Ammoru

When an epidemic torments a village, the priests suggest people to conduct a fair and worship the goddess Ammoru. On the festival night, an old lady visits the premises and asks the women there for prasadam, only one kind-natured young woman offers it. Later that night, the old lady visits the house of the young woman with a potion she made of neem leaves and instructs her to sprinkle it in front of all the houses in the village to end the epidemic. The old lady promises to stay in the house until she returns. The woman leaves with the potion, but half way through remembers she did not provide food to the guest and returns to do so. When she returns and accidentally sees through the window, she finds the old lady sitting inside the house majestically as the goddess Ammoru. Realizing that old lady is the goddess herself and remembering the promise she made, the young woman hoping to keep the goddess there forever to protect the village and its people, commits suicide by jumping into a well. The goddess, now obliged to stay there permanently, turns into an idol, around which a temple gets built.

Later, Bhavani, an ardent devotee of the goddess Ammoru, informs the police about Ghorakh, a sorcerer who kills a young girl by burying her alive, and gets him arrested. As an act of revenge, Ghorakh's sister Leelamma and her family torture Bhavani. In one of their attempts, Bhavani is married to Ghorakh's nephew Surya, a kind-hearted doctor. When Surya leaves for the USA on a business trip leaving his wife, Leelamma tries to kill Bhavani with the help of Leelamma's creditor. Goddess Ammoru then descends again, she kills Leelamma's creditor and takes the form of a little girl (Papa) to protect Bhavani. She tortures Leelamma, her husband, and her daughter in retaliation. Leelamma's servant realizes that Papa is Ammoru and stays loyal to her. When Surya returns to India after his American business, Leelamma alleges that Bhavani is involved in an illicit relationship by framing her with another man in their bedroom. But Papa switches Leelama's daughter in the place of Bhavani. The daughter is married off to that man by Ammoru.

Meanwhile, Ghorakh is released from jail due to his Epilepsy condition. But he remains unchanged and decides to take revenge against Bhavani who was responsible for his arrest. First, he tries to kill Bhavani by poisoning her food when she is pregnant. But goddess Ammoru, who is in the form of the Papa saves her and helps Bhavani give birth to a baby daughter. Ghorakh realizes that some form of virtuous spirit is making his power useless. He finds out that the little girl is goddess Ammoru who is obstructing his evil plans. Ghorakh tricks Bhavani to dismiss Papa. Bhavani states that she must not return unless she puts Bottu(బొట్టు) on her forehead and asks her to come. Ghorakh then kills Bhavani's infant daughter and tortures Surya with the help of an evil spirit, Chanda. Bhavani prays to goddess Ammoru to save her, but the goddess cannot respond as Bhavani has not fulfilled the condition of her return. At last, Bhavani puts her hand on the goddess's trident and bleeds. Ghorakh pulls her in a bid to disrobe her, causing a few drops of Bhavani's blood to spill on the goddess' forehead making a bottu which allows her to return. The goddess arrives in her fiercest form and kills Ghorakh. Surya and Bhavani realize that Papa was Ammoru all along. The goddess returns Bhavani's baby daughter (whom she saved from Ghorakh) to Bhavani and blesses them.

• Ramya Krishnan as Goddess Ammoru
• Soundarya as Bhavani (Voice dubbed by actress Saritha)
• Baby Sunaina as the child servant (Papa) / Ammoru{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/sunaina-badam-interview-oh-baby-i-will-not-throw-away-this-success/article28421939.ece |title=I will not throw away this success: 'Oh! Baby' actor Sunaina Badam |last=Chowdhary |first=Y. Sunita |date=13 July 2019 |work=The Hindu |access-date=8 August 2019 |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906112631/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/sunaina-badam-interview-oh-baby-i-will-not-throw-away-this-success/article28421939.ece |archive-date=6 September 2019 |url-status=live}}
• Suresh as Surya
• Rami Reddy as Gopalakrishna "Ghorakh"
• Vadivukkarasi as Leelamma
• Babu Mohan as Leelamma's husband
• Shruthi as Leelamma's daughter
• Kallu Chidambaram as Chidambaram

Shyam Prasad Reddy, who was disappointed with the response of his previous production Aagraham (1991) decided to make a film in Telugu with extensive use of visual effects after watching Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). He chose Y. Rama Rao, who worked as an assistant to Kodandarami Reddy, as director. Chinna was cast as a sorcerer, but was later replaced by Rami Reddy.{{Cite web |date=25 June 2014 |title=Ammoru (1995) |url=https://www.iqlikmovies.com/epic/movie/2013/04/11/Ammoru/95 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906111556/https://www.iqlikmovies.com/epic/movie/2013/04/11/Ammoru/95 |archive-date=6 September 2019 |website=iQlik Movies}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/telugu-film-industry-mourns-the-death-of-visionary-filmmaker-kodi-ramakrishna-2045651.html |title=Telugu Film Industry Mourns the Death of Visionary Filmmaker Kodi Ramakrishna |website=News18 |access-date=8 August 2019}}

Ramya Krishna was cast in the title role of Goddess Ammoru, marking a departure from her usual glamorous roles and showcasing her versatility as an actress. Soundarya, recommended by Babu Mohan, was chosen to play her devotee, Bhavani. Although it was Soundarya's third film, the lengthy production process resulted in its release as her 27th. She dedicated 180 days to the project. The film also featured Suresh as the male lead, Rami Reddy as the antagonist, and Baby Sunaina portraying Ammoru's child avatar.

