Cult Classic Telugu Films
A collection of Telugu films that have gained cult following over the years. Among these, there are many bilingual films shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu. so the list may contain some Tamil titles. Dubbing and Remake films are not included. Many films may have been left out due to my limited knowledge of the Cinema. Suggestions for inclusions are most welcome
List activity
35K views
• 16 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
45 titles
- DirectorKadiri Venkata ReddyStarsN.T. Rama RaoS.V. Ranga RaoSavitriBalarama promises Subhadra to get his daughter married to her son. But when the Pandavas loses their kingdom to the Kaurava's, Balarama breaks his promise.
- DirectorKadiri Venkata ReddyStarsN.T. Rama RaoS.V. Ranga RaoMalathi K.A poor man, in love with a princess, is persuaded by an evil sorcerer to help him get the blessing of a Goddess.
- DirectorVedantam RaghavaiahStarsAkkineni Nageswara RaoSavitriS.V. Ranga RaoAdapted from a popular Bengali novel, Devadasu narrates the story of a rich guy and poor girl separated by class system of India. Parvati is forcefully married off to a middle-aged rich man and Devadasu becomes a drunkard.
- DirectorDasari Narayana RaoStarsAkkineni Nageswara RaoSrideviJayasudhaRajesh loves Devi but discovers that he has cancer. He decides to avoid her and acts rude so that she can marry Prasad, her brother's friend.
- DirectorN.T. Rama RaoStarsN.T. Rama RaoDhulipalaMikkilineniStory of the central hero of Mahabharata who rises from nothing to becoming the world's greatest warrior ever born in history and emerges as the hero of the Kurukshetra war.
- DirectorK. ViswanathStarsJ.V. SomayajuluManju BhargaviTulasiThe story of a rare and exceptional bond between the master of classical music Sankara Sastry and his admirer Tulasi, a woman from a family of prostitutes.
- DirectorK. ViswanathStarsKamal HaasanJaya PradaSarath BabuA classical dancer, Balakrishna, faces many struggles, but is eventually redeemed.
- DirectorK. ViswanathStarsKamal HaasanRadhika SarathkumarAllu ArjunThe story is of mentally slow man, whose life is recapped to his grand-daughter. How he meets his wife (who was a widow), earns his living and fights the injustice he and his wife face.
- DirectorK. ViswanathStarsSarvadaman BanerjeeMoon Moon SenSuhasiniSirivennela is a 1986 Indian Telugu film, directed by K. Vishwanath and Produced by Ch. Ramakrishna Reddy, N. Bhaskara Reddy and Ujjuri Chinaveerraju. The film stars Suhasini, Sarvadaman Banerjee, Moon Moon Sen and Meena in lead roles. The music of the film was composed by K. V. Mahadevan.
- DirectorSingeetam Srinivasa RaoStarsKamal HaasanAmala AkkineniTinnu AnandAn unemployed graduate who coincidentally encounters a rich unconscious man, and takes over his lifestyle by keeping him a prisoner. However, he is in for a twist as a contract killer is after him, assuming him to be the affluent man.
- DirectorK. BalachanderStarsKamal HaasanSarithaMadhaviTwo lovers from differing cultural backgrounds are separated by their parents for one year in order to prove if their love is true.
- DirectorKamalakara Kameshwara RaoStarsSuryakanthamN.T. Rama RaoAkkineni Nageswara RaoGundamma, a rich widow, has one goal - to get her spoilt daughter married to a rich boy. She, however, treats her step daughter like a maid. Gundamma does not care about the step daughter's life or marriage. How two brothers, who are sons of a rich friend of Gundamma's husband, get married to the half-sisters and teach Gundamma a lesson forms the rest of the story.
- DirectorL.V. PrasadStarsN.T. Rama RaoSavitriAkkineni Nageswara RaoA rom-com involving Rao and Mary, two unemployed new graduates, who decide to act as a married couple so that they qualify for two teaching jobs at a High School and eventually fall in love.
