Directed by:
Adurthi Subba Rao
Writing credits:
Acharya Athreya adaptation
Acharya Athreya dialogue
Saratchandra Chatterjee novel "Nishkruti"
Madhusudhana Rao D. screen adaptation
Adurthi Subba Rao screen adaptation
Produced by:
Madhusudhana Rao D.
Original Music by:
Master Venu
Cinematography by:
Selvaraj P.N.
Film Editing by:
Adurthi Subba Rao
Art Direction by:
S. Krishnarao
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director:
Madhusudan Rao V. .... assistant director
Sound Department:
K. Vishwanath .... sound
Editorial Department:
Venkataratnam D. .... assistant editor
T. Krishna .... assistant editor
Music Department:
Krishnaveni Jikki .... playback singer
Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao .... playback singer
Madhavapeddi Satyam .... playback singer
P. Susheela .... playback singer
choreographer:
A.K. Chopra
Cast :
Savitri ... Susheela
Nageshwara Rao Akkineni ... Satyam
S.V. Ranga Rao ... Kutumaba Rao
Kannamba ... Kamala
Relangi Venkatramaiah ... Ramanayya
Suryakantham ... Anasuya
Kongara Jaggaiah ... Vaikuntam
Chadalavada ... Tirupatayya
Rajasulochana ... Navaneetham
Allu Ramalingaiah ... Ayomayam
Parvati
Sharat Babu (as Master Sharat Babu)
Story:
Thodi Kodallu' is a movie based on the short story called 'Nishkruthi' by the famous Bengali writer Sharat Chandra Chatterjee. Many movies like Devadasu (Devadas), Ardhaangi (Swayam Siddha), Batasaari (Bada Deedi), Parineeta (Parineeta), etc., were made based on Sharat's novels and stories. His brilliant style of story telling in the Indian context has inspired many directors and screen writers to adopt his stories without much hesitation as it proved to be a success formula over and over again.
The Making: Among the myriads to fall for Sharat's such magic was Annapurna Pictures too. After their first movie 'Donga Ramudu', which was a big hit, they started preparing for the next. Under the very able leadership of Dukkipati Madhusudana Rao, Annapurna Pictures approached KV Reddy who directed the first one, to take up the next venture in order to achieve the same success. But KV Reddy was unable to do the film because of his earlier commitments with Vauhini Productions and hence suggested the name of Aadurthi Subba Rao, who, after the directorial debut of 'Amara Sandesam', was more than glad to accept the offer. KV Reddy, however, promised to help them and support them in the making of the film.
The Cast: Working on the cast, the producer and the director decided on Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who was also a partner in Annapurna Pictures, Savitri, SV Ranga Rao, Kannamba, Suryakantham, Relangi and Jaggaiah to play the main roles. Since ANR, SVR, Kannamba and Savitri already had a very good fan base in Tamil Nadu also, it was decided that the movie would be made as a bilingual, in both Telugu and Tamil. And it was named 'Thodi Kodallu' and 'Engal Veettu Mahalakshmi' respectively. 'Engal Veettu Mahalakshmi' means 'Maa Inti Mahalakshmi' in Telugu which has no relevance with first picture produced in Hyderabad with the same Telugu name.
The Plot: The movie revolves around a joint family. SV Rangarao as a forgetful advocate, with Kannamba as his wife, played the role of the eldest member of the family – Kutumba Rao. ANR plays Satyam, Kutumba Rao's cousin, living with him. The youngest of the daughters-in-law – Satyam's wife, Suseela, portrayed by Savitri, imposes strict rules on the family and takes care of the well being of everybody in it. When the rustic family of the younger brother (Relangi as Ramanayya), comes for Dasara, the family finds it difficult to adapt to the disciplinarian nature of Suseela. Adding to this discomfort, Ramanayya's wife, Anasuya (Suryakantham) grows jealous of Suseela and Anasuya's distant relative – Vaikuntam (Jaggaiah) starts spreading his evil influence over the family. In order to protect the prestige of the family, Satyam fights for the farmers and workers being exploited by Vaikuntam. The occurrence of such unforeseen events leads to the separation of Satyam's family from the rest. When Kutumba Rao finds out about the evildoings of Vaikuntam and reprimands him, the family reunites to live under the same roof.
Dialogues: The dialogues for the Telugu version were written by Acharya Atreya. For the Tamil version, it was Sridhar. The expressive style of Acharya Atreya is very clearly seen throughout the movie, be it in the dialogues like 'desoddhaarakudavu kadu' or the usage of umpteen number of Telugu proverbs (samethalu) and idioms (jaatheeyaalu). The emotional, the comical and the dramatic dosages of dialogues are perfectly balanced by the ace writer. The screenplay by Dukkipati Madhusudan Rao, Aadurthi Subba Rao and Acharya Atreya very aptly complements the dialogues. At no point of the movie do we feel that the original is a Bengali story. It has been a matter of surprise to many Telugu writers and authors about how such a short story was made into a full-fledged successful movie. That shows the adeptness of the writing team.
Acharya Atreya: Born Kilambi Venkata Narsimhacharyulu on 7th May 1921 in Mangalampadu of Sullurpet Mandal in Nellore District, Acharya Atreya was known to his fans as a screen writer, a stage writer and a lyricist. But very few people know that he was also a great poet. His first poem was -
Thappulu chaala galavu ne
cheppithinani kopapaduta chelladu neeve
chappuna sarididdukonumu
pappulu namalutalu kaavu padya rachanamul
Describing this first poem, he wrote -
Adiye naa tholi padyamu
adiye naa jeevithaana kamrutha ghatika, naa
kadiye yoka puttuka, naalo
nodigina pratibhalaku naandiyo yana velasen
For Acharya Athreya, the moment of writing his first poem was like the best time (amrutha ghatika) in his life. Acharya Atreya was once jailed for participating in the Quit India Movement. Though he passed away on 13th September 1989, he will live forever in the hearts of the people as 'Manasu Kavi'.
Lyrics and Music: Acharya Atreya, being the versatile genius he was, also wrote the lyrics for the movie along with Sri Sri, Kosaraju and Tapi Dharma Rao. Lyrics in Tamil were written by Udumalai Narayanan and KS Gopalakrishnan. The tuneful score in this movie by music director master Venu coupled with the sensational vocals of Ghantasala, Suseela, Jikki and Madhavapeddi Satyam formed the perfect blend for a melodious musical hit. Suseela lent her voice to Savitri for the first time in this film and subsequently the duo complemented each other in most of the movies.
The songs in this movie are 'Gaalipatam gaalipatam..', 'Kaarulo shikarukelle..', 'Enthentha dooram..', 'Bhale mavayya.. ne raanu povayya..', 'Jo jo jo..', 'Aaduthu paduthu..', 'Naluguru kalisi..', 'Townu pakkakellodduro..', 'Ramanayya maava.. navaneetamma' and 'Sreerasthu..'. Sri Sri wrote 'Naluguru kalisi..' song. The communistic principles like cooperative farming, equal sharing of the harvest, etc., are very conspicuous in this number. Though Acharya Atreya penned it, 'Kaarulo shikaarukelle' song has been a topic of debate due to its content, which displayed the communistic precept. The debate revolved around who the lyricist was – Sri Sri or Acharya Atreya.
Technicians: Aadurthi Subba Rao was earlier a successful editor for many a film. As such he handled the editing of this film himself. Many of the technicians who worked for this film later went on to become successful directors. T. Krishna, who assisted Aadurthi Subba Rao in the editing of this movie, became a successful director later. Some of his directorial ventures include 'Khaidi Babai' – a remake of the Rajesh Khanna starrer 'Dushman'. K. Viswanath, who later became a perfectionist director, worked as a sound recordist for this film. He directed films like 'Sankarabharanam', 'Swarna Kamalam', 'Saagara Sangamam', 'Swarabhishekam', etc. He was also awarded Padma Bhushan by the President of India. V. Madhusudana Rao worked as asst. director for the movie. He came to be known as 'Victory Madhusudana Rao' with his victorious directorial films like 'Aaradhana', 'Aatma Balam', 'Anthasthulu', 'Adrushtavanthulu', 'Veerabhimanya', etc. Editor A. Venkataratnam later went on to become a successful producer. The cinematography was by PS Selvaraj. He is said to be the man who best molded ANR's image. No wonder he worked for most of the Annapurna Productions' ventures including the prestigious 'Iddaru Mithrulu' in which ANR played dual roles as Ajay and Vijay. He also headed the cinematography department for Adurthi's own productions like 'Manchi Manasulu', 'Mooga Manasulu' under the banner of Babu Movies.
