'The Heroic Man')[2] 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.

The film follows a street-bike racer who discovers his connection to a 17th-century warrior through reincarnation and sets out to rescue his lover from a vengeful adversary tied to their past lives.

Four hundred years later, in 2009, Harsha, a street-bike racer, briefly touches the hand of a woman trying to board his auto, triggering strange visions.

Indu's father, Pratap Varma, was evicted from their ancestral estate in Rajasthan by his late sister’s husband, who had no rightful claim to the property.

Seeking answers, he consults a tantric, Ghora, who reveals that in a past life, he was a prince who lusted after Indu and was killed by her lover, a warrior.

The kingdom’s bravest warrior, Kala Bhairava (Harsha), is secretly in love with Vikram Singh’s daughter, Yuvarani Mithravindha Devi (Indu), who reciprocates his feelings.

Bhairava takes Mithra, his soldiers, and caretakers to Bhairavakona Temple atop a cliff to seek Lord Shiva's blessings before battle.

In the present, Harsha is rescued by Solomon (Sher Khan’s reincarnation) and learns that Indu’s past-life memories must be revived within the day, or she will remain with Raghuveer forever.

He is reborn after 400 years and fulfills his ambition of placing her on the throne by making her a Chief Minister or a popular social worker like Medha Patkar.

[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.

Upon finishing the stages of the stadium composite, Kamalakannan flew to Iran again to work with Adel on the 3D city shots which were created entirely in CG.

[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.