Directed by Mahesh Babu P., Andhra King Taluka is the story of a fan whose life revolved around his favorite superstar, Surya Kumar. Well, I would like to state here that though the film is made with a lot of sincerity, it’s too dramatic, too idealistic, too convenient, and too unrealistic for my liking. But you should give it a watch and find out for yourself if you like the film or not. So let’s find out who this fan was, how he crossed paths with Surya Kumar, and if he was able to win over the love of his life.
Spoiler Alert
Who sent Surya 3 crore rupees?
Surya Kumar was the reigning superstar of the Telugu industry. He was shooting his 100th film, and he believed that it was going to break all his previous records and also revive his career. His ardent fans believed that his career didn’t need any sort of revival, but the box office numbers told another story. The fact was that Surya’s last 9 to 10 films hadn’t done so well at the box office. Many producers had run up losses, and in fact, many people from the industry were of the opinion that Surya’s glory days were behind him. While Surya was shooting for his 100th film, his producer called him to have a chat with him. He told Surya that unfortunately he would have to stop the production of the film, as he didn’t have any more money to spend. He told Surya that he’d tried asking many other lenders for some money, but they’d all refused, stating that it was too risky to invest in a project that had Surya in its lead. Surya didn’t even realize how times had changed. The producers who came and stood in lines outside his office were now refusing to pick up his call. Surya was in need of 3 crore rupees to complete the production. It was his last chance, as he knew that if the news of his film running out of funds got out, then people would completely boycott him. Surya made a call to a well-known producer/distributor named Nayak, and he asked him if he could help him out. Nayak agreed to send him the amount, but in return he asked him to do a character role in his next film. Nayak was launching his son in his next film, and he wanted Surya to play the role of the protagonist’s father. Surya felt numb for a few moments. Nobody would have dared to make such a request to him when his films were drawing in massive crowds. To give some context to people who are not aware of the culture of the Indian film industry: character roles are not considered respectable, and a leading man normally abstains from doing them. In India, the importance of the role is not decided by the quality of writing or the part it plays in the narrative, but by its screen time. So obviously, it was beneath Surya’s self-worth to accept Nayak’s consideration. But then suddenly something unprecedented happened.
Somebody transferred 3 crore rupees into his account. When he checked, he got to know that the president of a fan union had transferred him that amount. Surya couldn’t understand how a fan had that much money, and moreover, why did he send it to him? That’s when Surya got to know that Sagar was no ordinary fan. He’d been his biggest devotee since he was 10 years old. Surya decided that he would have to go and meet the man in order to understand his motivations.
Why did Sagar worship Surya?
Sagar came from a small island village named Govardhan Puri. He was the first person who had received formal education in his village, and he took a lot of pride in the fact that he could speak English. There was no electricity in Sagar’s village; and the resources were bare minimum, but that didn’t stop the boy from dreaming big. When his father had taken him to be admitted to the school, the headmaster had rejected his application, saying that any villager who came from that godforsaken place didn’t deserve to be educated. Sagar’s father told him to recite a hymn/devotional poem that he had made him learn. But Sagar froze in front of the headmaster, and he couldn’t speak a word, thereby giving another chance for the headmaster to insult them. That day when Sagar went back, he heard a song from Surya’s film, probably for the first time in his life. That song gave him strength to not give up. It gave him the courage to work on himself, face the hardships and challenges that came his way, and then make progress. Sagar learned that hymn, and he got admission to the school. After that day, there was no stopping him. He excelled in his studies and then enrolled in the Polytechnic College for higher education. He believed that, had Surya’s songs not been there, then he wouldn’t have succeeded in his life. From that day, he became an ardent devotee of Surya. He started a fan association, and he watched every film of Surya’s, first day, first show.
Why wasn’t Mahalaxmi getting married to Sagar?
Sagar saw Mahalaxmi for the first time when he went to watch Surya’s film in the local theater. The theater belonged to Mahalaxmi’s father, and Sagar was totally unaware of that fact. Mahalaxmi’s village was the closest one to Surya’s island. Sagar started going out with Mahalaxmi, and eventually they both fell in love. Mahalaxmi came from an affluent background, but she fell for Sagar’s honesty, his passion, his dreams, and his sincerity. She knew that she would love to spend her entire life with such a man. She was never attracted to material wealth, and she felt that if she had a man like Sagar by her side, then she wouldn’t need anything else. Mahalaxmi’s father, Purshottam, and her brother, Murari, were quite status conscious, and they were just not ready to accept Sagar into their family. That’s when Sagar decided to take on another challenge. He decided to raise enough money so that he could proudly come and also ask for Mahalaxmi’s hand in marriage from her father. He made a deal with Purshottam and told him that he would open a theater in Govardhan Puri that would be even bigger than his. Sagar made a moving/open-air theater to begin with, but he realized that no matter how much business it saw, he wouldn’t be able to earn the amount he had promised Purshottam. But then he got an idea. He decided to sell sand to builders and contractors with the help of his village folks. Sagar was able to raise enough money, rather quickly, to build his own theater, which, obviously, he named Mahalaxmi. Sagar wanted to play Surya’s film for the opening night, but the man with whom he had made a deal refused to give him the film reel at the very last moment, because Murari had gone and bribed him. Sagar went to the city, and he met the producer, who had once come to his village to shoot for Surya’s film. That producer made him meet a distributor who agreed to give him the reel. But just before the deal was finalized, that distributor/producer got a call from Surya. That distributor’s name was Nayak, and he was the same man who had asked Surya to do a character role in his next film. Sagar got agitated, and he refused to take anything from Nayak. Sagar knew how important it was for Surya to complete his 100th film. So he sold his theater to Purshottam and asked him for 3 crore rupees in return. What it also meant was that Purshottam won the deal, and he was not bound to get his daughter married to him. Mahalaxmi got agitated by these events, and she decided to get married to some other guy in anger. Sagar went back to his village not knowing what future held in store for him.
What happened when Sagar met Surya?
At the end of Andhra King Taluka, Surya came to meet Sagar, and after hearing out his story, he realized that Mahalaxmi was getting married to someone else. He crashed Mahalaxmi’s wedding, and the guests went berserk to find a superstar amidst them. Mahalaxmi narrated to Surya whatever had happened and why she was getting married to someone else. Surya made Mahalaxmi understand that though Sagar gave up on her, he did it only to save his career. Surya told Mahalaxmi to not commit the blunder of marrying somebody else, and then he made way for Surya’s village, which was flooded due to excessive rains. In a dramatic moment, Surya finally met his biggest fan. Sagar didn’t know how to express his happiness in words, but he was ecstatic, because he had finally met the man from whom he had learned so much. Surya told him that this visit meant a lot for him, as, meeting his fans, he had realized that his story hadn’t ended. Mahalaxmi came back to Sagar, they got married, and together they ran the only cinema hall in the island village. Surya went back and decided to sell off his cars, his house, and all the expensive goods he had to produce his 100th film. He started working with a newfound zeal, and he believed that once again he would find his lost glory.