Movie Trivia: Jimmy (Rude, the dog) has a very important role in this movie. The original story has only a cow. But when the story was adopted for screen, Mr. Janakiram Chowdary's trained dog, Rude from Madanapalle bagged the role. And it does full justice to its role without question, turning out to be a major attraction for the audience.
Much of the outdoor shooting for the film was done at Janapasatram village.
Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions Ltd., who incidentally happened to be one of the well known translators of Sharat's works into Telugu, was wondering how such a short story could be turned into a full length feature film. He never realized there was so much scope in that story before. To satiate his curiosity he used to frequent the sets of 'Thodi Kodallu'. When the film was about to be completed, Chakrapani was sure of its success. Therefore, he recommended acquiring the distribution rights to Nagi Reddi, his co-producer in Vijaya Productions. But this did not materialize as planned and the idea to obtain the rights was dropped at the last minute. However, as Chakrapani predicted 'Engal Veettu Mahalakshmi', the Tamil version became a super hit.
Though the book 'Swarnayugamlo Annapurna' about Annapurna Pictures declares the date of release of the movie to be 7th January 1957 in Telugu and 14th January 1957 in Tamil, the censor board certificate for the Telugu version specifies the date of censor certification as 16th March 1957. Evidently, the date of release cannot be 7th of January 1957.
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THODI KODALLU 1957 |
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RAMUDU-BHIMUDU 1964 |
Direction: Chanakya.
Associate Producer: J. Subbarao.
Producer: D. Ramanaidu.
Banner: Suresh Productions.
Art: Rajendra Kumar.
Choreography: Chinni-Sampath.
Cinematography: Annayya.
Editing: Marthand.
Lyrics: Sri Sri, Kosaraju, C. Narayana Reddy & Arudra.
Make-up: Peetambaram, Nageswara Rao, Potharaju & Sureshbabu.
Music: Pendyala.
Singers: Ghantasala, Suseela, Madhavapeddi & Jamuna Rani.
Story & Dialogues: DV Narasaraju.
Associate Directors: AL Apparao & K. Bapaiah.
Cast:
NTR (in a double role),
SV Rangarao,
Rajanala,
Relangi,
Ramana Reddy,
Jamuna,
L. Vijaya Lakshmi,
Girija,
Santha Kumari,
Surya Kantham,
Rushyendramani,
Hemalatha, and Others.
Story:
If there is one single movie that became a rage among the audience for its novel way of handling the subject, it is 'Ramudu-Bheemudu'. Produced by the Guinness Book World Record holder, Dr. D. Rama Naidu, it is a movie that deserves multiple viewings.
The Unforgettable Story Of Comedy Of Errors: Ramudu-Bheemudu is a story of two twin brothers, separated in their childhood, groomed in two different families of two different social strata and by a quirk of fate, they interchange their places. The resulting situations create so much confusion and comedy that we enjoy the film thoroughly.
The Plot: Ramudu (Ramarao) is an innocent young man in the guardianship of his uncle Panakala Rao (Rajanala), who is both crooked and wicked. The uncle is ready to usurp the property of his nephew Ramudu, and is just waiting for an appropriate opportunity. In the meanwhile, he is made to attend to all the domestic chores. Ramudu, unable to bear the torture, runs away from home.
Bheema Rao (Bheemudu) is interested in staging plays which his mother strongly disapproves. After he comes back home from a stage play, he is taken to task by his mother. In order to escape the wrath of his mother, Bheemudu flees his home and lands in the nearby city.
Both of them enter the same hotel and unexpectedly interchange their places. Thus Ramudu entering the house of Bheemudu, falls in love with Santhi and Bheemudu, who now takes the place of Ramudu falls in love with Leela. Bheemudu, who is in the place of Ramudu, now understands that he has to bring Panakala Rao to senses so that the property that really belongs to Ramudu, should be restored to him. Ramudu, now in the role of Bheemudu, starts enjoying the love and affection of the new family members. However, Panakala Rao comes to know of this change of places and attempts to take advantage of this situation. At the end Ramudu and Bheemudu turn out to be twins who got separated during the Godavari Pushkarams. All ends well in the film ending with Ramudu tying the knot with Santhi and Bheemudu with Leela.
The Highlights: This is the first-ever movie with NTR donning a dual role. Encouraged by the success of this movie, he ventured to produce 'Sree Krishna Pandaveeyam', in which he acted in two different roles, Krishna and Duryodhana. Subsequently, he took the risk of acting in three different roles of Sri Krishna, Duryodhana and Karna in 'Dana Veera Soora Karna' apart from weilding the megaphone. With this film becoming a runaway hit, NTR went a step ahead and donned five roles in 'Viraata Parvam'.
This is the first film produced independently by Sri D. Rama Naidu, who now holds two Guinness Book World Records - one for having produced more than 100 films and the second for producing films in the maximum number of languages. There are less chances of someone breaking these records in the near future.
NTR had Jamuna (Leela) and dancer L. Vijaya Lakshmi (Santhi) as his leading ladies in the film. Impressed by the way L. Vijaya Lakshmi portrayed her character of Naagini in the film 'Jagadeka Veeruni Katha' (released in 1962), it is rumoured that NTR himself has suggested her name for the role of Santhi in ths film.
As usual, Relangi-Girija-Ramana Reddy trio played their regular roles of son-in-law, daughter and father-in-law and their comedy was brilliant.
Ramudu-Bheemudu had an extensive shooting schedule near the construction site of Nagarjuna Sagar, with more than 10,000 real construction workers participating in the shooting of the film, which included the filming of the song 'Desammu Maarindile.. Kaalammu Maarindile' written by Sri Kosaraju Raghavaiah Choudary.
Ramudu-Bheemudu was a great musical hit, with songs like 'Undile Manchi Kaalam Mundu Mundunaa..' (penned by Sri Sri), 'Thelisindile.. Thelisindile..' (penned by Dr. C. Narayana Reddy), 'Ade Ade..' (penned by Dr. C. Narayana Reddy), 'Saradaa Saradaa Cigarettu..' and 'Thaguna Idi Mama..' (both penned by Kosaraju), set to enchanting music by Sri Pendyala Nageswara Rao. Ghantasala, P. Suseela, Madhavapeddi Satyam and Jamuna Rani sang the songs. Madahavapeddi Satyam rendered two poems from 'Pandavodyoga Vijayalu' of Sri Tirupathi Venkata Kavulu for the role of Bheemudu.
Ramudu-Bheemudu was remade in Hindi as 'Ram Aur Shyam' by Vijaya Pictures, with Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman and Mumtaz. This picture totally changed the 'tragedy king' image of Dilip Kumar and gave him a new image. Taking a cue from this film, Ramesh Sippy made a film in Hindi 'Seetha Aur Geetha', with Hemamalini in the lead, which was again produced in Telugu as 'Ganga-Manga' by Vijaya Pictures, with Vani Sri handling both the roles.
Kaikala Satyanarayana, who was to become an actor of his own right, acted as dupe to NTR in some of the scenes.
