02/07/08 ~ Early Tollywood

2.07.2008

SANKARABHARANAM 1980

Banner: Poornodaya Art Creations
Director: K Vishwanath
Producer: Edida Nageswara Rao
Dialogues: Jandhyala
Lyrics: Veturi Sundara Rama Murthy
Camera: Balu Mahendra
Music: KV Mahadevan

Cast:
JV Somayajulu,
Manju Bhargavi,
Allu Rama Lingaiah,
Pushpa Kumari,
Tulasi Ram,
Chandra Mohan,
Ranga Rao,
Baby Tulasi
Rajya Lakshmi and Jhansi

Story:
Vishwanath's musical hit, Sankarabharanam (The Jewel of Shiva), is often presented as the film that transformed the Telugu film industry in 1980s. It borrows extensively from the classical Carnatic music to tell the story of a relationship between a Carnatic guru and a prostitute.The prostitute Ratna Prabha (Bhargavi) runs away from home and is reluctantly accepted as a student, which brings the guru Sankara Sastry into a social disrepute. When Ratna Prabha was forced to return to her ancestral vocation, she murders her customer but nevertheless finds herself pregnant. She give birth to son (Tulasi), who now studies under the guru though they are ostracized. Eventually Ratna Prabha becomes rich and she builds an auditorium in the name of her guru. During the opening performance, he has a heart attack and the son replaces the guru on stage, extending the tradition.

It is the first Telugu film to attempt the redefinition of mass culture, using calendar-art aesthetics in several garish dance sequences by Manju Bhargavi - many in front of temples - and classical music (the guru out-shouts the rock music created by his detractors).

This film is successful mainly for it's anti-Tamil and anti-North view of an indigenist Telugu classicism, spawning a whole genre: Bapu's Thyagayya(1981), Dasari Narayana Rao's Megha Sandesam (1982), Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's 'Sangeeta Samrat (1984), Vams's Sitara (1984), and Viswanath's own sequel Sagara Sangamam (1983) and Swathi Muthyam (1985).JV Somayajulu later played many roles, his presence being enough to invoke the Sankarabharanam legacy. Viswanath remade his Telugu film in Hindi as Sur Sangam (1985) with Girish Karnad and Jaya Prada.

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SUMANGALI 1940

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SWAYAMKRUSHI 1987

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GUNDAMMA KATHA 1962

Banner: Vijaya

Duration: 2 Hrs. 46 minutes

Format: Black and White

Director: Kamalakara Kameswara Rao

Story: Chakrapani

Dialogues: DV Narasaraju

Lyrics: Pingali Nagendra Rao

Camera: Marcus Bartley

Music: Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao

Cast: NT Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, SV Ranga Rao, Savitri, Vijaya Lakshmi, Jamuna, Relangi Venkat Ramaiah, Chayadevi, Haranath, Rajanala, Ramana Reddy

Producers: Chakrapani & B Nagi Reddy

Cast:
NT Rama Rao,
Nageswara Rao,
SV Ranga Rao,
Savitri,
Vijaya Lakshmi,
Jamuna,
Relangi Venkat Ramaiah,
Chayadevi,
Haranath,
Rajanala,
Ramana Reddy

Story:
Vijaya banner is known for producing 'golden films'. With the use of excellent narration skills by the director Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and the right casting, the producer duo Chakrapani-Nagireddy gave a wholesome entertainer in the form of 'Gundamma Katha'.

Gundamma (Suryakantham) has a son, an exploited stepdaughter, for whom she hopes to get a 'resident' son-in-law who can also look after the rest of the family. Two brothers Anji (NTR) and Raja (ANR), decide to teach the old woman a lesson for the harm she once did to their family.

Kamalakara Kameswara Rao garu is known as 'Pauranika Chitra Brahma'. With this film, he tried his hand at comedy and passed out with flying colors. Another major contributor for this film's success is the dialogue writer DV Narasaraju. He gave fine dialogues like …

"Paalallo neellu kalapakapothe .. petrol kaluputhaara?"
"Vunnollantha vedhavalaithe … mana telivikem .. Divitilaa veligi podoo?"
"Manishi sukhaniki kavalsindi .. manasulu kaani .. aasthi paastulu kaavu"
"Aasaku Chaavu ledu!'

