[6][7][8] Upon release, the film received positive reviews, with critics praising Ram Gopal Varma's narrative and performances of Mohan Babu, Vishnu Manchu and Jayasudha.
[11] The film minted a worldwide share of ₹33 crore (US$3.8 million) at the end of the second week of its run, and was declared a box office hit.
[12][13][14] The film opens in a street in Hyderabad in a night with Krishna (Vishnu Manchu) saving Sirisha (Shanvi Srivastava) from some eve-teasers and accompanying her to the hostel she stays.
Bhushan, also because of his anger on his father apart from greed for money, joins hands with KR's group for the formation of the Nandavaram project.
Meanwhile, Sirisha informs Krishna in their regular meeting that her friend is kidnapped and kept in Anna's farmhouse by Bhushan, who trashed her brother recently.
Inspector Gogin Rao (Ravi Babu) asks Anna's men to get out of the hospital as the patients and their relatives are frightened of seeing them carrying weapons.
After Lakshmi's funeral is conducted, Krishna meets Anna and tells that KR, Gogin Rao, Chandi, Vedam, Seshagiri, and Bhushan are the culprits and adds that he would kill all of them.
His close associates hold more than 50% stake in the Nandavaram project, and with that money, he planned to shift to the opposition party and win the elections.
In mid November 2013, it was reported that Ram Gopal Varma would direct Vishnu Manchu, which was confirmed by the actor in an interaction with the press.
[15] In mid-December 2013, the project materialized, and it was also reported that Ram Gopal Varma wanted to recruit Regina Cassandra as the heroine.
[19] In the third week of February 2014, it was reported that the film's shoot is nearing completion at an incredible speed with a romantic song on Vishnu and Shanvi being shot in just two days.
They said "Though the director has included lots of action and drama in the film, we admired the sentimental scenes between Mohan Babu and Jayasudha.
The chemistry between Mohan Babu and Jayasudha that once fluttered the hearts of moviegoers has been captured well all over again with much more intensity" in a statement issued to the IANS.
[29] The teaser of 107 seconds, which portrayed on screen chemistry between the lead stars Vishnu Manchu and Shanvi Srivastav, garnered tremendous response in means of shares and views on social networking sites within few hours of its release.
[30] As a part of the promotion, Ram Gopal Varma and Vishnu Manchu visited Visakhapatnam where they interacted with media and audiences at VMax Multiplex theater.
The full videos of Nee Meeda Ottu and Seema Lekka along with an action sequence were shown to the media and audiences there.
The film's audio launch was held on 20 March 2014 at the Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College in Tirupati, and the album was distributed under the Puri Sangeet label.
[34][35] On 29 March, a separate album featuring the original score was released as a tribute to veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja, whom Varma worked on Siva (1989).
[43] However, the leaders of Uttarandhra Joint Action Committee launched a morcha in Visakhapatnam demanding to ban the release of the movie.
Alleging that the movie promotes rowdyism, the protesters stated that they will be filing a petition with the Election Commission to ban the film's release.
The Hindu gave a review stating "The film is helped hugely by good performances from Mohan Babu, Vishnu and Jayasudha.
While Varma can be commended for channelising Mohan Babu’s aggression in an apt role, one wishes he hadn’t made the actor say ‘respect’ so many times that it becomes a joke.
"[46] Oneindia Entertainment gave a review stating "Overall, Ram Gopal Varma has taken the story from his Sarkar and weaved a different screenplay for Rowdy keeping Telugu audience in mind.
[50] IndiaGlitz gave a review stating "If you wanted to see Mohan Babu do an Amitabh Bachchan while retaining his irreverent style, 'Rowdy' fulfills that urge.