Behind The Scenes: Ramudu-Bheemudu is the first picture produced by the ace producer Sri D. Rama Naidu under the banner 'Suresh Productions'. Hailing from a small village Karamchedu in Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh, Rama Naidu was into the business of brick-selling. But, as is the case with any creative personality, he did not stay long there in that business. Taking with him an amount that he felt would be suffice to produce a film, he landed in Madras, now called Chennai. To learn the tricks of the trade, he joined hands with a few others and became a partner in the production of the film 'Anuraagam', that starred Bhanumathi and others. This film had a below-average run. Not satisfied with being a partner in some other film production company, Rama Naidu decided to go on his own for the next film. Establishing his own production banner with the name 'Suresh Productions', he approached Tapi Chanakya to wield the megaphone for his maiden venture. Both of them met Sri DV Narasa Raju, the famous cinewright, in Vauhini Studios.
Narasa Raju, had a script ready by then, which he had initially written for Sri Midde Jagannadha Rao, to be directed by Sri Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. This was a folklore story loosely based on the Hollywood classic 'The Prisoner of Zenda', released in 1952 and directed by Richard Thorpe. Based on the novel of the same name written by Arthur Hope, this film had two identically looking persons accidentally interchanging their places. Narasa Raju based his story on this point. He was particularly attracted by the fact that both characters had no negative qualities in them. After he had the story sitting with Midde Jagannadha Rao and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao, they had some doubts whether a film produced with this story would succeed as there was another film by name 'Naadodi Mannan' in Tamil released just then with a huge star cast that included MGR, Bhanumathi and B.Saroja Devi, which also had 'The Prisoner of Zenda' as the basic inspiration. Those were the days when any hit Tamil film would be dubbed into Telugu in a matter of few weeks. So, the idea of producing a film based on this folklore story was put off.
After some time, Narasa Raju happened to go through a novel 'Scapegoat' written by Daphne du Maurier. This is also a story of two characters with identical physical features. After reading this novel, Narasa Raju decided to change his earlier folklore story into a social one. The result is the story entitled Ramudu-Bheemudu. However this story also did not find favour with Midde Ramakrishna Rao, elder brother of Midde Jagannadha Rao. However Midde the Junior and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao liked the story and wanted to go ahead with Akkineni as the hero, portraying both the characters. ANR did listen to the story also, but as he had already committed to do a film with double role (Iddaru Mithrulu) for his own production company Annapurna Pictures, he had no other go but to refuse the offer. Ultimately, Midde dropped the idea of producing the film. Narasa Raju narrated all this to Rama Naidu and Chanakya, and asked them whether they were interested to give a hearing to this social story with a double role chance for the hero, now naturally NTR, as ANR had refused the offer.
Rama Naidu and Chanakya liked the freshness of the story as there was no other film produced till then, with dual roles for NTR. And the decision was taken to produce the film. As people say, after the film was released it created box-office sensation and the rest is history with Rama Naidu turning a star producer overnight.
Rama Naidu once said in a casual talk with this writer that there are only a very few stories he liked at the first sitting itself. One of them was 'Ramudu-Bheemudu'. Of the rest he mentioned were 'Papa Kosam', 'Drohi', 'Prem Nagar' and 'Mundadugu'.
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RAKTA SAMBANDHAM 1962 |
Direction: V. Madhusudhana Rao.
Producer(s): Sundarlal Nahta & Dhundy.
Banner: Rajyalakshmi Productions.
Art: Krishna Rao.
Choreography: Pasumarthi.
Cinematography: C. Nageswara Rao.
Dialogues & Screenplay: Mullapudi Venkata Ramana.
Editing: NS Prakasham.
Lyrics: Arudra, Narayana Reddy, Kosaraju, Dasarathy & Anisetti.
Music: Ghantasala.
Singers: Ghantasala, PB Srinivas, Susheela & Janaki.
Cast:
NTR,
Kantha Rao,
Relangi,
Ramana Reddy,
KVS Sharma,
Prabhakar Reddy,
YV Raju,
Savithri,
Devika,
Suryakantham,
Girija and Others.
Story:
Sister sentiment, little sister of a doting elder brother, sister's lover causing discord between the two-how many movies have we seen with a plot or a sub-plot like that? So many that the names are not recollected immediately. But one movie with that theme started off the trend in the 1960s-the unforgettable 'Raktha Sambhandam', starring the legendary romantic pairing of NTR and Savithri as siblings, directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. NTR-Savithri as brother and sister, tragic ending, a theme not experimented in Telugu cinema before-all these factors put the movie into risky avenues, but the movie went on to become one of the biggest successes of that year, completing a silver jubilee.
The original (obviously, there is always an original lurking behind), was called 'Paasa Malar' starring Shivaji Ganeshan. When producer Dhundy, impressed with the story approached his muse ANR, who promptly refused, saying that people won't accept his on-screen flame Savithri as his sister. NTR, on the other hand, had no objections to this unusual casting. In fact, he was the only leading actor to have done mythology, folk-lore, historical and social dramas all in the span of one year. No wonder-for NTR, experimenting and versatility as an actor meant a lot. (Some new-age 'heroes' stuck in their so-called images can take a cue from him).
Andhra Sachitra Vara Patrika's in-house reviewer, Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, was asked to pen the screenplay and dialogues for the Telugu version. NTR expressed his doubts over this, stating that he was essentially someone whose forte was comedy. To this, Dhundy had words of wisdom to quote-"Any person who can write comedy can understand all other emotions intricately as well". And Dhundy's gamble won, as people who watched both the versions claim they liked the Telugu version better. Mullapudi took some liberties and changed the script a little, including erasing a song completely and adding new dimensions of his own. The most significant contribution he made to the screenplay was the merging of the separate comedy track of the Tamil version into the main story.
The story in a nutshell, for the uninformed: Orphans Raju (NTR) and Radha (Savithri) are siblings who dote on each other. Raju works in a factory which closes down, so he starts a small-scale industry which flourishes and leads him into a lot of money. His friend Anand (Kantha Rao) falls for Radha, and though Raju hesitates initially, he gives his blessing to the couple soon enough. Anand's aunt Kantam (Suryakantham, who else?) causes rifts in the relationships, and after many trials and tribulations, Raju and Radha, the inseparable duo, die together.
If tears were shed, and hearts were moved, it was but natural. The movie completed its silver jubilee and Dhundy's risk paid off. Ghantasala's songs, two of them borrowed from the original with tunes by Vishwanathan Rammurthy, were a super success. The song 'Bangaru Bomma Raveme' is a part of wedding songs in Telugu households even today. Andhra Sachitra Vara Patrika's yearly ballot voted Raktha Sambhandam to be the best movie, best director, best actor among other awards.
Other highlights in the movie were the dialogues which aimed directly at the heartstrings, in lieu with the heaviness in tragedy of those times, where, fresh from the theatre circles, tears and laughter were exaggerated many times over. Mullapudi penned dialogues such as 'Ninnu vadili velladam ledamma, illu vadili veluthunannu', and when NTR's wife (played by Devika) dies, he exclaims in agony, 'Malli pasi biddanu penche bharam nadaindi'. Relangi and Ramana Reddy's Laurel-Hardy act got accolades, with the famous dialogue by Reddy, 'Eyana chikkadam, nenu balavadam rendu jariginatte'. Mullapudi learnt so much and benefited so much from this single movie that he even dedicated his book 'Cine Ramaneeyam' to his mentor Dhundy.
There were others who benefited and got a firm foothold with this flick. Bapu, for starters, worked in the publicity department in those times. Assistant cinematographer N. Venkataratnam made 'Yamagola' with NTR later, while actor 'Senior' Sriranjani's son and co-director for this movie, Mangalagiri Mallikarjuna Rao made 'Gudachari 116' with Krishna.
This movie set trends, broke existing notions about repeated pairings, experimented to a certain extent and risked it-only to reap the benefits. It boosted the career of all the actors and the technicians and the producers laughed all the way to the banks. Many movies did try to ape this theme but never succeeded in beating this one. One last word-there is a famous still of the movie, which was used by Ashoka Sandal Powder (whereas cosmetic companies, especially those days, preferred to use only women to endorse their products) and is the banner for YVS Chowdary's production house, 'Bommarillu'. Talk about rocketing a star to the heights of glamour! This tragedy had only one message to deliver, which it does so with élan, which is 'Blood is thicker than water'.
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VELUGU NEEDALU 1961 |
Direction:
Adhurthi Subbarao.
