Okkadu

Gunasekhar's 2003 Telugu film starts with a young man who plays kabaddi. Ajay travels to Kurnool for a tournament and there rescues a woman from a local strongman who wants to force her into marriage. He brings Swapna to Hyderabad, hides her in his home and looks for a way to send her abroad to study, while his family knows nothing and the man's people search the city for them. The film runs its action alongside domestic comedy and romance and set a pattern much imitated in Telugu cinema afterwards; the opposition between rural power structures and an urban young hero spread from here. It is regarded as a turning point in Mahesh Babu's career. The violence is pronounced and the woman's fate rests largely on the decisions of men. Who it's for: viewers who like Telugu action. Who it's not for: anyone who will find the passivity of the female character uncomfortable.