Bheemla Nayak is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by Saagar K Chandra from a screenplay by Trivikram Srinivas.

[4][5] Daniel "Danny" Shekhar, an ex-Havaldar, and his driver cross the state border from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh on a night.

The police at the check post stop them for carrying liquor beyond the permissible quota but a drunken Danny, who is furious that his sleep is disturbed, beats them up.

The police file an FIR but after going through his phone contacts, they are shocked to know that Danny is the son of an influential politician and is connected to politically powerful men.

With no option left, Nayak opens a bottle from the seized liquor and serves, which Danny secretly films on his phone.

A senior politician arranges a truce between them, where Danny would delay sending the evidence to SP, and his mandatory appearance for two weeks would be waived off.

Meanwhile, Jeevan meets the SP and submits the evidence that Nayak's wife Suguna has indulged in smuggling by illegally buying forest goods from tribals which results in her arrest warrant.

Kodanda Ram tells Danny that Nayak is revered by the locals as an equivalent of the village deity Kokkira Devara, hence it's not wise to have a tussle with him.

Danny learns that 15 years ago, Nayak killed a ruthless contractor who preyed on tribal girls in order to save them and was seen by the people as their protecting saviour.

Danny, who has Nayak's baby in custody, asks him to meet at Erra Thanda, a place outside the police jurisdiction of both the states for a final duel.

They fight intensively and just as Nayak is about to use his signature technique of removing an arm, Danny's wife arrives and pleads for mercy.

[7][8] In October 2020, the film was officially announced with Pawan Kalyan as one of the leads, in the role of a police officer originally played by Biju Menon.

[15] Thaman S was signed to compose the music with cinematography by Prasad Murella, editing by Naveen Nooli and production design handled by AS Prakash.

[17][18] Sai Pallavi was approached to play opposite Kalyan as Suguna,[19] while Aishwarya Rajesh was cast to be a pair with Rana.

[37] However, in December 2021, it was postponed to 25 February 2022 after requests by producers D. V. V. Danayya, Vamsi, and Dil Raju as their films RRR and Radhe Shyam were scheduled to release at the same time.

The audience showed up in theatres mainly on the basis of the star pull of Pawan Kalyan and Rana Daggubati, and promotional content released online, like the trailer and the songs.

Box Office India reported that the lower ticket prices in Andhra coupled with stricter norms by the state government have negatively impacted the film's collections.

[50] According to trade analysts, if there was no ban of the first day early morning shows, and had the government not lowered ticket prices in Andhra Pradesh, this movie would have collected much more.

[51] Bheemla Nayak received positive to mixed reviews from the critics and audience, who praised the film for "terrific mass elements" and "intense confrontation scenes".

[52] Writing for The Hindu, Sangeetha Devi Dundoo termed Bheemla Nayak "racy, masala-laden adaptation," praising the screenplay, score and cinematography.

"[54] Ram Venkat Srikar of Cinema Express wrote, "Although it is largely faithful to the central conceit of the original, Bheemla Nayak is bigger, fiercer, and massier."

[55] Hindustan Times's Haricharan Pudipeddi opined that despite not recreating the original's magic, the remake still worked in its own ways, owing to "Kalyan's machismo" and "Daggubati's impressive performance.

"[56] Sankeertha Varma of Firstpost felt that Trivikram not only tried to retain the essence the original but also successfully weaved mythology around his protagonists, in addition to a flashback that tied the loose ends.

"[58] Janani.K of India Today wrote that "the remake turned out to be better than original, that has been spruced up with masala and mass moments but wisely have cut short the runtime as well".