Varsham () is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film directed by Sobhan and produced by M.S. Raju under Sumanth Art Productions banner. The film stars Prabhas, Gopichand and Trisha in the lead roles while, Prakash Raj, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, and Chandra Mohan appear in supporting roles. The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad, while the cinematography was handled by S. Gopal Reddy.
Varsham emerged as a box office blockbuster, marking a breakthrough role for Prabhas and establishing Trisha in Telugu cinema. The film itself is loosely inspired from 1988 Indian Hindi-language Tezaab. The film's success led to remakes in Tamil as Mazhai (2005) and again in Hindi as Baaghi (2016).
Venkat, an unemployed youngster, meets Sailaja, a middle-class girl, on a train en route to Warangal. They are immediately attracted to each other after dancing in the pouring rain. At the same time, Sailaja catches the eye of Bhadranna, a dangerous and ruthless politician who also falls in love with her. Venkat and Sailaja keep encountering each other, the weather turning to rain immediately, as they gradually fall more in love.
Ranga Rao, Sailaja's father, is a selfish man with bad habits. When Bhadranna approaches him with a marriage proposal,he instantly agrees. However, a film producer named Seenayya also approaches Ranga Rao, offering Sailaja an opportunity to act in movies. Seeing this as a more lucrative option than marrying her off to Bhadranna, Ranga Rao creates misunderstandings between Sailaja and Venkat, resulting in their breakup. He then convinces Sailaja to pursue acting and leaves the city with her, while Venkat moves to Vizag to stay with his uncle.
In Vizag, Sailaja becomes a successful actress, while Venkat starts working as a demolition expert at a quarry under his uncleâÂÂs guidance. Meanwhile, Bhadranna is cheated out of money by Ranga Rao and discovers SailajaâÂÂs whereabouts. He kidnaps her and tries to force her into marrying him. As Sailaja's film shooting gets interrupted, a worried Seenayya seeks VenkatâÂÂs help on Ranga RaoâÂÂs advice, believing that Venkat still loves Sailaja. Venkat agrees and confronts Bhadranna, leading to a fierce fight between them as Venkat tries to rescue Sailaja.
As the confrontation unfolds, Sailaja realizes her misunderstandings about Venkat and apologizes. They reconcile, rekindling their love. That night, Bhadranna, furious at his failure, kills his own brother Kaasi for not bringing Sailaja to him. Determined to destroy Venkat and forcibly marry Sailaja, Bhadranna returns from Hyderabad. During a festival, he stabs Venkat. A fierce battle ensues, and Venkat ultimately defeats Bhadranna. As Venkat and Sailaja embrace, a burning statue of Ravana collapses on Bhadranna, killing him. The film ends with Venkat and Sailaja happily reuniting, getting their happily ever after.
Music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad and all lyrics were penned by Sirivennela Seetaaraama Saastry. Music was released on Aditya Music. Soundtrack album was released on 18 December 2003 through Aditya Music at the film's audio launch event at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad. NaChaKi of Telugu Cinema wrote "DeviSri Prasad comes up with songs that can be elevated by visuals, but also can stand by themselves. Most numbers are mass-oriented and he uses his orchestra deftly to create the moods for the songs. Particular mention of the lyrics is surely necessary for this album. Seetarama Sastry penned all the lyrics and adds another 'single-card' to his credit. What is worth mentioning is his rendition of mass-oriented songs in a freely flowing, catchy manner using simple words and some words that are getting extinct, so to say!"
Jeevi of Idlebrain.com wrote, "It's a love story with good technical values. You may definitely watch this film". A critic for Sify wrote, "The major drawback of Varsham is the second half, which has an overdose of violence and narration is marred by two dream songs. The director Shobhan loses grip on the story after the fast paced first half. Still Varsham is worth a look".
The film celebrated a 50-day run in 125 centers and the film celebrated its silver jubilee (175 days) celebration with Chiranjeevi attending as the chief guest.
This movie was re-released on 11 November 2022 with a 4K resolution.