'The Heroic Man')[1] is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language romantic fantasy action drama film co-written & directed by S. S. Rajamouli, based on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad and with dialogues by M. Rathnam.

Produced by Allu Aravind and B. V. S. N. Prasad under Geetha Arts, the film stars Ram Charan, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal and Dev Gill.

As Raghuveer and Indu leave in a helicopter, Harsha fails to catch them; falling into a lake, he faces a near-death experience and gets a full vision of his past life in 1609 CE.

Past: In 1609, Emperor Sher Khan is preparing to invade the kingdom of Udaigarh when he hears of the brave warrior Kala Bhairava (Harsha).

King Vikram Singh's daughter and heir, Yuvaraani Mithravindha Devi (Indu), loves Bhairava, but he holds himself back even though he reciprocates her feelings.

Ranadev Billa (Raghuveer), the royal general as well as the son of Vikram Singh's late sister and brother-in-law, lusts after Mithra, thus his cousin, and plans a competition between himself and Bhairava; the winner will marry the princess and the loser will be banished from Udaigarh.

Bhairava takes Mithra, his soldiers, and his caretakers to the Bhairavakona Temple atop a cliff to seek blessings from Lord Shiva before the attack.

When he does not respond, she upsets the sacred items they have brought for the puja and, using her blood, paints an image of Bhairava on a rock picturing him leaving his true love to do his duty.

However, Ranadev, invoking Khan's promise to aid him in victory, continues attacking, eventually stabbing Mithra in the stomach before being decapitated by Bhairava.

Harsha kidnaps Indu, with Solomon aiding him, and takes her to the Bhairavakona Temple, now in a dilapidated state, and the process, Raghuveer accidentally kills Aghora.

[13] Rajamouli re-characterized the Rajamatha character as a princess to create a vital love story for the film, as he felt that the relationship between a queen and a bodyguard would be only about loyalty and honesty.

M. Rathnam was announced as the dialogue writer while Rajamouli's usual collaborators K. K. Senthil Kumar, Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao, and M. M. Keeravani worked on the film's cinematography, editing, and music respectively.

[15] After considering several actresses (including Tamannaah) for the princess role, Kajal Aggarwal was selected by Rajamouli as the female lead opposite Ram Charan after conducting a photo shoot in his office.

When Rajamouli suggested the idea of a cameo appearance, Chiranjeevi was initially hesitant till the director narrated the complete sequence and the importance of the song.

We actually went to Rajasthan and observed the local culture and their way of dressing, we researched a lot about their costumes, history, and great personalities 400 years ago and planned it accordingly.

[23] Her decision of having Kajal wear a dress of baby pink and pista green during the war sequence at Bhairavakona was initially opposed by Rajamouli, but later agreed to after the director saw the final edit.

After rejecting the maker's first iron skeletons, Ravinder opted to design them himself, and prepared three models of chariots with different heights to be used, depending on the camera's location and other technical requirements.

For a scene in which neither the hero nor the villain was present on the chariot, Ravinder measured a short person and designed a hidden chamber in which he could sit and secretly control the horses.

They were designed by 160 workers, including welders, molders, carpenters, painters, cobblers, artists, tailors, and leathermen, who worked for two months in the Geetha Arts Studio.

[citation needed] After the photographs and small video clips were leaked on the Internet, some of the film unit members felt that the loss might have been a ploy on the part of the producers to create hype.

[citation needed] Geetha Arts collaborated with Udhayanidhi Stalin for the Tamil version and distributed it under his production banner, Red Giant Movies.

[48] On 9 August 2009, two persons, identified as NIT student M. Praveen Kumar and Ganesh, were killed and 15 others sustained severe injuries after being electrocuted while jostling for tickets for Magadheera at the theatre Bhavani in Kazipet, Warangal.

Satyanarayana's announcement followed the death of five people in Salur Village due to an electrical accident at the Lakshmi theatre screening Magadheera.

[57] Activists of PDSU, POW and PYL staged a protest demonstration in front of the Ashok 70 MM theatre in Nizamabad, where the film was screened, to demand the removal of the song.

The protesters said that the song was written by Rao during the famous Srikakulam armed struggle four decades prior and had been misused to portray an obscene duet in the film.

During the release announcement, Allu Sirish said that although they initially were reluctant to go for it, given the fact that there were approximately only 2500 Blu-ray devices in Andhra Pradesh, the overwhelming demand for it made him rethink the decision.

[citation needed] Suresh Krishnamoorthy of The Hindu summarised, "Magadheera is not for the weak-hearted, those who do not like the sight of blood and neither is it for those who like movies with storylines that are much-closer-to-everyday- reality.

[78] According to writer Gopimohan, Magadheera started a trend of experimentation with a period, socio-fantasy and spiritual themes that were continued in films like Panchakshari (2010), Nagavalli (2010), Anaganaga O Dheerudu (2011), Mangala (2011), Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) and Uu Kodathara?

"[82] Matt Groening, the creator of the television series The Simpsons and Futurama while discussing his inspiration for Disenchantment said, "In a given show there might be homages to Buster Keaton and to an Indian filmmaker named S. S. Rajamouli, who has made some of my favorite films of the last decade.

[88][89] The Tamil dubbed version of the Telugu film Yevadu (2014), which featured Charan in one of the lead roles and Kajal in a crucial cameo, was titled Magadheera.