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Gang Leader

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This article is about the 1991 film. For the 2019 film, see Nani's Gang Leader.

Gang Leader
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVijaya Bapineedu
Written byVijaya Bapineedu
Paruchuri Brothers (Dialogues)
Produced byMaganti Ravindranath Chowdary
StarringChiranjeevi
Vijayashanti
CinematographyLok Singh
Edited byVijaya Bapineedu
Music byBappi Lahari
Production
company
Shyam Prasad Arts
Distributed byGeetha Arts
Release date
  • 9 May 1991 (1991-05-09)
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Box office₹10 crore[1]

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

The film opened to highly positive reviews from the critics and became the highest grossing Telugu film at the time.[4][3] It was screened at the International Film Festival of India. Later, it was dubbed in Tamil with the same title. The film was later remade in Hindi as Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj (1992) where Chiranjeevi reprises his role and in Kannada as Kutumba (2003).[3][2]

Plot

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Raghupathi, Raghava and Rajaram are brothers. Raghupathi is the only breadwinner of the family, Raghava is preparing for the Civil Services Examination, and Rajaram is an unemployed 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 yells at him for his irresponsibility and callousness. One day, Rajaram makes Kanyakumari 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 Raghava, who is in need of funding for his IAS preparation.

Meanwhile, Ekambaram, a dreaded gangster known for contract killing and extortion, alongside his brother Kanakambaram, kill Raghupathi as he witnessed a homicide. Rajaram was spending time in prison when this incident happened. 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, which was a scheme planned by Ekambaram and Kanakambaram so that they can escape cases with his support. Latha hates Raghava's family members, whereas Kanyakumari loves Rajaram and his family members. Meanwhile, Rajaram learns of his brother's death and begins to investigate, whereas his friends are also murdered by Ekambaram and Kanakambaram at the time.

Rajaram is framed for his friends' death, and Raghava disowns him. With Kanyakumari's help, Rajaram escapes from prison, and Kanyakumari reveals that she is Ekambaram's daughter, who ran away from home after her father killed her mother, and thus she began moving into other people's houses. After revealing this, Kanyakumari proposes to Rajaram, who accepts. Rajaram finds the evidence and goes to his brother's house, only to find that Ekambaram and Kanakambaram has held them captive. Rajaram and Kanyakumari arrives, where they kill Ekambaram and Kanakambaram, and the broken family finally leads a happy life.

Cast

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Soundtrack

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Gang Leader
Soundtrack album by
Bappi Lahiri
Released1992
Recorded1992
GenreFilmi
LanguageTelugu
LabelLahari 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 and Bhuvanachandra. The soundtrack was an instant hit and "Papa Rita" and "Vaana Vaana Velluvaye" were a rage in the entire state at that time. The song "Paala Bugga" is loosely based on Bappi's own song "Tutak Tutak Tutiya" from Ghar Ka Chiraag.

Bhuvanachandra noted that "Vaana Vaana" was his first song on rain, he was initially apprehensive about writing this song since other songs of the same nature were popular. Bappi composed the tune at Suresh Guest House, initially, the tune was rejected however Bhuvan insisted that the tune should be retained.[5] Later, the song "Vaana Vaana Velluvaye" was re-mixed by Mani Sharma for the 2012 film Rachcha.[6]

Telugu version

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[7]

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

Tamil version

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Lyrics written by Vairamuthu.[8]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Paapa Rita Mutham Ketta"S. P. Balasubramaniam4:48
2."Pattupoove Thottu Paaru"S. P. B., Chithra4:38
3."Vaadai Vaadai Mazhaiyin"S. P. B., Chithra4:37
4."Pallavaram Selai"S. P. B.5:20
5."Sunday Kannadithaay"S. P. B., Chithra5:36

Release and reception

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Sold for ₹2.2 crore (US$260,000), the film grossed more than twice that amount.[9] It is considered to be one of the top movies in Chiranjeevi's career. Gang Leader had a 162-day run at Sudharshan theatre in Hyderabad. The film successfully completed 100 days in more than 50 theatres.[3]

Notably, the 100-day celebrations of the film were a major event in the Telugu film industry, with festivities arranged simultaneously in four centres—Tirupati, Vijayawada, Eluru, and Hyderabad. Chiranjeevi and some crew members flew in a helicopter to attend all the celebrations, marking the first time such an event had been organized.[10]

Gang Leader was dubbed into Tamil and Kannada. It was a success in those areas also.[3] The film was re-released in 4K quality on 4 March 2023.[11]

Legacy

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Video footage of the film's 100 days celebration was used in the Telugu comedy film Appula Appa Rao (1992).

References

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  1. ^ "Chiranjeevi's Gang Leader Completes 32 Years, Know Some Unknown Facts". News18. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b "'Gang Leader' Vijaya Bapineedu passes away". The Hindu. 12 February 2019. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Gang Leader – Chiranjeevi: Take a look at the actor's imprint in the showbiz world". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  4. ^ S. Hari Prasad (18 April 2024). "Most Industry hits telugu hero: కెరీర్లో ఎక్కువ ఇండస్ట్రీ హిట్స్ అందుకున్న తెలుగు హీరోలు వీళ్లే.. టాప్‌లో మెగాస్టార్". Hindustan Times (in Telugu). Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  5. ^ Narasimham, M. L. (22 September 2012). "'I wrote 'vana vana…' in the train'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023.
  6. ^ Kavirayani, Suresh (13 December 2012). "Tollywood stars dance to daddy's tunes". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 November 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Gang Leader (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. 31 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Gang Leader - Sivandamalar Tamil Audio Cassette". Banumass. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  9. ^ Prasad, Ayyappa (5 January 1992). "The starry starry south". Sunday Magazine. Indian Express Group. p. 27. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  10. ^ Sri Atluri (12 February 2020). "Archives: Vijaya Bapineedu's last interview". Telugucinema.com. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Latest: Chiranjeevi's Gang Leader seals new re-release date". 123Telugu. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
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