Producer:
Dukkipati Madhushudana Rao.
Banner:
Annapurna Pictures (Private) Ltd.
Art:
S. Krishna Rao
GV Subbarao.
Associate Director:
K. Viswanath.
Choreography:
PS Gopalakrishnan
AK Chopra.
Cinematography:
PN Selvaraj.
Dialogues:
Acharya Atreya.
Editing:
MS Mani.
Lyrics:
Sri Sri
Kosaraju.
Music:
Pendyala.
Singers:
P. Susheela,
Ghantasala,
Jikki,
Swarnalatha
Madhavapeddi Satyam.
Cast:
ANR,
Jaggayya,
SV Rangarao,
Relangi,
Savithri,
Girija,
Suryakantham,
Sandhya,
Rajasulochana,
Kamaladevi,
Baby Shashikala,
Parvathi,
Padmanabham,
Peketi,
Natarajan,
Meenakumari,
Surabhi Kamalabai and Others.
Story:
Producer Dukkipati had a successful run with the movie Mangalya Balam and was planning on remaking Donga Ramudu in Hindi, with his ever-favorite ANR in the lead opposite Bollywood damsel Meenakumari. But just before the movie began, he was hospitalized and there seemed little hope of getting well. He panicked, and married off his daughters a
With this background, it comes as no surprise that the plot of his next venture, Velugu Needalu had all the three main characters playing doctors. ANR even falls sick in the movie, without hope of recovery, but recovers in the end-is that reel life imitating real life? Not just that, there is one of track he picked up from real life. Let us look at the story first, and it will make more sense. ADURTI SUBBA RAO
Rao Bahadur R. Venkat Ramaiah (SV Rangarao) and Kanaka Durga (Suryakantham) is a childless couple who adopt Suguna (Savithri). When they have a child of their own later who they name Varalakshmi, Kanaka Durga's affection towards Suguna diminishes, and she is given away to a clerk Vengalappa (Relangi). She grows up to become a doctor and her love interest is Chandram (ANR) who discovers that he has TB and forces Suguna to marry another doctor Raghunath (Jaggayya). Chandram is cured of TB but Dr. Raghunath expires in an accident; Suguna decides to dedicate her life to social work, and convinces Chandram to marry Varalakshmi. Kanaka Durga poisons Lakshmi's mind and causes rift in the relations, which Suguna sets right and all's well that end's well.
Now, Dukkipati happened to know a couple who first adopted a child, but once they had a child of their own, their love for the adopted kid vanished. He decided to use it in the movie. For all the hospital scenes, the medical procedures, and scenes in the court and with the police, Dukkipati got people from those professions to guide them along so that it appears realistic and not merely make-believe. Such was his dedication towards making a meaningful movie.
Also, they had written a climax earlier which, as they discovered to their horror, was astoundingly similar to a Hindi movie, so they changed it because they did not want the stigma of copying a Hindi story.
Atreya wrote the script, except for the comedy scenes-which were penned by a famous playwright of those times, Korrapati Gangadhar Rao. The Tamil version was called Tuya Ulam where Jayalalitha's mother had a role to play. The Telugu songs written by Sri Sri were written by Udumalai Narayana Kavi in Tamil, and both of them worked together to write the songs.
The music was a major highlight in the movie. Say Velugu Needalu to any true-blue Telugu cinema buff, and they will right away hum Kala Kanidi Viluvainadi and Padavoi Bharatiyuda. Dukkipati's favorite Sri Sri penned these songs which took Pendyala 15 days to compose. Praising him, Sri Sri noted that even if an editorial prose is given to Pendyala, one can expect a beautiful tune out of him. A man on the verge of suicide supposedly heard the song Kalakanidi and decided to give life another chance!
Padavoi Bharatiyuda got Sri Sri so much more fame than he already had, that he even wrote a book with that title, his collection of movie songs. Srimate Ramanuja Namah was Relangi's oft-repeated word, after each sentence, which was liked by the Cinegoers. This was in fact taken from a man that the crew knew somewhere in Gudiwada, and used it in the song Siva Govinda Govinda and later decided to make it Relangi's characteristic phrase while shooting.
Let's include the Copy Cat Crown here, with due regards to Pendyala. Challani Vennela Sonalu is a copy of Bengali singer Geeta Dutt's private song Kajol Kajol Kumkum. O Rangayyo is lifted from a Marathi song. Hai Haiga Jabilli is from the song Chanda Loriyaan sung by Lata Mangeshkar, from the Hindi movie Naya Sansar.
K. Viswanath was an associate director in this movie. Sheshagiri Rao, brother of composer Chakravarthy, acted as ANR's pal in this movie, and went on to become a director with Tayaramma Bangarayya and Devatalara Deevinchandi. EV Saroja who appeared in the song impressed the producers so much that she bagged the role of the lead opposite ANR in their next venture, Iddaru Mitrulu.
A funny tidbit in this context is that Relangi, unhappy with the thoroughly deglamorized role of a clerk with a funny get-up got so upset one day, that he bet Dukkipati that the movie will not fare well! Thankfully for the producers, the movie clicked and Velugu Needalu was a hit in Telugu, and an average runner in Tamil-rumor has it that a prominent Tamil hero did not want ANR's movie to be a hit in Tamil Nadu, and did everything in his might to sabotage the chances the movie had. But Velugu Needalu (Light and Shadows) definitely brought only light to the cast and the crew and Cinegoers remember this movie even today.
| [+/-] |
PANDURANGA MAHATYAM 1957 |
Direction: K. Kameswara Rao.
Producer: Trivikram Rao.
Art: Thota.
Audiography: A. Krishnan.
Choreography: Vempati Satyam.
Cinematography: MS Rehman.
Costumes: Achyuta Rao.
Editing: GD Joshi.
Lyrics & Dialogues: Samudrala Jr.
Make-up: Haribabu, Doraswamy & Raman.
Music: TV Raju.
Nirvahana: Pundari Kakshaiah.
NTR,
V. Nagaiah,
Sivarao,
Dr. Govindarajula,
KVS Sharma,
Padmanabham,
Balakrishna,
Peketi,
Boddapati,
Lakshmaiah Chowdary,
AV Subbarao,
Ramachander Rao,
Koneswara Shastry,
Anjalidevi,
B. Saroja,
Rshyendramani,
Chayadevi,
Ammaji,
Nimmi,
Rita,
Janaki (guest appearance) and Others.
To the average Cinegoer, when there is any mention of NTR, one visualizes him in the get-up of Lord Krishna. True, he made a tremendous impact with that character, but he played many other mythical characters too, which are similarly alluring, although not quite so popular. One such example is his role in Paanduranga Mahaathyam (1957).
NTR had started National Art Theatre (NAT) whose first two productions Pichchi Pullaiah (1953) and Thodu Dongalu (1954) bombed. The third venture, Jayasimha (1955) hit bullseye, and with renewed enthusiasm, they sought to create cinematic success again. Inspired by the Tamil golden oldie Hari Dasu (which had the effervescent Vyjayanti Mala's mother Vasundhara Devi playing the female lead), and with some legends and folklore based in Maharastra, Paanduranga Mahaathyam was conceived.
B. Saroja Devi was a budding actor in Tamil and Kannada movies. NTR choose her for the role of Kalavathy; she was happy about acting next to NTR in her Telugu debut, but immediately disheartened when she was narrated the role. She hesitated, but was convinced by NTR to take up the role. Not only that, his make-up artist rejected her without a thought as she was dusky, but NTR found her attractive and charming. She later came to be known as a glamour diva in Telugu cinema. So NTR's two gambles paid off!
He goes to a Hermitage where he falls in love with three disciples of the Sage, who break his legs for this blasphemy. He then realizes the importance of his parents, goes back to them, begs for forgiveness, and prays to Lord Panduranga to grant him the boon of merging into him along with his parents-in other words, giving out the message that one has to serve one's parents, and it is the quickest way to Salvation/God.
