It was on this day in 2003 that 'Johnny' had released amid sky-high expectations.  It was in Summer 2001 that Pawan Kalyan's previous film, 'Khushi', had released.  So, you can imagine how much Pawanists were hungry to watch this action drama.

Written and directed by Power Star himself, the film had Pawan in a deglam look.  His live-in partner Renu Desai (Pawan hadn't yet married her) was his cancer-stricken wife in this entertainer that did a phenomenal pre-release business and an abysmal post-release business.

When 'Johnny' was being made, wild rumours did the rounds.  Many believed them to be true, taking them at face value.  A national weekly quoted Allu Aravind as saying that Jennifer Lopez is Pawan's wife in the movie!  Another is that Chiranjeevi has a guest appearance in it.  Pawan's camp maintained pin-drop silence.

When the film flopped like a calamity, Power Star's fans were shocked.  It was the first flop in Pawan's career.  Probably because of its dark mood and experimentation with some technical aspects, 'Johnny' was found unsettling.  Family audiences didn't dare to touch it.

Even so, the film has its share of a few bright moments.  Pawan's intro scene, a couple of songs (especially 'Naaraju gakura') and fights, and the lead pair's performances are something to write about.  But then, the film could hardly meet the unrealistically high expectations youngsters had.  Lack of tempo is a major fact that did the film in!