Karthavyam (1990 film)

Karthavyam (transl. Duty) is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language political action film directed by Mohan Gandhi and produced by A. M. Rathnam. It stars Vijayashanti and Vinod Kumar in the lead roles. Written by Paruchuri Brothers and Mohan Gandhi, the film is loosely based on the real-life story of police officer Kiran Bedi.^[2]

Karthavyam
Film poster
Directed by	A. Mohan Gandhi
Screenplay by	A. Mohan Gandhi
Dialogues by	Paruchuri Brothers
Story by	Paruchuri Brothers
Produced by	A. M. Rathnam
Starring	Vijayashanti Vinod Kumar Nirmalamma Charan Raj Uday Prakash
Cinematography	D. Prasad Babu
Edited by	Gautham Raju
Music by	Raj–Koti
Production company	Surya Movies
Release date	29 June 1990 (1990-06-29)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹90 lakh[1]
Box office	est. ₹7 crore[1]

Made on a budget of ₹90 lakh, the film was a commercial success, grossing over ₹7 crore.^[1] Vijayashanti won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in this film. The film premiered at the 14th International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section.^[3] The film was subsequently dubbed into Tamil as Vyjayanthi IPS, which was also a huge success at the box office.^[4][5][6] The film was remade in Hindi as Tejasvini (1994) with Vijayashanti reprising her role, and later in Tamil as Bhavani (2011).

A spin-off Arjun S/O Vyjayanthi starring Vijayashanti who reprised her legendary role once again as Vijayanthi IPS and Nandamuri Kalyan Ram in lead roles directed by pradeep chilukuri released on 18th April 2025 and received mixed reviews from critics and audience.

Plot

Vyjayanthi is an Assistant Superintendent of Police and a sincere cop who strives to confront a corrupt local leader Muddu Krishnayya and his son's atrocities; she is committed to making a difference and seeking justice.

Cast

• Vijayashanti as ASP Vyjayanthi, an IPS officer
• Vinod Kumar as Suribabu
• Nirmalamma as Mahalakshmi
• Meena as Karuna
• Charan Raj as Kaasipathi
• Atluri Pundarikakshaiah as Muddu Krishnayya
• Uday Prakash as Chakravarthy, Muddu Krishnayya's son
• Sai Kumar as Murali, Srihari's son
• Nutan Prasad as ASP Ram Mohan Rao
• Sakshi Ranga Rao as Constable Ranganayakulu
• P. L. Narayana as Constable Gopal Swamy
• Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao as A. Srihari Rao, Public Prosecutor
• Narra Venkateswara Rao as Defense Lawyer
• Tatineni Rajeswari as Vyjayanthi's mother
• Babu Mohan as Babu Rao
• Kakarala as Karuna's father
• J. V. Ramana Murthi as Principal Ramakrishna
• Pavala Syamala
• P. J. Sarma

Awards

• 1990 - National Film Award for Best Actress - Vijayashanti^[7]
• 1990 - Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu - Vijayashanti
• 1990 - Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu - A. M. Rathnam
• 1990 - Nandi Award for Best Actress - Vijayashanti ^[8]
• 1990 - Nandi Award for Best Story Writer - Paruchuri Brothers