NTR donned the role of a rich guy with a strong determination. ANR acted as another rich man who is addicted to alcohol. Savitri, who acted in soft roles in the past acted as a strong-willed woman, who is very hard to convince. Jamuna played a headstrong lady. The scene-stealer of the film is none but Smt. Suryakantham, who made a mark for herself with this film. SVR did a short yet nice role of the father of heroes.

This film is also a musical masterpiece. Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao garu has given excellent tunes for 'kolukoloyanna', 'veshamu maarchenu', 'kanulu moosina neevaye', 'prema yatralaku'. Lyricist Pingali Nagendra Rao garu coined new words like 'Sakhinera Choopula', 'Jagamuna Ooty Saayaga'. He also compared the 'preyasi jada' with 'valapu paasam'.

Producer Chakrapani credited with direction of the Tamil version of Gundamma Katha as Manithan Maravillai tasted failure unlike the stupendous success of the original Telugu version. Gundamma Katha is regarded as the last film of Vijaya's 'Golden Age'.

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ANVESHANA 1985

Directed by
Vamshi
Writing credits
Tanikella Bharani
Vamshi
Original Music by
Ilayaraja
Cinematography by
Raghu M.V.
Film Editing by
Anil Malnad
Music Department
S. Janaki .... playback singer
Balasubramaniam S.P. .... playback singer
Cast:
Bhanupriya ... Hema
Karthik ... Amar
Satyanarayana Kaikala
Rallapalli
Sarathbabu ... James
Subhalekha Sudhakar
Mallikharjunarao ... Puliraju
Vijaya Y.
Viswanatham ... Jatkabandi vaadu

Story:
During the shooting of Sitara at Kovalam Beach, Kamineni Prasad met with director Vamsi expressing a desire to produce a movie directed by him. He even had a co-producer, Chinna, who was the owner of Hotel Apsara in Vizag. Prasad had produced 'Intinti Katha' in 1974 with Krishna. Vamsi wanted to make a thriller this time and started writing the story.

Vamsi and Ilayaraja went to Madhurai to work on the music of the movie. After reaching the hotel, the director realized he left the script in Araku, the place he went before this to work on the script. So when the maestro asked him for the story and the situations to compose the music for, Vamsi made up some story hurriedly, whatever came from the top of his head. Though not completely different from what he had written, the plot had changed when he narrated it to Ilayaraja. The composer gave wonderful music, after which Vamsi returned to Madras and wrote the script based on Ilayaraja's tunes and the new plot he himself had narrated. He titled it Anveshana.

Anveshana is a thriller, a murder mystery at that. Bhanupriya comes to record bird sounds in a forest. She is related to Kaikala, who stays there. Sarath Babu is the forest officer. A lady comes to the forest before Bhanupriya, and she is killed. The forest officer says it is a tiger that killed the lady. People start getting killing, and it is clearly not the work of a tiger. Karthik is an undercover cop, who is trying to find out the identity of the killer.

Once he finished the script, he sent it to Yendamuri Veerendranath to fill in the dialogues. He did so and sent him back, but Vamsi was dissatisfied with it. So he worked on the dialogues himself. After Seethakoka Chiluka and Abhinandana, Karthik was liked in both Tamil and Telugu. He was chosen as the main lead, while Vamsi repeated Bhanupriya after Sitara and Alapana. For the crucial role of Ponni, dancer Sumati was finalized. The other cast included artists like Subhalekha Sudhakar, Kaikala Satyanarayana, Sarath Babu and others.

A lot of the shooting was done in Talakona forest. Though it looks like dense forest, they really did not go deep inside. A lot of the scenes were shot at night. Thota Tharani did wonders with the art work, including the forest officer's cottage which was done up authentically. Instead of the required steady camera, they had to make do with a hand-held one due to budget constrains. MV Raghu, the cinematographer, used his camera to scare and thrill. Award winning editor, Anil Malnad, also deserves credit for that, as timing is essential in a thriller. The movie was shot with a budget of 15 lakhs and a schedule of 60 days.

