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Madhava and his five sisters

Hitler is a 1997 Indian Telugu-language action comedy directed by Muthyala Subbaiah. Chiranjeevi plays Madhava Rao, known as Madhava, alongside Rambha and Rajendra Prasad. Koti composed the music. The film remade the 1996 Malayalam film Hitler, placing an intensely protective elder brother at the centre of a family of five sisters.

Madhava lives in a town with Sarada, Annapurna or Ammu, Lakshmi, Gayatri and Saraswati. Quick-tempered and fiercely defensive of them, he punishes those who mistreat them. Local young people call him “Hitler” because of this conduct. His maternal uncle Aadi Seshu has two children, Balachandra, called Balu, and Bujji, who are close to Madhava's household. Plans are made for Balu to marry Ammu and for Madhava to marry Bujji after Sarada's marriage.

Trouble begins while the family searches for a match for Sarada. Balu hides from Madhava but is found at the house, and Madhava misreads the situation. He calls off both proposed marriages. Aadi Seshu's derogatory remarks about the sisters deepen the dispute and break the family ties, while Balu remains determined to marry Ammu and restore his relationship with Madhava.

Family conflict and growing threats

Madhava also has a troubled relationship with his father. He holds him responsible for his mother's death, believing that a remarriage arranged by Aadi Seshu caused it. Fearful of both Madhava and his father, Aadi Seshu joins the Rudraraju brothers, Madhava's long-standing enemies. They set out to destroy Sarada's life by arranging for her professor, Mohana Rao, to molest her.

Sarada insists on marrying the professor to preserve her dignity. Madhava reluctantly accepts without knowing the entire truth. Ammu, distressed by events, leaves the home and marries Balu, widening the rift with her brother. Aadi Seshu obstructs their attempts to return to the family, and Balu and Ammu move into the house next to Madhava's.

Madhava's father learns of Aadi Seshu's treachery and tries to bring Bujji and Madhava together, though his efforts fail comically. The Rudraraju brothers seek to marry Bujji to their youngest brother, Chinna. She escapes by pretending to be pregnant. The brothers then make false accusations against Madhava's other sisters, creating further danger and pressure around the family.

A comeback built on sentiment

Editor Mohan acquired the Telugu remake rights and first sought Mohan Babu for the lead. He approached E. V. V. Satyanarayana to direct, but Satyanarayana declined because he was already working with Mohan Babu on Adirindi Alludu and Veedevadandi Babu. Chiranjeevi then expressed interest after being impressed by the script.

Following Pavitra Bandham in 1996, Mohan approached Muthyala Subbaiah to direct. Subbaiah had admired Chiranjeevi for a long time and recommended him after seeing the Malayalam original, only to learn that Chiranjeevi had already approved the project and supported Subbaiah as director. After two consecutive flops, Chiranjeevi had taken a year-long hiatus and rejected scripts that did not interest him. He was seeking distinctive roles with strong stories.

Subbaiah adjusted the screenplay for Telugu audiences, concentrating on emotional depth and local sensibilities. Dasari Narayana Rao played Madhava's father. Rajendra Prasad, Sudhakar, Brahmanandam and Kalpana Rai supported the mixture of intense emotional scenes and humour. The pathos songs “O Kaalamaa” and “Kanneellake Kanneellocche” received widespread appreciation from audiences, and Subbaiah personally supervised their choreography. Lahari Music Company released Koti's soundtrack; “Nadaka Kalisina Navaraatri” was inspired by Amr Diab's album Nour El Ain.

Released on 4 January 1997, Hitler became a major commercial success and ran for more than 100 days in multiple centres. Andhra Today wrote that, despite “many lacunae in the story and the plot,” the film appealed to a large audience. A grand celebration took place in Ongole, where Chiranjeevi's father had once worked.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Hitler (1997 film)”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.