- DirectorB.N. ReddiStarsDoraiswamySubba Rao K.V.Surabhi KamalabaiNagaraju and Malliswari want to get married. The mother of Malliswari, Nagamma, sends her to rani vasam at Krishnadevaraya palace. Nagaraju tries to get her back at the risk of getting beheaded if caught in the palace.
- DirectorV. Ramachandra RaoStarsKrishnaKongara JaggaiahVijaya NirmalaBiopic on the life of the famous Telugu freedom fighter Alluri Seetarama Raju.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsJagapathi BabuRevathiKota Srinivasa RaoDurga is all set to marry Anitha and settle down, but things change when his brother is killed by the local MLA, who wants to settle the score with the mafia.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsNagarjuna AkkineniAmala AkkineniRaghuvaranShiva is disgusted by the corruption in and around his new college, and along with his friends, he decides to take a stand against the status quo.
- DirectorMani RatnamStarsNagarjuna AkkineniGirija ShettarVijayakumarOn a fog swept chilly hill station, a terminally ill young man (Prakash) meets a boisterous girl (gitanjali). Love blossoms, but there's a shadow behind the light she radiates.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsNagarjuna AkkineniSrideviKota Srinivasa RaoA Tantric believes that by donating a virgin woman's head to gods crown, would bring down the universe to his feet. How the hero and heroine gets entangled in the underworld nexus, while rescuing the robbery, forms the crux of the plot.
- DirectorRam Gopal VarmaStarsSrideviVenkatesh DaggubatiParesh RawalA high-profile bank robbery in the city wreaks havoc in the life of an unsuspecting regular young woman when she's caught in the line of fire between the villains and the police.
- DirectorRavi Raja PinisettyStarsVenkatesh DaggubatiMeenaBrahmanandamWhen an astrologer predicts that Nandini would marry a person of her choice, her possessive brothers decide to guard her. Can they stop her from marrying the person of her choice ?
- DirectorK. BalachanderStarsChiranjeeviGemini GanesanShobanaA classical singer believes in changing society through his music and will power.
- DirectorA. Kodandarami ReddyStarsChiranjeeviMadhaviRaogopalraoVeerabhadraiah is a feudal lord who presides over a village. Veerabhadraiah lends money to Venkateswarlu, a local farmer living with his widowed daughter. Venkateswarlu's son Suryam is a student living in the nearby city and he falls in love with Veerabhadraiah's daughter Madhulatha. When Veerabhadraiah realizes this, he asks Venkateswarlu to put a stop to this relation. When Venkateswarlu disagrees, Veerabhadraiah has him killed and asks Suryam to repay the loan that his father had taken. Suryam plans to repay the loan after the next harvest but Veerabhadraiah's men destroy the crop and attempt to rape Suryam's sister during which she commits suicide. Veerabhadraiah implicates Suryam in his sister's murder, saying that he was forcing her into prostitution. Suryam is arrested by the Police. But he escapes from jail and is helped in avenging the decimation of his family by a kindhearted lady doctor Sujatha.
- DirectorA. Kodandarami ReddyStarsChiranjeeviSuhasiniVijayshantiThe story of a young un-employed youth, who instead of despairing uses his skills to earn tons of money to show to the world that anything is possible if there is will to do it.
- DirectorSingeetam Srinivasa RaoStarsNandamuri BalakrishnaMohiniAmrish PuriA group of children use a time machine to investigate a robbery. The protagonist couple, in their attempt to rescue the kids, get stuck in the machine and travel all the way back to the period of the ruler Krishnadevaraya (1500 A.D.) as well as into the future (2500 A.D.), facing sticky situations along the way.
- DirectorSingeetam Srinivasa RaoStarsNandamuri BalakrishnaRojaKaikala SatyanarayanaA royal prince is raised by adoptive parents and experiences romance and adventure on his way to his destiny.