Veturi wrote the lyrics for the songs. The songs were recorded at Prasad Deluxe Theatre in Madras. The first song recorded was 'Keeravani' with SP Balasubrahmanyam and Janaki. Ilayaraja got some special equipment for the re-recording. He used musical instruments to mimic the sounds of nature, like birds singing and trees rustling, etc. For the song 'Ekantha Vela', Karthik was unavailable for part of the shooting. So they took the choreographer and shot him and Bhanupriya in long shots. Ghantasala Ratna Kumar dubbed for Karthik. Lakshmi dubbed for Bhanupriya in Sitara, but for the first time, she dubbed for herself.

Bhanupriya dubbed for her role for the first time in Anveshana.
Critics opine that it is based on the Kannada-Telugu dubbed super hit of the late 70s, Aparichithudu, which was a horror-suspense. Vamsi accepts this fact, and adds that Hollywood movies like 'Visiting Hours' and 'Evil Under The Sun' also inspired him. The humor in the movie is provided by Mallikarjuna Rao, who plays the part of Puliraju. He stops people in the morning as they go to attend their nature-call and narrates stories. Kaikala also generates some laughs as an absent-minded man.

The movie was a musical hit. It ran for 100 days in 11 centers. At the 100 days function at Hotel Woodlands in Madras, Raghavendra Rao, Jayasudha and Gollapudi Maruti Rao were the chief guests. Maruti Rao said that this movie was a technician's movie. 'It is a technician's victory. It's a regular mystery story, but it had a great director, editor, musician, cameraman working on it. It is a great experience.' The director's presentation and technique worked well for the movie. The movie's specialty is how it keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat. Every character acts suspiciously till the last reel. And the villain's identity is unknown. Though thrillers are usually a one-time watch, Anveshana got a lot of repeat audience.

They wanted to remake it in Marathi, but this venture did not work. The movie was dubbed in Tamil as 'Paadum Paravaigal' (Birds Also Sing). Mallikarjuna Rao's track was re-shot with Tamil comedian Senthil Mani. Ilayaraja's music, MV Raghu's camerawork, Anil Malnad's editing, the cast and last but not the least, Vamsi's unique directorial skills make Anveshana a must-watch.

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GORINTAKU 1979

Banner
# Yuva Chitra
Director
# Narayana Rao, Dasari
Producer
# Murari-Naidu
Dialogues
# Narayana Rao, Dasari
Screen Play
# Narayana Rao, Dasari
Art
# taraNi, tOTa
Music
# Mahadevan, K.V
Playback
# Suseela, P
# Balasubrahmanyam, S.P
Lyrics
# Achaarya Athreya
# Sri Sri
# Sundara ramamurthy, Veturi
# Krishna Sastri, Devulapalli

Cast
# Devadas Kanakala
# Dr. Prabhakara Reddi, M .... Sujatha's father
# Padma, Vakkalanka .... shoban's wife
# Ramana Murthy, J.V .... Shoban's father
# ramAprabha
# Savithri .... Sobhan's mother
# Sobhan Babu
# Sujatha

Story:
Yuva Chitra had just been started by Katragadda Murari, and their first venture Sitamahalakshmi was appreciated. For his next venture, he picked a storyline inspired from Manchi Manasulu starring ANR and Savithri. Director Sethu Mahadevan was to wield the megaphone, but differences arose because of the choice of the music director. While Murari wanted KV Mahadevan, director Sethu wanted MS Viswanathan. After a walkout, Dasari was roped in to direct the movie, with script-writer K. Ramalaxmi suggesting the title Gorintaku.

The story goes like this: Ramu's father is a drunkard, who neglects his family. His daughter dies after he beats her once, and Ramu runs away from home. Ramu studies on charity, and in medical college meets Swapna. Ramu tutors Swapna's siblings and lives in her out-house. Swapna is married off to Anand, a London-based doctor who is already married. By the time this fact comes to light, Ramu meets Padma and falls in love. A love triangle ensues, with Swapna finally sacrificing her love and Ramu and Padma come together in the end.

brilliant actress and multi-lingual star.
Dasari was hugely successful and with his own team, but with this movie a different set of technicians were taken. Now for the actors, Shoban Babu was the first and last choice as far as the male lead, Ramu, went. Sujatha who plays the role of Swapna was spotted by the producer in a Tamil movie by K. Balachander. She was in her early twenties, but married with a kid by then. Still, she fit the role and after that she starred in Guppedu Manasulu.

