The film stars Mahesh Babu, Ileana D'Cruz, Prakash Raj, Nassar, Ashish Vidyarthi and Sayaji Shinde.

In the film, a local goon whose killer instincts earns him not only his girlfriend's disapproval and a corrupt cop's enmity, but also the attention of a wanted crime boss.

In Hyderabad, two rival mafia gangs headed by Dubai-based don Ali Bhai and Narayana resort to criminal activities such as extortion, contract and coercion to take control of the city.

Pandu, a thug working for money and living in Hyderabad along with his friends, is hired by Narayana to beat up Ali Bhai's henchmen Mallesh.

After an attack by Narayana's henchmen, Pandu brutally dispatches all the goons, where he reveals himself as a remorseless assassin and suggests that she might want to rethink her proposal leaving Sruthi heartbroken.

Meanwhile, Ali Bhai visits Hyderabad and assassinates Narayana, where he meets Pandu to discuss the murder of a minister by blowing up children's balloons.

However in her drugged state, Qadri's daughter reveals that her father had placed an undercover officer as a mole in Ali Bhai's gang.

Sruthi tries to stop Pandu from going to kill Ali Bhai, where he tells her to think as him of a criminal for another 24 hours and gives a goodbye just in case if he does not come back.

Pandu arrives at Binny Mills and starts to kill Ali Bhai's gang members one by one, rescuing Qadri's daughter in the process.

In a final confrontation, Pandu thrashes and kills Ali Bhai by slashing his throat with a broken glass window.

After this, he also shoots Pasupathy dead and says the following words: Okkasaari commit ayithe naa maata nene vinanu (transl.

In 2004, after Andhrawala's commercial failure, its director Puri Jagannadh planned a film titled Sri Krishnudu from Surabhi Company starring Chiranjeevi in the lead role.

It told the story of Uttam Singh, an undercover police officer, infiltrating a mafia gang as a criminal, with the intention of killing its kingpin.

Due to a last minute change, the makers opted to replace Takia and considered several actresses including Deepika Padukone.

[10] After seeing stills of Ileana in her Telugu debut Devadasu (2006), Jagannadh signed her as the female lead since he needed a girl who looked like a teenager to play the role of the aerobics teacher.

[14] Pokiri was shot predominantly in and around Hyderabad, especially in the Annapurna Studios, the aluminium factory near Gachibowli, Gayathri Hills and the Golconda Fort[6] in 100 working days,[8] from November 2005 to April 2006.

[6] Prior to the filming of the song "Jagadame", Shyam K. Naidu was busy on the set of Munna (2007) and was unable to shoot it so cinematographer K. V. Guhan, who had worked on Babu's Athadu (2005), was recruited instead.

[6] The film's climax sequences were shot in March 2006 at the defunct Binny Mills located in Chennai under the supervision of FEFSI Vijayan.

[7] He suggested that Jagannadh include a scene where Prakash Raj fails to hear anything for a while after he is hit by Babu during the climax sequence.

[6] Babu stated in an interview that he had to shoot the film's climax and two songs continuously for thirty-eight days, adding that he had to visit a hospital to be treated for shoulder pain.

[19] Ileana D'Cruz's T-shirt which was printed with "I May Not Be Perfect But Parts of Me Are Pretty Awesome" had earlier been used in Puri Jagannadh's Hello Premistara (2007).

[citation needed] The official soundtrack of Pokiri was composed by Mani Sharma, with lyrics written by Bhaskarabhatla, Kandikonda, and Viswa.

[20] The film's soundtrack, marketed by Aditya Music, was released on 26 March 2006, at Hotel Viceroy in Hyderabad with Babu's father Krishna attending the event as the guest of honour.

[29][30] Pokiri received positive reviews from critics with praise for its direction, screenwriting, dialogues, soundtrack, musical score, plot twist, action sequences and Mahesh Babu's performance.

Mahesh's understated performance in Pokiri allows him to effortlessly reclaim the title of a star, overshadowing more questionable recent career choices.

[33] Pokiri was released in a single screen, the Jayaprada theatre in Chennai, where 98.5% of seats were sold putting it in second place in the city's box office chart, which Sify called an "awesome" feat.

[46]Two dialogues spoken by Babu in Pokiri became popular: "Evvadu kodute dimma tirigi mind block ayipotundo, vaade Pandugaadu" (transl.

He whose punch makes your head spin and your mind fully blocked: that's Pandu) and "Okkasari commit ayite naa mata neene vinanu" (transl.

[53] In Dookudu (2011), Babu is briefly seen as a film director who makes Prudhvi Raj and M. S. Narayana recite the dialogue "Evvadu Kodutge Dimma Tirigi Mind Blockaipothundo, Vaade Pandugaadu" from Pokiri.

[54] The protagonist in Eega (2012), a fly, imitates Babu's mannerisms from the song "Jagadame" after injuring the antagonist played by Sudeep.