Gautamiputra Satakarni is the 2nd century AD Satavahana ruler of Amaravati whose dream is to unite all of the 32 kingdoms in the country in order to stop internal skirmishes and establish peace. He takes an oath on his mother Gautami Balashri, starts his mission at the age of 18, and gives only two options to the kings on his way: peace or war. After 18 long years, he takes the entire South India under his control. For the time being, Satakarni marries Vashishthi Devi, and they have a son named Pulumavi. Nahapana, the important ruler of the Western Kshatrapas, is a powerful and villainous person who forcibly locks up the princes of his feudatory kingdoms as royal prisoners to protect his kingdom on all sides. Now, it is a difficult task to Satakarni to reach Nahapana, so he uses a strategy and decides to go along with his son Pulumavi to the battlefield. However, Vashishthi opposes, but Satakarni still stubbornly does so. Simultaneously, Greek Emperor Demetrius is waiting at the border for the result of their battle, thereafter to conquer the country. Meanwhile, Satakarni moves towards Nahapana's fort. On the way, he assures the feudatory kings to safeguard and secure their children. Finally, he reaches Nahapana's fort, destroys him, rescues the princes, brings the entire country under one flag, and slaps his thigh. Satakarni then returns to Amaravathi, brings the 32 swords which he has obtained from the rulers of India which and Balashri orders to make a powerful sword by melting these 32 swords. Everybody welcomes him with great enlightenment and joy, but his wife Vashishthi is fed up with his dictatorial mentality and lust-born nature. She decides to leave him, but now he has to perform Rajasuya Yaaga, a grand ritual which is impossible without a wife. On the request of her mother-in-law, Vashishthi agrees to stay until its completion. During the ritual, the Emperor must give Agra Pooja honor to the topmost person in the kingdom. Satakarni gives it to his mother by spreading the greatness of women and there onwards, he changes his name as Gautamiputra Satakarni and also names his son as Vasishthiputra Pulumavi, where his wife Vasishthi realises her mistake and understands the virtue of her husband. Satakarni declares a new era calling Salivahana Sakha and the day starting as Ugadi. That night, Kanjira, one of the feudatory kings, backstabs his compatriots by aiding Demetrius and lets his men enter the fort to knock out Satakarni, but Gautami Balashri protects her son by breaking up their tactics. Now, Satakarni learns that Demetrius has arrived into the borders of Sindhu Kingdom to conquer the country, whose army is 10 times larger than his. Even then, he gets ready for the final battle. At that point, Vashishthi gets a few bad signs that someone has poisoned her husband, so she requests him not to avoid this battle when Satakarni explains her regarding his childhood dream of uniting the entire country which he had done so. Now, he has to protect it from invaders by exorcizing them. He does not have a choice except for the victory or heroic paradise. Gauthami Balasri consults a Bhikkhu and explains to him regarding these bad signs who give an antidote to the poison. At last, Satakarni reaches the Sindhu Kingdom. During the first day of battle, Satakrani destroys almost half of the Greek army. There, Demetrius understands that it is difficult to conquer India as long as Satakarni is alive. He sends a woman named Athena to Satakarni as a messenger. However, Satakarni is attracted to her and tries to woo her. Unfortunately, he falls in her trap by drinking juice laced with poison. He foams at the mouth and faints screaming loudly. The next day, when Satakarni is under treatment, all other Kings are confused as whether to fight or return, but they understand the real aim of Satakarni is not only to win the country, but also to develop unity among them, so they all decide either to win or die in the battle. Meanwhile, Satakarni wakes up, reaches the battlefield, defeats Demetrius and lets him live, affirming, "Nobody can destroy the Unity of India".
The film was officially announced on 8 April 2016, on eve of Ugadi at Andhra Pradesh's proposed capital city Amaravati. The movie opening was held at Hyderabad on 22 April 2016, with eminent personalities like K. Chandrasekhar Rao, T. Harish Rao, Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, K. Raghavendra Rao, Dasari Narayana Rao, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Boyapati Srinu, Sai Korrapati, Sriwass, and Akkineni Ramesh Prasad in attendance. The search for the female lead had been going on for long, as actresses like Anushka Shetty and Nayanthara were on the verge of signing. Finally, actress Shriya Saran was signed on as the lead heroine, after being successful in Telugu with various projects. Bollywood veteran actress Hema Malini is playing Balakrishna's character's mother, Gautami Balashri. Actually Devi Sri Prasad was primarily selected as music director but has quit project because he couldn't adjust the dates, after he left the project top most music directors like Ilaiyaraaja, M. M. Keeravani are taken into consideration but finally Chirantan Bhatt is the music director. Neeta Lulla is designing costumes and jewellery for the film. Nandamuri Balakrishna honoured Hema Malini with a saree as a surprise gift on the sets of the film on 4September 2016, which is currently underway in Rajasthan. The film first look teaser released on 11 October 2016 at 10:15 a.m on the occasion of Vijayadashami and trailer launched on 16 December 2016 at Tirumala theatre in Karimnagar, Telangana.
Reception
Srivathsan Nadadhur of The Hindu gives it a 4/5 rating saying "The film talks of Telugu identity, re-emphasises Amaravati’s cultural significance, talks of a borderless society, gives Shriya a role of a lifetime and yet remains a Balakrishna film, an achievement for Krish in only his seventh outing." Murali Krishna of Telangana Today says "Gautamiputra Satakarni perfectly blends with the persona of Balakrishna. It is an achievement to bring the lesser-known details of an unsung hero to spotlight and Krish has succeeded in crafting a gripping narrative right from the word go". 10TV editor Kathi Mahesh gives it a 4/5 rating saying "You will know about the Telugu's history and how they contributed to the nation." IdleBrain Jeevi gives it 3.25/5 rating and says "a film like Gautamiputra Satakarni should be encouraged by watching in theaters because it introduces us our own Telugu hero who ruled the unified nation." HMTV Film bureau chief Prabhu was in all praise for the movie saying "Krish gave a movie which would make the Telugu's proud and Balakrishna acted in it" and gives it a rating 4/5 but adds that instead of numbers this is a movie to be visited/reviewed in a different way. Suresh Kavirayani of Deccan Chronicle gives it a 3.5/5 rating saying "Gautamiputra Satakarni is an original story and everyone, especially the Telugu population, should know about it. Krish should be appreciated for coming up with a script like this and narrating it interestingly. The film is also memorable for its content and the excellent performance by Balayya. Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar appears in a cameo and stuns in it.". H Kumar of Firstpost says "Gautamiputra Satakarni is part inspirational, part patriotic that implores Telugu-speaking populace across the world to be proud of their roots. And in doing so, Krish has once again proved himself to be a fascinating storyteller who isn't afraid to walk a less-traveled path."