Samudrala Jr. wrote the dialogues and the lyrics, which were well appreciated. 'Krishna Mukunda Murara' rendered by Ghantasala and composed by TV Raju is one of the longest songs in Telugu lasting a mind-numbing 15 minutes and was and still is extremely popular.
In this song, the baby Krishna is played by none other than Vijaya Nirmala, who debuted in Telugu with this as a child artiste. 'Amma Ani Arichina' is another song in this movie that melted many hearts. There are Hindi and Marathi songs in this movie too, composed by Joseph, who later composed for another NTR-starrer 'Gulebakavali Katha'.
Ghantasala's name was not mentioned in the credits, and his wife promptly reported this to NTR who apologized for the error. Actor/Singer Chittoor V. Nagaiah, who along with acting as NTR's father in the movie, rendered 'Jaya Jaya Gokula Bala', did not have his name mentioned in the singing credits either.
The songs, the direction and the message were loved by the masses. One song and one message in the movie stood the test of time: Even after five decades, the plea to respect and take care of one's parents still holds good, and is relevant in today's cut-throat society.
| [+/-] |
ARADHANA 1962(A.N.R) |
Banner: Jagapathi Pictures.
Direction: V. Madhusudana Rao.
Producer(s): Rangarao-VB Rajendra Prasad.
Cinematography: C. Nageswara Rao.
Dialogues: Narla Chiranjeevi-Acharya Atreya.
Lyrics: Sri Sri, Narla Chiranjeevi, Arudra & Kosaraju.
Singers: Suseela, Janaki, Swarnalatha, Ghantasala & Pitapuram Nageswara Rao.
Music: Saluri Rajeswara Rao.
Cast:
ANR,
Savithri,
Jaggaiah,
Girija,
Relangi,
Rajasree,
Ramana Reddy,
Rita,
Sivaramakrishnaiah,
Vijayalakshmi,
Lakshmi,
Rajarao,
Jagannatha Rao,
Rajaratnam,
Mahankali Venkaiah,
Jhansi,
Rajeshwari,
Sujatha,
Veerabhadra Rao,
Bujjamma,
Purusottam,
Rambabu,
Janaki,
Ramakrishna,
Prasad,
Nirmala,
Sarojini,
Gummadi (guest appearance),
Nagayya (guest appearance) and Others.
Story:
VB Rajendraprasad and Rangarao had produced 'Annapurna' starring Jagayya and Jamuna, which won critical acclaim but failed to rake in any money. It was a script written with ANR in mind, who did not have the dates and so the role went to Jagayya. Having lost out on money and ideas, they left to West Bengal for some cinematic inspiration. They were not disappointed; after watching a number of movies, they zeroed in on the Bengali film 'Sagarika' starring the legendary beauty Suchithra Sen and Uttam Kumar. In that movie, the lead actor Uttam Kumar goes blind only to restore his sight later. With this new idea for a Telugu movie, they left to Madras to show it to ANR, who okayed it instantly. Thus started the making of the super hit movie 'Aradhana'.
The story goes something like this: Murali Krishna (ANR) is a medical student, staying at the house of a 'sahukar' (Tradesman) whose daughter Sarala (Rajasree) is madly in love with him. Murali has eyes only for her classmate Anuradha (Savithri). Filled with jealousy, Sarala creates a rift between the duo, which are cleared later. After another love triangle involving Laxmi whose father helps Murali financially to go to London to pursue further studies, Murali loses his eyesight in a laboratory accident. Anuradha nurses him back to good health, and his eyesight is restored. All's well that ends well.
Which was the very case with 'Aradhana', as the beginning and the middle were definitely not without their share of troubles. Prominent film producer BN Reddy was shown the rushes of the movie, and he said that a movie with a romantic hero like ANR losing his eyesight will never work. Well, even experts get it wrong. The movie went on to become a great success.
Apart from ANR-Savithri, other characters also had important roles to play in the movie. Like the role of the Sahukar, played by Garikipati Rajarao. He lost a lot of money with the movie 'Puttillu' which introduced two actors-Jamuna and Allu Ramalingiah and took to acting in movies. Rajasree had a miniscule role in this movie, but later went on to become an established actor.
Jhansi, Kalyani and Rajeshwari were cast in the roles of medical students. Jhansi acted in movies like 'Sankarabharanam' and produced many movies later on, Kalyani went on to become an established dancer while Rajeshwari is the mother of the ever-popular Sridevi.
Director V. Madhusudhana Rao
(Later known as 'Victory' Madhusudhana Rao)
The comedy in the movie had a purpose. The drama was intense (and overdone, like most movies those days) so to provide relief to the viewer, every intense scene would be followed by a comic interlude. Relangi's 'Dingutaka' became slang while his comedy with Girija generated many a laugh. They even had two songs picturized on them. Savithri had two songs picturized on her, while ANR, the lead, had only ONE song on him! This movie blatantly defied conventions.
The music by Saluri Rajeswara Rao was a highlight in this movie. 'Naa Hrudayam Lo Nidurinche Cheli' danced its way into people's hearts. Sri Sri wrote this song, which took everyone by surprise. When asked who rests in his heart, he promptly replied 'Communism'. Incidentally, the song shows ANR playing the piano. The close-up shots of him playing the piano were actually done by Saluri's elder son. Definitely the first 'Fingers Dupe' ever.
There was a craze for just one song in color in a B&W movie around that time, and 'Oh Mamayya' was shot in color in this movie. It was shot in the Mysore Zoo Park. The song 'Vennela Loni' was inspired from the Hindi song 'Chand Sogaya' in Khwaja Ahmed Abbas's movie, 'Rahi' (1953).
This was the first movie where Madhusudana Rao directed ANR. This combination went on to become one of the most successful combinations of that era. In spite of BN Reddy's discouraging statement, the producers carried on work as opposed to dropping the idea or shelving the movie. ANR had even given dates to re-shoot but the producers were convinced, and this conviction paid off, as 'Aradhana' became a trendsetter of sorts.
Songs:
* Na Hrudayamlo Nidurinche Cheli - written by Sri Sri and sung by Ghantasala. This piano song is the most popular song in the track.
* Nee Chelimi Nede koritini - written by Acharya Atreya and sung b P. Susheela.
* Emantav Emantavoye Bava - written by Atreya and Sung by Swarnalatha and Pitapuram nageshwra Rao.
* Ohoho Mamayya Balebale Baga Undayya - known as Bratikina College song, written by Arudra and sung by Ghantasala and S.Janaki.
* Adadani Orachupulo Jagana vodiponi Dheerudevadu - written by Arudra and sung by S. Janaki.
* Vennelaloni Vikasame veligincheda Nee Kanula - written by Acharya Atreya and sung by P. Susheela.
* Englishlona marriage, Hindilo Artham Shadi - wriiten by Arudra and sung by Ghantasaala and S. Janaki.
| [+/-] |
LAKSHADHIKARI 1963 |
Madhusudan Rao V.
Produced by:
Venkatapathi Reddy D.
Krishnamurthy Tammareddy
Original Music by:
Chalapathi Rao T.
Cinematography by:
Nageshwara Rao C.
Art Direction by;
S. Krishnarao
Music Department;
Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao
P. Susheela
Cast:
Rama Rao Taraka Nandamuri
Krishna Kumari
Ramana Reddy
Gummadi
Mikkilineni
Story:
Tammareddy Krishna Murhty
has an interesting profile-he was an avid lover of arts, at the same time a supporter of communist ideology and an active member in the Telangana agitation. An arrest warrant caused him to move to Madras where he tutored children of film personalities and thus gained loads of contacts. Along with some friends, 'People's Art Productions' was started and Palletooru starring NTR-Savithri was made. The movie was a disappointment. He shifted to Sarathi Studios and worked as a production manager for movies such as Antha Manavalle, Rojulu Marayi, Kalasi Unte Kaladu Sukham and others.