- DirectorKodi RamakrishnaStarsNandamuri BalakrishnaBhanumathi RamakrishnaSuhasiniVeeranna and Malli loves each other. But things changes a lot when Veeranna returns home from military service.
- DirectorRama Rao TatineniStarsN.T. Rama RaoJaya PradaKaikala SatyanarayanaSathyam and Rudrayya's daughter love each other. So Rudrayya gets Sathyam killed and Sathyam reaches heaven. There he makes Indra (Head of Heaven) angry. So he sends him to the hell. There he tries to get back to the earth and gets succeeded. Then he teaches a lesson to Rudrayya after reaching back to the earth.
- DirectorRavi Raja PinisettyStarsMohan BabuRajinikanthSoundaryaPedarayudu is the story of three brothers who are inseparable and always thrive for the well being of the people in their village. Pedarayudu (Mohan Babu), the eldest sits on the ancestral throne to deliver justice in the village. Their lives take a turn when the younger brother Raja (Mohan Babu) is accused of killing a teacher. How does Raja prove his innocence forms rest of the story.
- DirectorVijaya BaapineeduStarsChiranjeeviSravanthi ChokkarapuVallabaneni JanardhanRajaram, an unemployed easygoing person, takes revenge on his elder brother's murderers and gets his separated family members together.
- DirectorE.V.V. SatyanarayanaStarsV.K. NareshAamaniBrahmanandamA woman living in Visakhapatnam hates male domination in society and reverses the characteristics of men and women with the help of a magical herb.
- DirectorJandhyalaStarsRajendra PrasadRajaniNuthan PrasadKrishnamurthy (Rajendra Prasad) is the only son of industrialist Satyanarayana (Nutan Prasad). He wants his son to get married to a girl whom he has chosen because of his bitter experience with love marriage. Before selecting the bride, Satyanaryana has a big list of conditions which need to be fulfilled before he finalizes the bride for his son. But Krishnamurthy falls in love with Padma (Rajini). After lot of tussle, both father & son enter into an understanding that if Krishnamurthy convinces Padma's father Lakshmipathy (Kota Srinivas Rao) without using his father's name by 31st December, than Satyanarayana will allow his to get married to Padma. Otherwise, he has to obey his father and marry the girl chosen by him.
- DirectorGopal B.StarsNandamuri BalakrishnaSimranAnjala ZaveriRevenge story between Samarasimha Reddy and Veera Raghava Reddy.
- DirectorGopal B.StarsVenkatesh DaggubatiDivya BhartiVanisriRaja after knowing his true identity, teaches a lesson to his enemies.
- DirectorK. Raghavendra RaoStarsNagarjuna AkkineniSumanBhanupriyaA cinematic version of the life of famous Indian saint-poet, Annamayya.
- DirectorKrishna VamsiStarsSoundaryaPrakash RajJagapathi BabuBhanu and her son fall prey to the unknown terror background of her husband's family- faction-ism which ultimately causes his death.
- DirectorKrishna VamsiY.V.S. ChowdaryStarsNagarjuna AkkineniTabuChalapathi RaoRaju and Mahalaxmi meet at a marriage ceremony and both are attracted to each other. They soon fall deeply in love with each other, and decide to inform their respective parents of their plan to get married. Raju's family welcomes Mahalaxmi, and approve of her. Just shortly after their approval, Mahalaxmi's parents interrupt the proceedings and forcibly take Mahalaxmi with them, to get married to someone. The d each other, and no amount of mediation, or even the suggestion of such, will ever mend fences, leaving Mahalaxmi and Raju to an unknown fate.
- DirectorK.S.R. DasB. VittalacharyaStarsDhulipalaGummadiKrishnaIn this pseudo-western set in Andhra Pradesh, India, the core plot of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) exists alongside filler melodrama and colorful cowboy paraphernalia.
- DirectorVijay K. BhaskarStarsNagarjuna AkkineniSonali BendreAnshuA misogynist is forced by circumstances to work with a woman.
