Saradha Bullodu (1996)

This emotionally charged family drama revolves around Vijay (Venkatesh), a hard-working and sincere engineer, who lives with Shantha his widowed mother. When his employer assigns him the task of exploring an area for oil wells, he reaches a village called Attamadugu.

However, Vijay is approached by Sangliyana (Mohan Raj), a wealthy businessman who offers him a hefty bribe to stay away from the village. When Vijay rejects the offer, Sangliyana threatens him with dire consequences, but Vijay bravely disregards the threats and continues his research in the village.

The autocratic head of Attamadugu is Rajeswari Devi (Manjula), a cruel and greedy woman, who has been reigning over her brother Jaya Chandra (Murali Mohan) estate for a long time, with such tyranny that her word is considered law amongst the hapless villagers. Her brother is kept imprisoned in a room in the house and his addiction to alcohol is encouraged to keep him in a stupor more often than not. Jaya Chandra's daughter Lakshmi is treated like a servant or a slave and constantly demeaned.

Vijay feels very protective towards Lakshmi, while he often has ego-battles with Nirmala Devi (Nagma), Rajeshwari Devi's daughter. Even as Rajeshwari Devi and Sangliyana join hands and plot to eliminate Vijay, in order to keep the valuable oil reserves for themselves, he outwits them at every step. As Vijay delves deeper into Rajeshwari Devi's family history, he realises that he is deeply connected to her.

In reality, Jaya Chandra is Vijay's own father and Lakshmi is his sister. So, why has Vijay's mother lived as a widow all her life, when her husband is alive? Can Vijay unravel the mystery of his family's past, ensure that his family is reunited, and that happiness and harmony are restored in his village?