He started 'Ravindra Art Pictures', since Rabindranath Tagore was his idol. Their first venture was Lakshadhikari, co-produced by D. Venkatapathi Reddy. ANR, their first choice, had no dates to spare, so NTR was roped in. Tammareddy had worked with NTR before, so their rapport was good. V. Madhusudana Rao was given his first role as a farmer in Palletooru; he was then a drill master in Vijayawada. Now he was roped in as the director for Lakshadhikari.
His directorial team had PC Reddy, who gave some inputs for the story. The first draft was a routine Telugu script which did not excite anyone. Then they decided to put an element of suspense into the story. Narla Chiranjeevi penned the story, who was a communist and a social worker.
The story goes like this: Sowkar Rangayya's (Chittoor V.Nagayya) right hand man is Sitayya (Gummadi). The Sowkar dotes on his motherless son, and his brother-in-law pesters him for money. Rangayya is accused of murdering a diamond merchant and is sent to jail while his son is taken away. Lost and found by a childless couple, this boy is named as Varaprasad. The couple, Picchayya and Achamma (Ramana Reddy-Suryakantham) has a daughter after that, and name her Leela.
Varaprasad (NTR) becomes a doctor, starts a pharmacy with the help of Sitayya, falls in love with Sitayya's daughter Padma (Krishna Kumari) and leads a happy life. Then he finds out that he is not the couple's own son, so he sets out to find his biological parents. In a surprising twist, the now released Rangayya is found to be innocent while the real murderer turns out to be Sitayya.
Gummadi Venkateswara Rao
impressed the audience in the role of a soft villain.
Nagabhushanam was the first choice for Sitayya, but then there would be no suspense. So Gummadi, usually a docile and innocent looking man was cast to add the surprise element to the movie. This started a trend of sorts for suspense storylines with drama, romance and music embedded in it. The climax was inspired by a Hollywood movie, and had robots in it to add to the effect. In spite of all these expenses, the movie was budgeted quite efficiently by Tammareddy owing to his erstwhile experience as a production manager.
NTR and Krishna Kumari was a much liked combination those days. After TL Kantha Rao, Krishna Kumari was cast alongside NTR in the maximum number of movies. She had quite a few experiences in this movie, including one near-fatal adventure. A shoot on the beach needed the lead pair to walk near the sea, when a huge wave came and took them in. NTR held the lady's hand and got her to the shore, as she couldn't swim. This song was 'Mabbulo Emundi', a Q&A song written by C. Narayana Reddy.
Another misadventure was that a song with her dressed in a swimsuit caused trouble with the censor board who snipped it from the movie.
T. Chalapathi Rao, fresh from the success of 'Niluvave Valu Kanula Dana..' (originally from the film Illarikam and remixed recently in the movie Lakshyam) gave hit tunes yet again for Lakshadhikari. A humorous number 'Achammaku Nityamu Srimantamu' has Ramana Reddy and Suryakantham dressed as Krishna and Satyabhama respectively.
This was NTR's first suspense-filled movie. It started the trend in a big way. Lakshadhikari made more money in its second release than it's first. V. Madhusudana Rao's directorial debut was marked with this flick.
| [+/-] |
ANNAPURNA 1960 |
Directed By:V .Madhasudana Rao
Produced By:V.B.Rajendra Prasad.
Written By:Arudra
Cinematography:Kamal Ghosh
Music Director:S.Dakshina Murthy
Cast:
A.N.R
Jamuna
Ramana Reddy
Gummadi
Kongara Jaggaiah
Story:
Jagapathi Pictures was started by VB Rajendra Prasad. He was always interested in cinema, but first dabbled in various professions. Belonging to big landlord's family, he finished his graduation and got into the cement business. This failed, so he tried farming and managing a rice mill, both of which failed too, owing to his asthma. Finally, he reached his first love-movies.
ANR, an old contact, had earlier advised him to complete his education, and only then step into movies. VB Rajendra Prasad aimed to be an actor, but ended up starting a production house and making movies instead. Money was no issue for him, so with some partners and help from the family, he started Jagapathi Pictures (his father's name).
V. Madhusudana Rao was asked to direct it while Sadasiva Brahmam was asked to pen the script. But finally, Arudra wrote the script for their debut venture, titled Annapurna, which was the name of the protagonist of the movie, played by Jamuna. ANR had a packed schedule, so the male lead role went to Kongara Jaggaiah.
The story of the film goes thus: Ramayya, Ranganatham and Venkayya are business partners. When they get huge profits, Ranganatham does not want to share it with his partners. So he gets Venkayya murdered and puts the blame on Ramayya. Ramayya goes to jail, his wife dies and his children suffer at a relations' place. Anand is their only supporter in that whole house for them.
They grow up, and Annapurna studies, earns and supports her brother's education. An accident sees her at Ranganatham's house in a village where Anand is a police inspector now. Anand and Annapurna fall in love, but Anand's parents do not accept his choice. Annapurna is asked to marry Ranganatham. In the meantime, Ramayya escapes from jail, and the same hired killer of Venkayya ends up killing Ranganatham. As he dies, he sees the error of his ways, and Anand and Annapurna have a happy ending with Ramayya reunited with his family.
Susarla Dakshina Murthy gave the music for the movie. The song 'Rathammo Rathammo' picturized on Ramana Reddy and Jyoti was liked by the audiences.
DOP Kamal Ghosh
was the nephew of Devaki Bose (of Calcutta New Theatres).
Kamal Ghosh was the director of photography (DOP). There was a problem that the unit encountered before the production even began. The south Indian movies authority decided not to sell raw film to new producers or production companies. So they had to buy it from a Tamil producer for a much higher price.
Baby EV Saroja as the younger Annapurna debuted as a lead actress in Iddaru Mithrulu, produced by Annapurna Productions. V. Madhusudana Rao had earlier made a mythology 'Sati Tulasi' which had Gummadi in the lead. In Annapurna, however, Gummadi plays the protagonist's father. PC Reddy started assisting V. Madhusudana Rao from this movie, and later went on to direct several movies of his own.
Narayya, the hired killer, was a role which was first offered to Edida Nageswara Rao, but was finally donned by Mukkamala. Edida later went on to produce movies such as Swathi Muthyam, Sankarabharanam and others under the banner 'Purnodaya Pictures'.
Annapurna did well, but the producers hardly had any profit. The production house was recognized as a force to reckon with soon after their first venture. Their next movie was Aradhana, starring ANR and Savithri. V. Madhusudana Rao and VB Rajendra Prasad, who in fact share the same surnames (Veeramachineni) had a good rapport. From Annapurna to Dasara Bullodu, V. Madhusudana Rao directed all the movies for Jagapathi Pictures. Annapurna was the foundation stone of this combination.
Jagapathi Pictures was started by VB Rajendra Prasad. He was always interested in cinema, but first dabbled in various professions. Belonging to big landlord's family, he finished his graduation and got into the cement business. This failed, so he tried farming and managing a rice mill, both of which failed too, owing to his asthma. Finally, he reached his first love-movies.
ANR, an old contact, had earlier advised him to complete his education, and only then step into movies. VB Rajendra Prasad aimed to be an actor, but ended up starting a production house and making movies instead. Money was no issue for him, so with some partners and help from the family, he started Jagapathi Pictures (his father's name).
V. Madhusudana Rao was asked to direct it while Sadasiva Brahmam was asked to pen the script. But finally, Arudra wrote the script for their debut venture, titled Annapurna, which was the name of the protagonist of the movie, played by Jamuna. ANR had a packed schedule, so the male lead role went to Kongara Jaggaiah.
The story of the film goes thus: Ramayya, Ranganatham and Venkayya are business partners. When they get huge profits, Ranganatham does not want to share it with his partners. So he gets Venkayya murdered and puts the blame on Ramayya. Ramayya goes to jail, his wife dies and his children suffer at a relations' place. Anand is their only supporter in that whole house for them.
They grow up, and Annapurna studies, earns and supports her brother's education. An accident sees her at Ranganatham's house in a village where Anand is a police inspector now. Anand and Annapurna fall in love, but Anand's parents do not accept his choice. Annapurna is asked to marry Ranganatham. In the meantime, Ramayya escapes from jail, and the same hired killer of Venkayya ends up killing Ranganatham. As he dies, he sees the error of his ways, and Anand and Annapurna have a happy ending with Ramayya reunited with his family.