- DirectorVijay K. BhaskarStarsVenkatesh DaggubatiAarthi AgarwalSuhasiniVenkateswarlu, aka Venky, comes Hyderabad to his father's friend's house where he meets an engaged girl . Things turn upside down when she expresses her love for him .
- DirectorTrivikram SrinivasStarsMahesh BabuTrisha KrishnanSonu SoodA gunman for hire is framed for murder, and assumes a dead man's identity while hiding from the police.
- DirectorK. Raghavendra RaoStarsN.T. Rama RaoMohan BabuBrahmanandamMajor Chandrakanth (NTR) is a sincere military soldier and freedom fighter who always fights for justice. He retires from the military and returns home to his family in Hyderabad. His son Shivaji (Mohan Babu) is a smuggler who works for MP Gnaeswar Rao (Amrish Puri). Major Chandrakanth, not knowing he is a smuggler, wishes to see his son and grandchildren join the military and become righteous like him. He gets into many clashes with Gnaeswar. One day when Shivaji questions his father of why he still fights for justice when he's retired, he tells how important justice is. This inspires Shivaji to quit smuggling but at the same time Chandrakanth comes to know of him being a smuggler. Shivaji is sent to jail but he is given a bail. Major Chandrakanth is annoyed of knowing his son as a smuggler. Shivaji then reveals to him why he became a smuggler. He actually saves Ramya Krishna's life when she is being kidnapped by a bunch of goons. Ramya Krishna thanks and brings him to her home. That's when she reveals to him that she's a smuggler and he just helped her smuggle a bunch of diamonds. She asks him to join but he formally rejects it. Before he leaves, she says one day smuggling will become necessary for him. One day Shivaji's drunken brother-in-law kills a poor villager as people try to avenge the villager's death. They demand a ransom of 1 million in 2 days. Shivaji and his family not being able to collect that much money in any circumstances, he decides to become a smuggler and pays off the ransom. After hearing this Major Chandrakanth still doesn't accept this and Shivaji leaves the house wanting to make his father proud. He makes one of Gnaeswar Rao's sons arrested as Major Chandrakanth forgives Shivaji. Ramya Krishna supports Shivaji because she became a smuggler so that Gnaeswar Rao could let her see her kidnapped father, who was actually killed by him long time back. Meanwhile, Chandrakanth is in search of Nagma, daughter of his friend who was killed in an attack as he says his last words that he wants his son married to his daughter. Nagma is in search of Shivaji, her husband after he ties the mangalasutra considering them wife and husband. Shivaji only tied it to escape from the police when he was smuggling a bunch of diamonds earlier in the film and leaves her. Major Chandrakanth comes to know of this but luckily accepts the marriage. Gnaeswar Rao frees a terrorist Major Chandrakanth fought against earlier and teams up with him. Ramya Krishna witnesses this and finds out about her father's death until she is killed by them. Before she dies, she reveals that Gnaeswar Rao and the terrorist are planning a series of bomb blasts throughout India. At the same time, Major Chandrakanth's wife Savitri (Sarada) is suffering from blood cancer and she later on dies. Gnaeswar Rao blackmails this as Major Chandrakanth and Shivaji seek revenge. The film ends with the arrest of Gnaeswara Rao and them killing his sons. During this process however Major Chandrakanth is shot and also dies.
- DirectorK. Raghavendra RaoStarsChiranjeeviSrideviTanikella BharaniA man finds a ring that gives the bearer great power but the goddess to whom the ring belongs wants it back.
- DirectorRao C.S.R.Chittajalu PullayyaStarsN.T. Rama RaoAnjali DeviChittor V. NagaiahThis movie deals with the later part of Ramayana written by Valmiki Maharshi and depicts the lives of the sons of Rama & Sita.
- DirectorE.V.V. SatyanarayanaStarsNagarjuna AkkineniRamya KrishnanSoundaryaA quiet and mature man meets with his twin - who is exactly his opposite.