Abhilasha is a 1983 Telugu film, directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy

A. Kodandarami Reddy

A. Kodandarami Reddy , is a Telugu film director who made successful films in 1980s and early 90s.His association with Chiranjeevi created blockbusters like Khaidi, Pasivadi Pranam, Athaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu, Nyayam Kavali, Abhilasha, Goonda, Challenge , Donga, Rakshasudu, Jebu Donga,...

 and was produced by K.S. Rama Rao. It is the film adaptation of Yandamuri Veerendranath

Yandamuri Veerendranath

Yandamuri Veerendranath , is a renowned Telugu novelist. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh state in India, he influenced younger generations with his socially relevant writings. In his writings he addresses many of the important social problems in India like poverty, prejudices, and superstitions, and...

's novel of the same name. Chiranjeevi

Chiranjeevi

Chiranjeevi is a Telugu film actor and a politician. He has appeared primarily in Telugu Cinema along with a few Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Punadhirallu . However, Pranam Khareedu released at the box office earlier...

, Radhika, Rao Gopal Rao

Rao Gopal Rao

Rao Gopal Rao was a popular Tollywood Character actor and producer and member of Rajya Sabha.-Brief Lifesketch:Rao Gopal Rao was born in 1937 in Ganganapalli near Kakinada,...

, and Gollapudi Maruthi Rao

Gollapudi Maruthi Rao

Gollapudi Maruthi Rao is a mathematical physicist turned editor, writer , dramatist, cine actor, TV anchor, and journalist who is well known for his many contributions to Telugu literature and culture...

 played vital roles. Music was scored by Ilayaraja.

Plot

This story was based on a unique point of removing Section 302 from Indian Penal Code

Indian Penal Code

Indian Penal Code is the main criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code, intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. It was drafted in 1860 and came into force in colonial India during the British Raj in 1862...

, which sentences death. Struggling lawyer Chiranjeevi (Chiranjeevi

Chiranjeevi

Chiranjeevi is a Telugu film actor and a politician. He has appeared primarily in Telugu Cinema along with a few Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Punadhirallu . However, Pranam Khareedu released at the box office earlier...

), lives with his roommate (Allu Aravind), and dreams of removing IPC Section 302. The reason behind his determination was his father's death sentence under 302, for rape and murder, which he didn't commit.

Viswanatham (Rao Gopal Rao

Rao Gopal Rao

Rao Gopal Rao was a popular Tollywood Character actor and producer and member of Rajya Sabha.-Brief Lifesketch:Rao Gopal Rao was born in 1937 in Ganganapalli near Kakinada,...

), a famous criminal lawyer in that city, sends an invitation to every famous lawyer for a party at his place. By his secretary's mistake, one invitation reaches Chiranjeevi and he gets a chance to meet Viswanatham and express his idea about IPC 302. He also meets Viswanatham's niece Archana (Radhika) at the party and falls in love with her. When their love starts blossoming, after a couple of dates, Archana has to attend a meeting in another country and she leaves for few days.

During this time Chiranjeevi comes up with an idea: to plan a fake murder, in which he will trap himself and gets death sentence. According to his plan, Viswanatham will show original pictures of the dead body to the governor at the last moment and rescue Chiranjeevi. Then, both wanted to file a petition in Supreme Court against IPC 302. They manage a lady's dead body and Chiranjeevi is sentenced to death, just as Chiranjeevi planned. In jail, guard Ganapathi (Rallapalli) is surprised to see Chiranjeevi happy before his death. Archana returns from abroad and finds out that Chiranjeevi will be hanged the next day. She goes to the jail to meet Chiranjeevi, and he acts like if he really did commit the crime out of lust (Archana does not know Chiranjeevi's plan). Archana leaves in disgust. Just a night before Chiranjeevi's hanging, Viswanatham, who is on his way to meet governor to rescue Chiranjeevi, has an accident.

Tense Chiranjeevi reveals to Ganapthi that this was all a fake and that he did not kill the woman and pleads for his help. Ganapathi runs to Archana's house to tell her the truth. After a night-long struggle, they manage to get in touch with Viswanatham, who is alive and in hospital. They get the original negative photos and in the last moment Chiranjeevi is saved from being hanged.

Viswanatham throws a party to celebrate Chiranjeevi's success and announces Chiranjeevi and Archana's engagement. A drunk (Gollapudi) drags Chiranjeevi out of the party and Archana gets suspicious about their secret talk. She follows him. Meanwhile Chiranjeevi believes that the dead body he used was not a natural death: She was killed by someone. A postmortem report shows that she was killed by a guy with four fingers on one hand. Archana remembers a goon, who attacked her on the night she saved Chiranjeevi, when she reached him to find out the source of dead body. Chiranjeevi reveals that he bought the body from that four-fingered goon. It slowly unfolds that the lady who was killed was Viswanatham's daughter from his extramarital relationship. Viswanatham is arrested and in court the judge sentences him to death. But Chiranjeevi objects. He finds that the death penalty is ridiculous and that it is not a punishment to kill someone. To punish, one must suffer for his/her actions. After a short speech, the judge also objects and instead sentences seven years to prison.

Two American films The Man Who Dared

The Man Who Dared

The Man Who Dared is a 1946 film directed by John Sturges. It tells the story of a reporter who concocts a false case so as to get himself convicted for first degree murder. He does this to prove that the death sentence should be banned, because it can be given based on circumstantial evidence....

 (1946) and Life of David Gale (2003) also share similar plot.

External links

• Abhilasha Film At Basthi.com