The film was officially announced in January 2020 with principal photography commencing in September 2020. The film was predominantly shot in Hyderabad.[5] The film experienced several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Kalyan's political commitments, concluding only in May 2025. Initial portions of the film were directed by Jagarlamudi, while the latter portions were helmed by Krishna under former’s supervision. The film's music was composed by M. M. Keeravani.
The film was released worldwide on 24 July 2025 in standard and EPIQ formats.[6][7]
Plot
This section needs expansionwith: July 2025. You can help by adding to it. (July 2025)
Set in the Mughal Era, outlaw Veera Mallu and his team with golconda ministers are tasked with the job of stealing the Koh-i-Noor diamond from the Mughals.[8][9]
In September 2019, producer A. M. Rathnam approached Pawan Kalyan, who semi-retired from films to pursue a career in politics, to star in a film directed by Krish Jagarlamudi.[12] Later in November, Jagarlamudi narrated Kalyan the script of a period film in which he would play a thief.[13] Kalyan accepted the film in principle and underwent a look test in January 2020.[14] The film was launched in the same month in Hyderabad at Rathnam's office. It was tentatively titled PSPK 27, intended to be Kalyan's 27th film as a lead actor.[15]
In September 2020, Jagarlamudi officially confirmed through his Twitter account that a period film has been in production, marking the first collaboration between Jagarlamudi and Kalyan.[16] The film is set in 17th century with the backdrop of Mughals and Qutb Shahis. Several titles including Virupaksha, Hara Hara Mahadeva and Hari Hara Veeramallu were considered.[17] In March 2021, the film's title is confirmed as Hari Hara Veera Mallu.[18]
Initially marketed as a single film, in May 2024, the production house announced that the film would be released in two parts, with the first part titled as Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1.[19] The remaining portions of the film and post-production will be handled by A. M. Rathnam's son, A. M. Jyothi Krishna, due to the highly delayed production owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kalyan's political commitments, and Krish's directorial commitments.[20]
The film was set to mark the Telugu debut of Hindi film actor Arjun Rampal, who was supposed to play the role of the Mughal emperorAurangzeb.[17] However, he was replaced by Bobby Deol as Rampal dropped out of the film due to other commitments and production delays owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] Deol joined the production in December 2022.[25]
Actress Nidhhi Agerwal is cast in the role of Panchami, opposite Kalyan.[26] In March 2021, Jacqueline Fernandez was signed to play a crucial role in the film.[8][9] However, she opted out of the project due to scheduling conflicts and she was replaced by Nargis Fakhri in December 2021. Fakhri plays the Mughal empress Roshanara, Aurangzeb's sister.[27][28]
Filming
Historical monuments such as Charminar (left) and Red Fort (right) have been recreated for the film
In September 2020, Jagarlamudi completed a 15-day shooting schedule with Kalyan before it was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[29] The shooting resumed in January 2021 in Hyderabad.[30] Rampal joined the production in February 2021.[4] The production set up sets that mirrored the historical monuments of Charminar, Red Fort, and Machilipatnam Port for the film.[18] The shoot was suspended again in April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[31]
Shooting of the film experienced delays due to Kalyan's other film commitments, namely, Bheemla Nayak.[32] In December 2021, art director Rajeevan was replaced by Anand Sai, who began working on the film's sets.[33] A new schedule where a major part of the film would be shot, was expected to begin in January 2022, but was delayed.[34] Filming resumed in April 2022 with Kalyan joining the production.[35] Nearly 60 per cent of the shoot was completed by September 2022.[36]
Following his success campaign in 2024 election, Kalyan resumed filming in September 2024 in a set built in Vijayawada.[41] The last schedule of the shoot was commenced on 30 November 2024 in Vijayawada.[42] In April 2025, reports indicated that key scenes for Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 2 were filmed during an outdoor schedule in Mumbai.[43] Although official confirmation was pending, social media posts from costume designers suggested the completion of this schedule.[44] This led to speculation regarding the release timeline of Part 1, which is reportedly in its final post-production stages including dubbing and VFX work.[45] The entire filming was wrapped up by May 2025, almost 5 years later.[46]
Post production
On 29 May 2025, Kalyan wrapped up the entire dubbing of his part in four hours.[47]
Visual effects
This section needs expansionwith: July 2025. You can help by adding to it. (July 2025)
The first single titled "Maata Vinaali" was released on 17 January 2025.[50] The second single titled "Kollagottinadhiro" was released on 24 February 2025.[51] The third single titled "Asura Hananam" was released on 21 May 2025.[52] The fourth single titled "Taara Taara" was released on 28 May 2025.[53]
Airaa Udupi, Kaala Bhairava, Sai Charan Bhaskaruni, Lokeshwar Edara, Hymath Mohammed
4:06
4.
"Taara Taara"
Sri Harsha Emani
Lipsika Bhashyam, Aditya Iyengar
3:57
5.
"Evaradi Evaradi"
Ramajogayya Sastry
Sai Charan Bhaskaruni, Hymath Mohammed, Lokeshwar Edara, PVNS Rohit
1:35
Total length:
15:43
Marketing
The first-look poster of Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1 was unveiled on 10 April 2022 to coincide with the celebration of Rama Navami, showcasing Pawan Kalyan in a fierce warrior avatar and generating considerable buzz on social media.[54]
On 2 May 2024, a teaser titled Sword vs Spirit was released, highlighting the grand scale, period production design, and a powerful score composed by M. M. Keeravani.[55]
On 16 May 2025, the makers confirmed the film's theatrical release date as 12 June 2025 and unveiled a new poster showing Kalyan in full warrior regalia.[56]
The third single, titled Asura Hananam, was released on 19 May 2025 alongside a character poster of Pawan Kalyan, intensifying the musical build-up for the film.[57]
In June 2025, it was reported that Pawan Kalyan had returned ₹11 crore of his remuneration to support the film's completion and would lead promotional activities in person.[58]
According to a report by Moneycontrol on 6 June 2025, a new trailer was scheduled to release following a brief postponement in promotions.[59]
The film's trailer was released on 3 July 2025,[60] the film's trailer features voice overs by Arjun Das in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi.[61]
Release
Theatrical
Hari Hara Veera Mallu was initially slated for worldwide release on 14 January 2022 coinciding with Sankranti.[62][63] However, in September 2021, the release date was pushed to 29 April 2022.[5] It was again postponed due to delays by the pandemic and Kalyan's political commitments.[64] It was further delayed again as Kalyan remained unavailable due to his political commitments.[65] The film was later scheduled for release on 28 March 2025 but was postponed as many portions of the shoot were incomplete.[66][67]
The film was scheduled to release on 9 May 2025, but was postponed again. It was later scheduled to release on 12 June 2025. The production team issued another update, clarifying that some post-production work regarding the visual effects and color grading was still pending, resulting in another postponement.[68][69] Finally, after multiple delays the film was released worldwide on 24 July 2025 in standard and EPIQ formats. It was released in original Telugu alongside dubbed versions of Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam languages.[70]
The post-theatrical streaming rights of the film were acquired by Amazon Prime Video.[73]
Notes
↑ Hari refers to Lord Vishnu, Hara refers to Lord Shiva, Veera means brave or heroic and Mallu is a common name that refers to the Telugu-speaking people.
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