King (2008): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2008, King is an action, comedy and crime film directed by Sreenu Vaitla, running about 173 minutes. “A hoodlum look-alike assumes the identity of a noble man.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. After Coimbatore-based Ravichandra Verma passes away, his young son, Raja, assumes the responsibility of running the family business as well as ensuring that his brother, Ajay, gets a good education - much to the chagrin of three of his uncles. Years later, while on a trip to Uttaranchal, despite of warnings from a Pandit, he gets killed by a female assassin, but his family is informed that he is missing. Shortly thereafter, Gyaneshwar Kale and his sister, Sravani/Shivani, will inform the family that Raja is still alive but is handicapped and suffers from memory loss. The family is overjoyed but are not aware that Raja is actually a hoodlum/extortionist known as Bottu Seenu/Raghu Rokda.

Who’s in it. King stars Nagarjuna Akkineni as King / Bottu Seenu / Sarath, Trisha Krishnan as Sravani / Shivani Kale, Srihari as Gyaneshwar 'Ghyanbhai' Kale and Mamta Mohandas as Swapna / Pooja, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 4.8/10, King has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Sun Nxt. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch King page.

If you liked it. Fans of King tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.