Filming began in July 1992 at Ayinavilli in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.{{cite web|url=https://www.eenadu.net/telugu-news/movies/movie-shooting-places-in-east-godavari-district/0212/121027450|title=అక్క డ సినిమా తీస్తే హిట్టే!|language=Telugu|website=Eenadu|access-date=5 December 2024|date=7 February 2021}} Initially directed by Y. Rama Rao, he was later replaced by Kodi Ramakrishna, as producer Shyam Prasad Reddy was dissatisfied with the film's outcome. To enhance his understanding of visual effects, Kodi Ramakrishna studied related materials before taking over the project.{{Cite web |date=25 December 2001 |title=Interview with Kodi Ramakrishna by Jeevi |url=https://www.idlebrain.com/celeb/interview/interview_kodi.html |access-date=8 August 2019 |website=Idlebrain.com}}

Cinematographer Vijay C. Kumar utilized blue matte technology for the graphics shots.{{Cite web |title=Vijay C Kumar - Telugu Cinema interview - Telugu film cinematoghrapher |url=https://www.idlebrain.com/celeb/interview/vijayckumar.html |access-date=8 August 2019 |website=idlebrain.com}} The film, despite lacking a major star cast, was shot twice over three years with a budget of ₹1.8 crore, of which ₹1.2 crore was dedicated to visual effects—a groundbreaking investment in Telugu cinema. This bold focus on advanced graphics aimed to deliver a unique cinematic experience.

Chakravarthy was initially chosen to compose the music, but since he was unwell at that time his son Sri was selected to compose.

{{Track listing

| all_music =

| headline = Track list

| extra_column = Singer(s)

| title1 = Ammoru Maa Thalli

| lyrics1 = Rasaraju

| extra1 = S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chitra

| title2 = Challani Maatalli Ammoru

| lyrics2 = Mallemaala

| extra2 = K. S. Chithra

| title3 = Dandalu Dandalu

| lyrics3 = Mallemaala

| extra3 = K. S. Chithra, Mano, Lalitha Sagari, Madhavapeddi Ramesh

| title4 = Emani Piluvanu Nenu

| lyrics4 = Mallemaala

| extra4 = K. S. Chithra, Mano

| title5 = Kapadu Devatha

| lyrics5 = Mallemaala

| extra5 = Vandemataram Srinivas

| title6 = Yeduru Tirigi Niluvaleka

| lyrics6 = Mallemaala

| extra6 = K. S. Chithra

}}

Ammoru was released on November 23, 1995, and was met with commercial success.

Reviewing the Tamil dubbed version Amman, D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Soundarya puts her heart and soul into her performance as the hapless girl caught in the vicious circle of her relatives and in the scene where she loses her baby and in the portion trying to save her afflicted husband from Gorak's spell without inviting the help of the Goddess, she sizzles."{{Cite web |url=http://www.webpage.com/hindu/960203/03/0227a.html |title=Cinema: Amman/Love Birds/Vaikarai Pookal/Paramparai |date=2 February 1996 |work=The Hindu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961221124207/http://www.webpage.com/hindu/960203/03/0227a.html |archive-date=21 December 1996 |first=D. S. |last=Ramanujam |page=27}}

Filmfare Awards

• Best Actress – Telugu - Soundarya

;

;Nandi Awards{{Cite web |date=13 March 2010 |title=నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964 - 2008) |trans-title=A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964 - 2008) |url=http://ipr.ap.nic.in/New_Links/Film.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223135739/http://ipr.ap.nic.in/New_Links/Film.pdf |archive-date=23 February 2015 |access-date=3 January 2021 |work=Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh|pages=74 |language=te}}

• Special Jury Award - Shyam Prasad Reddy
• Best Makeup Artist - M. Chandra Rao
• Best Female Dubbing Artist - Saritha

The success of Ammoru helped establish the trend of mythological fantasy films with visual effects in Telugu cinema.{{Cite web |last=Gudipoodi Srihari |author-link=Gudipoodi Srihari |date=28 February 2003 |title=Research - "Telugu Cinema - Past and Present" |url=https://www.idlebrain.com/research/anal/anal-tc.html |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Idlebrain.com |quote=Some producers and directors are banking on computer graphics. Kodi Ramakrishna's AMMORU is trendsetter. This technical asset made it a resounding success. DEVI also by the same director and a 1999 release was a box office hit.}} It elevated the profile of director Kodi Ramakrishna, who gained recognition for his work on fantasy and graphics-heavy films. Following Ammoru, he directed other notable visual effects-based films, including Devi (1999), Deviputrudu (2001) and Anji (2004).{{Cite web |title=Filmmakers spend extra on visual effects |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/Filmmakers-spend-extra-on-visual-effects/articleshow/10606670.cms |access-date=27 July 2019 |website=The Times of India}}

The film proved to be a launchpad for Soundarya, who went on to become a major star in Telugu cinema.{{Cite web |title=Nostalgia – Ammoru (1995) |url=http://www.idlebrain.com/nosta/ammoru.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011122013528/http://www.idlebrain.com/nosta/ammoru.html |archive-date=22 November 2001 |access-date=25 June 2010 |website=Idlebrain.com }} Ramya Krishna, known for glamorous roles, received widespread acclaim for her portrayal of Goddess Ammoru, showcasing her versatility and solidifying her reputation for playing divine roles, similar to veteran actress K. R. Vijaya.

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=tt0264357}}
• [https://www.raaga.com/channels/telugu/moviedetail.asp?mid=A0000512 Listen to Ammoru songs at Raaga.com]

{{Kodi Ramakrishna}}

Category:1995 films

Category:1990s Telugu-language films

Category:1990s Indian films

Category:Films directed by Kodi Ramakrishna

Category:Indian fantasy films

Category:Hindu devotional films

Category:Telugu films remade in other languages

Category:1995 fantasy films

Category:Supernatural films

Category:Paranormal films