Susarla Dakshina Murthy gave the music for the movie. The song 'Rathammo Rathammo' picturized on Ramana Reddy and Jyoti was liked by the audiences.
DOP Kamal Ghosh
was the nephew of Devaki Bose (of Calcutta New Theatres).
Kamal Ghosh was the director of photography (DOP). There was a problem that the unit encountered before the production even began. The south Indian movies authority decided not to sell raw film to new producers or production companies. So they had to buy it from a Tamil producer for a much higher price.
Baby EV Saroja as the younger Annapurna debuted as a lead actress in Iddaru Mithrulu, produced by Annapurna Productions. V. Madhusudana Rao had earlier made a mythology 'Sati Tulasi' which had Gummadi in the lead. In Annapurna, however, Gummadi plays the protagonist's father. PC Reddy started assisting V. Madhusudana Rao from this movie, and later went on to direct several movies of his own.
Narayya, the hired killer, was a role which was first offered to Edida Nageswara Rao, but was finally donned by Mukkamala. Edida later went on to produce movies such as Swathi Muthyam, Sankarabharanam and others under the banner 'Purnodaya Pictures'.
Annapurna did well, but the producers hardly had any profit. The production house was recognized as a force to reckon with soon after their first venture. Their next movie was Aradhana, starring ANR and Savithri. V. Madhusudana Rao and VB Rajendra Prasad, who in fact share the same surnames (Veeramachineni) had a good rapport. From Annapurna to Dasara Bullodu, V. Madhusudana Rao directed all the movies for Jagapathi Pictures. Annapurna was the foundation stone of this combination.
| [+/-] |
DEVATHA 1965 |
Producer : Padmanabham
Music Director : Kothandapani SP
Cast :
Geetanjali,
Girija,
Padma Nabham,
Rama Rao NT,
Savitri
Story:
Veteran actor Padmanabham was essentially a theatre actor. Even after he found success in movies, his first love remained theatre. He co-founded a theatre group with his friend Vallam Narasimha Rao, Rekha and Murali Arts. 'Shanti Nivasam' was one of their theatrical ventures, which was later made into a movie. In that play, musician SP Kodandapani and lyricist Veturi worked too. Veturi wrote a story which Padmanabham really liked, but it was unfit to be made into a play owing to the double role of the female lead. A movie seemed like a good idea, but Padmanabham was nervous about producing a movie. With Kodandapani's encouragement, however, he finally braved into the big bad world of film production.
The story which caught his fancy went thus: Prasad, a lecturer has a happy life with a loving wife Sita and son Madhu. His parents dote on his wife and vice versa. The news of Sita's father's illness causes her to take a train to her hometown, but the train meets with an accident. Sita returns unharmed, but suffers from evident amnesia and ill-treats everyone now. Her father dies and leaves all his property to her.
Meanwhile a doctor figures out that this is not Sita, and Sita indeed demised in the tragic accident. It turns out to be an imposter, by name Lalitha. Prasad, depressed and dejected, sets out to get Lalitha married to her lover. Her lover refuses to marry her, suspecting a liaison between Lalitha and Prasad. After that, Sita's relative kidnaps Lalitha with an eye on her property. Prasad saves her and she falls in love with him and they get married. Well, all's well that ends well.
The title was decided-'Devatha'. Padmanabham approached NTR and Savithri, who nodded their approval. Savithri was pregnant at that time, so the movie had to be finished fast, and so they did. In three months of starting the venture, they released it to full houses, distributed by Vani Films. Padmanabham apparently mortgaged his house to produce the movie, but the risk paid off.
Dialogue of the Movie: When Prasad (NTR) wears a lalchi-pancha, then Padmanabham tells him "Ninnu ee lalchi-pancha lo chustunte, Sowkar cinema lo Ramarao gurthostunnadu Bava." Needless to say, hoots and whistles followed this wisecrack each show.
Veteran comedian Padmanabham was last seen in Tata Birla Madhyalo Laila.
Padmanabham, apart from donning the role of a producer also played a part in the movie. He dons the role of a film-crazy villager who goes to visit all his favorite stars in Madras. In the first-of-a-kind idea then, a number of stars like SV Rangarao, Anjali Devi, Gummadi, Jamuna, Sowkar Janaki and others make special appearances in the movie. This was a highlight for the movie, and many audiences thronged the theatres just to see this portion.
During the filming, Padmasri was announced for Nagaiah. The whole unit celebrated the honor bestowed upon their very own Telugu actor. Padmanabham's son Murali played NTR-Savithri's son, Madhu. He was seen a couple of movies after that as a child artiste. Vanisri danced to a song 'Naaku Neeve Kavalira' and was noticed by none other than the lead pair. Savithri, in fact, is supposed to have told NTR that this young girl will come up as an actress, given how emotive and expressive she was. And her prediction really came true in later years.
Padmanabham's debut as a producer hit bulls-eye at the Box-Office. After this, he produced movies like Potti Pleadaru, Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna, Kathaanayika Molla, Jataka Ratna Midatham Botlu and others, where he donned roles that showed his versatility as an actor.
| [+/-] |
DHARMADATA 1970 |
Directed by:
A. Sanjeevi
Produced by:
Krishnamurthy Tammareddy
Original Music by:
Chalapathi Rao T.
Cinematography by:
Venkataratnam S.
Music Department:
Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao ....
P. Suseela
Cast:
Nageshwara Rao Akkineni
Kanchana
Nagabhushanam
Rajababu
Story:
Tammareddy Krishnamurthy, founder of Ravindra Art Pictures, gave three hits in a row. The movies were Lakshadhikari, Bangaru Gajulu and Zamindar. Now on the lookout for a story for his fourth production, he came across the Tamil hit 'Enga Oor Raja' starring Sivaji Ganesan. He decided to remake it in Telugu, starring his favorite, ANR.
Incidentally, producer of 'Enga Oor Raja', Madhavan, had already remade Tammareddy's 'Bangaru Gajulu' in Tamil starring Sivaji Ganesan. So the remake rights were sold without a stir and Tammareddy set upon making some changes to the original script before shooting.
The story in Telugu went like this. Raghupathi is a generous Zamindar. He falls into debts after getting his sister, Laxmi, married to Raju, son of Zamindar Bhujangam. Raghupathi mortgages his home 'Srinilayam' to give dowry for his sister and is bankrupt. After the death of his wife, he takes his two sons, Shekar and Chakravarthy and daughter Jaya, and leaves the village for the city.
There, they all work hard and make some money. After that, La
ANR donned two roles-as father Raghupathi and son Shekar. For 'Srinilayam', a Nawab's house behind the present Lifestyle building in Begumpet was used to go in for the grand effect. Tammareddy roped in Sulochana Rani to co-write and add some more characters to the existing ones in the movie. But there was no contribution, and she even asked him why he even put her name in the credits. Pinisetty wrote the dialogues in Telugu, changing, adding and improvising on the Tamil version.
ANR donned two roles-as father Raghupathi and son Shekar.
Director Akkineni Sanjeevi worked as an editor and later debuted as a director in Jagapathi Films' Akka Chellelu. He wielded the megaphone for the second time, and was much appreciated. The cinematography was taken up by S. Venkata Ratnam, but for the tricky scenes double act scenes which needed two ANRs was taken up by senior DOP Kamal Ghosh. For the masked scenes, an assistant on the sets who resembled ANR was used.
TV Chalapati Rao was the music director. CNR wrote six of the nine songs, two of them were penned by Kosaraju and one is a short Shlokam. The entire movie was shot in black and white, but three songs were shot in color. This was the norm in those days when shooting the entire movie in color proved a costly ordeal. The first choice for a heroine was Vanisri, but was later replaced by Kanchana. Kanchana appears in a swimsuit in the movie, which caused a big stir in those days.
