Jr NTR's Narasimhudu, released in 2005, was a huge disaster at the box office. The outcome was so bad that, unfortunately, its producer, Chengala Venkat Rao, attempted suicide due to the financial losses. (There is a theory that he faked the attempt and that he was 'saved' by a constable he had paid for the job!)
When the project was planned, writer Vijayendra Prasad pitched a story to producer Venkat Rao. Since the producer had previously produced Balakrishna's Samara Simha Reddy, Prasad knew him personally. At the nick of the moment, however, the storyline was ditched and the team, in consultation with Jr NTR, decided to opt for a remake. This proved to be the biggest undoing.
Yes, Narasimhudu was the Telugu remake of the 2004 Kannada film Durgi, which originally starred Malashree. The Telugu version was directed by B. Gopal and featured Amisha Patel and Sameera Reddy as the female leads. Analysts say that Jr NTR's biggest strength - dialogue delivery - was underutilized by the film owing to its storyline. As a result, even his fans were unhappy.
The budget of Narasimhudu was about Rs 20 Cr. This was huge even for a Chiranjeevi movie at that time.
Narasimhudu is the only remake in Tarak's career. Had this movie clicked at the box office, the Nandamuri actor might have shown interest in remakes.
