuna's fans, with a boring storyline, non-melodious songs, and irritating and scantily dressed Shehnaaz, adding that Nagarjuna, who was very good in the movie, could not save it. Telugu Cinema stated that all looked well before release with a new young director and the hero willing to experiment with a new get-up, leading to hype, but the result was just another mass masala with hardly anything unique, similar to films like Chinarayudu, Pedarayudu, and Maa Annaiah.