Gaayam (1993)

Durga (Babu) loses his brother Mohan Krishna (Raj) in a gang massacre and vows revenge. In the process, he loses his girlfriend (Revathi) to an honest cop (Sivakrishna), who in turn is out to get Durga. The police authorities, however, have to seek the outlawed hero’s help in order to get the real villain (Rao). A second love interest features Matondkar, made famous as the lead in Varma’s Hindi film Rangeela (1995). An elaborately choreographed, violent hit known especially for Rao’s performance as the liquor contractor villain. The film makes direct reference to the well-documented reallife gang wars in Vijaywada between the Devineni and Vangaveeti families.