Mega Star Chiranjeevi scored many hits in his career and his film Anji, a socio fantasy entertainer directed by Kodi Ramakrishna became the first film to win national award for the best special effects. Chiranjeevi romanced Namrata Shirodkar in the film produced by Shyam Prasad Reddy.
The film which was shot for five years turned out to be an average grosser. Kodi Ramakrishna who passed away last year during an interview said "Anji was a memorable one for me. The entire credit goes to Shyam Prasad Reddy. Chiranjeevi promised dates to Shyam Prasad Reddy after Ammoru. Everyone plans a commercial film with Chiranjeevi. However Shyam Prasad Reddy committed a graphical film with him. He told me the same. He did not heed though I told him “Ayyo.. Why a graphic film with Chiranjeevi. I have a suitable commercial story with dual roles for Chiranjeevi". Without Shyam's knowledge, I went to Chiranjeevi and told “Sir, graphics film will take a lot of time. One should stand for hours and should do as a newcomer”. Chiranjeevi told “Ramakrishna, do not worry. I will do as a newcomer and for as many days as required. Chiranjeevi did the film with the same tempo.
The interval scene was shot for a month. Chiranjeevi did patiently. The film story was a complex one apart from graphics. There was a role in the film which calls Chiranjeevi 'Orey'. We searched for various actors and finally cast Naga Babu in the role of Peddayya. For a few scenes 100,120 shots were required. Shyam Prasad invested a huge budget for the film.
Graphics were done in Singapore, Malaysia, and America. We used to send the shots taken the entire day to the US at night and the next day they used to send the same discs. The film had a beggar searching for Shiv Ling at the start. He was a beggar at LV Prasad Eye Hospital. We cast him in the role".