Year: 1996
Runtime: 150 mins
Language: Telugu
Director: Suresh Krishna
A mother, Srividhya, abandoned by her husband, raises her son Rakesh (Venkatesh) with strong values, turning him into an upright lawyer who defends women betrayed by their spouses. Together they confront the father, seeking justice for the wrongs done to Srividhya, with Rakesh’s revenge forming the film’s core. The conflict pits familial duty against moral law, highlighting the struggle for dignity.
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Rakesh is an angry young man with a steadfast sense of justice, an honest lawyer whose integrity earns him respect from the poor who rely on him. He shares a close bond with his mother, Sarada, who is not only a pillar of support but also his best friend. The rift with his father, Mahendra, a powerful MLA, shapes much of his life, keeping them separated as he grows into a principled defender of the underdog.
Enter Sandhya, a determined journalist who pursues an interview with him. Her persistence (she trails him like a loyal shadow) gradually deepens into affection, and she finds common ground with Rakesh when she speaks of her love for his mother, Sarada. As she peels back the layers of his past, she reveals a truth that pushes the couple toward a more intimate connection, testing Rakesh’s capacity to open up to love while staying true to his core beliefs.
The story flashes back to four years earlier, when the young and spirited Rakesh falls for a middle-class girl, Surekha. Their romance challenges his father’s political calculus, who insists on a union with the daughter of a prominent politician for strategic gains. Rakesh resists this plan, choosing Surekha and actively working to secure their marriage. But Mahendra, determined to control every outcome, schemes to derail them. He traps Surekha and convinces the court that she is a prostitute, a brutal accusation that drives her to suicide. Consumed by anger, Rakesh contemplates killing his father; yet, moved by his mother’s pleas and their shared history, he spares him, and the old wounds drive a bitter estrangement between father and son.
Back in the present, Sandhya’s somber confession of love softens Rakesh’s guard, and he begins to entertain the possibility of a life with her. Yet the thread of destiny tightens as Mahendra’s political world begins to fray due to family turmoil. He seeks reconciliation, but Rakesh declines, choosing instead to stand apart from the manipulation and the politics that have haunted his family. In a dark turn, Mahendra orders the killing of his devoted servant, Balamani, hoping to silence a chain of evidence and shift blame. When the case lands at his doorstep, Mahendra tries to draw Rakesh into defending him, pressing him to become complicit in an injustice that would compromise his conscience.
Rakesh resists, but Mahendra uses a cruel psychological play, exploiting Sarada’s emotions to pressure him into taking on the case. The ploy unsettles him, but Sarada’s own strength and support help him resist the lure of personal safety in exchange for legal cover for his father. With renewed resolve, Sarada empowers her son to stand up to the patriarch’s wrongdoing, reminding him of the responsibilities he bears to truth and to the people who rely on him.
In the climactic culmination, Rakesh confronts the truth head-on. He interrogates the contradictions, gathers the evidence, and ultimately demonstrates that Mahendra is culpable, not just for the murder of Balamani but for the broader pattern of abuse of power and manipulation that has haunted his family. The courtroom becomes a stage for justice to prevail, and Rakesh’s steadfast dedication to law and fairness ensures that Mahendra cannot escape accountability. Through this painstaking pursuit of justice, the film reaffirms a powerful message: integrity and perseverance can prevail over political machinations and personal vendettas, and the rightful path, though arduous, is the one that honors those who believed in Rakesh from the start.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 12:33
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Upright heroes use the law to settle bitter personal scores from the past.If you liked Dharma Chakram's story of a lawyer seeking revenge through the legal system, you'll appreciate these movies. This thread gathers films where courtroom battles are deeply personal, driven by past betrayal and a relentless pursuit of justice that blurs the line between law and vengeance.
These stories typically follow a protagonist who has suffered a significant personal wrong, often involving family betrayal. They acquire legal skills or status, turning the system against their oppressor. The plot builds methodically towards a climactic legal confrontation where public justice and private revenge intersect.
They are grouped by the unique fusion of a legal procedural framework with the raw emotion of a revenge thriller. The shared experience is cathartic, watching a hero weaponize the law against a corrupt individual, delivering a hard-won victory that feels both legally sound and personally satisfying.
Stories of principled sons forced to challenge their powerful, morally bankrupt fathers.For viewers who enjoyed the core father-son conflict in Dharma Chakram, this thread highlights similar movies about moral sons standing up to dysfunctional patriarchs. These films explore the heavy emotional weight of familial duty clashing with justice, often within a dramatic and tense narrative.
The narrative pattern involves a son who discovers the true, dark nature of his father's actions, which often directly harmed the family. The son's journey is one of disillusionment and determination, leading to a direct confrontation where he must uphold his own values against the father's corrupt authority, resulting in a fractured family but a preserved sense of self.
These films share a powerful emotional core rooted in familial betrayal and the struggle for moral integrity. The grouping is defined by the specific dynamic of a son challenging paternal authority, creating stories that are dramatically tense, emotionally heavy, and thematically focused on justice and personal dignity.
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Discover movies like Dharma Chakram that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.
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