Ghantasala and Relangi got Padmasri before the movie released. So in the titles, there is a note of congratulations for the duo. Sowkar Janaki, Suryakantam and Relangi made guest appearances in the movie. Ghantasala sang six songs in the movie.
Dharmadata was a milestone in ANR's career, both because of its success and ANR's double act. It ran for 100 days in 12 centers, not a mean feat in those days. It proved to be another feather in the cap of Ravindra Art Pictures.
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RECHUKKA 1954 |
Directed by:
P. Pullaiah
Produced by:
Krishnamurthy Ghantasala .
Music Department:
Krishnaveni Jikki .... playback singer
Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao ....playback singer
Cast :
Rama Rao Taraka Nandamuri ... Kannaiah / Yuvaraju
Anjali Devi ... Nana
Devika ... Lalita Devi
Mukkamala
Nagabhushanam
Sivaram Peketi
Nageshwara Rao Akkineni
Story:
Ghantasala Balaramayya of Pratibha Pictures gave ANR his first lead role in 'Sri Sita Rama Jananam'. He made movies of the Janapadam genre, and 'Chinna Kodalu' in 1952 was his first social cinema, starring Krishna Kumari and GM Swami. The general manager of Pratibha Pictures, 'Pratibha' Sastry came up with a story idea inspired by 'The Prince Who Was A Thief' starring Tony Curtis. Rechukka was born with script, dialogues and lyrics by Malladi Ramakrishna Sastry.
The story is set in a kingdom. The minister wants his daughter to marry the King's only son. The King scoffs at the idea, and the jilted minister captures and arrests the King and runs the Kingdom. A loyal countryman Veeranna (Nagabhushanam) takes the Prince and leaves him in the forest away from the evil minister's hands, but gets captured himself. The Prince grows up as Kannayya (NTR), the forest chief's adopted son and Veeranna's daughter Nana (Anjali Devi) grows up to be a thief. The old King escapes finally and stays at Nana's house. Nana steals the Princess' (Pramila/Devika) necklace and Kannayya returns it to her, who falls in love with him. Nana falls for the Kannayya too. He gets to know his true identity, defeats his enemies and gets back his Kingdom.
Ghantasala Balaramayya saw ANR on Vijayawada railway platform and that changed the latter's life forever.
Balaramayya wanted ANR to play the lead, but ANR was busy with AVM's Vadina. NTR was roped in for the main lead. Ashwathama, Nagayya's musician assistant in Nirupeda was chosen as the music director.
A portion of the movie was completed when tragedy struck. Balaramayya passed away due to a sudden heart attack. Pratibha Sastry desired to finish the movie, so he requested P. Pullaiah to wield the megaphone. The condition was that the script should not be tampered with, and Pullaiah readily agreed. The financers wanted the actors to take remuneration only after the completion of the movie, to which everyone consented. NTR, however, declined to give a letter stating the same to the financer and addressed it to Pratibha Pictures instead.
Pullaiah wanted a new face for the Princess' role. 'Stills' Satyam sent him pictures of Raghupathi Venkat Ratnam's grand niece, Pramila. She did the role, after which she changed her name to Devika and became a big star in those days. The star of the hit play 'Raktha Kanneeru', Nagabhushanam plays the role of Chitti Veeranna. He was later introduced as a lead in 'Edi Nijam' of Pratibha Pictures. NTR's dupe was Swaminathan, is stunt master Vijayan's father, who was working under stunt master Somu in this movie.
Anjali Devi who plays Nana in this movie was unavailable for the 'Subham' shot. Pratibha Sastry managed the situation by using a dupe and later superimposing a negative from 'Swapna Sundari' and finished the movie. Balaramayya's 20-year-old son (Ghantasala Krishnamurthy) took over as producer. He later produced Edi Nijam, Dongalunnaru Jagratta. ANR, whose mentor was Pullaiah and who was made a lead actor by Balaramayya, wished to appear in this movie. So he makes a guest appearance, one of the 14 times ANR and NTR were seen together in a movie.
The movie completed a 100-day run. It was dubbed into Tamil by producer Kalyana Raman, and it ran as well as a straight movie would have done. After that, Raman became a big time producer. The movie is a Janapada movie with a social theme, with songs, sentiment and emotion.
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BHALE TAMMUDU 1969 |
Producer: A.Pundarikakshaiah
Cast:
NTR,
Relangi,
Prabhakar Reddy,
K. R. Vijaya
Story:
Atluri Pundarikakshayya was a close associate of NTR. He turned producer with 'Mahamanthri Timmarasu' in 1962, which he co-produced with Narra Ramabrahmam. After that he made Sri Krishnavataram, and was encouraged after two successes. He wanted to remake Shakti Samanta's 'China Town' starring Shammi Kapoor, Shakeela and Helen. Tamil producer Balaji had already bought the Tamil rights for a small sum with Ashok Kumar's recommendation. He remade it as 'Kudiyiruntha Kovil' starring MGR. So Atluri bought the Telugu rights from Balaji.
The story had NTR playing a dual role. Gana and his gang are robbers. Inspector Prasad arrests one gang member so Gana kills Prasad and captures his elder son Ram Prasad. He changes Ram's name to Paul and trains him to be a robber. He grows up robbing people; finally getting arrested. Prasad's younger son Shyam Prasad is a singer in a bar, in love with Rao Saheb's daughter Geeta. Rao Saheb gets Shyam arrested and Inspector Shekar sees that he resembles Paul. He gives Shyam a job in the CID and makes him infiltrate the smugglers den as Paul. Gana gets suspicious and sets out to warn the real Paul who is in prison, but Shyam makes him recollect his past. When Ram/Paul realizes that Gana killed their father, the two brothers unite to teach Gana a lesson.
Maddipatla Suri wrote the dialogues. Lines like 'Ee rojullo karuvu biyyanike kani BA laki kadu' were liked when the movie was released. BA Subbarao was the one who gave NTR his first lead role in Palletoori Pilla. After that he made Raju Peda, Bheeshma with NTR and Chenchu Laxmi with ANR. He directed this movie.
KR Vijaya played Rukmini in Sri Krishnavataram and starred in Paramanandaya Sishyulu, and was chosen to play Geeta. After this movie, she worked with NTR again in Laxmi Kataksham, Prema Simhasanam and Ekaveera. A new face was required for the role of Leela, which was played by Kanchana's sister Girija. Actor Srividya asked the producer for this role, but Girija was already finalized for the role. Girija worked as a child artiste before. A Qawwali song was composed and picturized on Aruna Irani, who is in fact a Telugu girl from Nandyala. This is her first Telugu movie.
KR Vijaya later went on to play Goddess in several films.
TV Raju, who composed the songs for Sri Krishnavataram, was chosen as the composer for Bhale Thammudu. Three songs had their tunes borrowed from the hugely successful China Town's songs. All the songs were sung by Mohammed Rafi, both in Hindi and Telugu. Rafi wrote down the Telugu lines in Urdu and practiced. There was freshness in his almost flawless pronouncement of Telugu and the songs were hits. Before this, he sang Kabir's sonnets for Chittoor V. Nagayya's 'Bhakta Ramadasu' in Telugu. 'Baar Baar Dekho, Hazar Baar Dekho' of the original was re-composed in Telugu as 'Yentha Vaaru Gaani' and was a hit. Rafi sang for quite a few Telugu movies after Bhale Thammudu.
Around the same time as Bhale Thammudu's release, ANR's 'Buddhimantudu' was released which also had ANR in a dual role. Bhale Thammudu didn't run for 100 days, but it was a success nonetheless. After this, Atluri started Sri Bhaskara Chitra and made movies such as Manushullo Devudu, Aradhana, Melu Kolupu, Maa Vari Manchitanam among others.
After China Town, Amitabh Bachchan starrer Don was made inspired by the same concept (but the two are not brothers). Don was remade in Telugu as Yugandhar, and this movie had NTR in the lead again. Don has been remade in Hindi again with the same title in 2006 starring Shah Rukh Khan and now it's being remade in Telugu with Nagarjuna. It's one big circle, with one story and so many movies based on the same concept being repeated time and again.