Vakkalanka Padma is singer Vakkalanka Sarala's daughter. When approached for the role of Padma, she had apprehensions regarding disrupting her studies-she needn't have worried, the movie was wrapped in less than 2 months!

Saikumar's brother Ravi Shanker played the younger Shoban Babu. The role was extended because of the presence of Savithri, who plays Ramu's mother. In fact, the song Gorintaku Puchindi was shot simply because she was there, and they had to shoot a song on her. The younger Ramu's days are all shot in B&W, mainly for the effect, and also because of how lovely Savithri looks in B&W. The song is extremely famous even today.

Incidentally, although the title was suggested by K. Ramalaxmi, even Dasari liked the title. He was in fact thinking to start a weekly by the same name. Jandhyala was asked to pen the dialogues, but ended up not doing so. LV Prasad liked the movie so much he wanted to remake it in Hindi, but he was a tad bit too late. Jitendra, king of remakes, had already bought the rights. Dasari directed the Hindi version too, but it flopped badly in Hindi. In Telugu, on the other hand, the movie and the song with Savithri, is remember even now.

Songs
* gorinTA pUcindi kommA lEkunDA
Playback
Suseela, P
Cast
Savithri
* kommakommakO sannAyi
Cast
Sobhan Babu - Sujatha
* ilAga vacci ...elAga tiirAli mana RuNamelAga tiirAli
Cast
Sobhan Babu - Sujatha
* elaa elaa daachaavu alavi kaani anuraagam innaaLLoo

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SITARA 1984

Director:vamsi
Producer:Edida Nageswara rao
Music:Ilayaraja

Cast:
Suman,
Bhanupriya
Sharat Babu

Story:
He might have recently given a nightmare of a movie called Anumanaspadam recently, but Vamsi's caliber is unquestioned. With hits like Anveshana, Ladies Tailor, April 1 Vidudhala, Avunu Vallidaru Ishtapaddaru he has a style that is easily distinguishable.

His journey started with assisting various big directors for the production house Purnodaya Movie Creations. He debuted with Manchu Pallaki, but the movie failed to make a mark. His second directorial venture was with Purnodaya Movie Creations, with Edida Nageswara Rao producing it.

Mahallo Kokila was a novel this talented maker wrote during his assisting days. The novel was about a zamindar's sister who becomes an actress, an intriguing subject. Vamsi put in tremendous amount of research while writing it. Sitara was born.

The story goes thus: Kokila lives in a fort with her brother Chander (Sharath Babu), a bankrupt landlord who goes around courts for his property. She falls in love with Raju (Suman), a street theatre actor who comes to her village fair. Chander finds out about this romance, kills Raju and himself. Broken and distraught, Kokila flees the village and is found by Devadasu, a photographer, on the train. She becomes a star and renamed Sitara, and a book is written about her life which she reveals to Devadasu. After many hurdles she decides to give up on life herself, when in the end, Raja comes back, alive and kicking. All's well that ends well.

Vamsi and Ilayaraja -
one of the greatest combinations of Telugu cinema.
Jandhyala's associate Sainath wrote the screenplay. DOP MV Raghu used the round trolley in the movie, making it the first South Indian movie to have used it and set a trend. Purnodaya's regular Sharath Babu, Suman who was already a few films old were cast in the roles of Chander and Raju respectively. JV Somayajulu, fresh from the super success of Shankarabaranam was cast as a lawyer. Producer Edida Nageswara Rao's son Sriram was supposed to play Devadasu, a role 'Subhalekha' Sudhakar played while he portrayed a journalist named Tilak. Saikumar dubbed for Suman while Laxmi (sister of S. Janaki) dubbed for Bhanupriya.

Bhanupriya was a film old, that too in Tamil. Bharatiraja-P. Vasu directed a Tamil movie which had her in the lead. Sitara marks the debut of this sparkly-eyed beauty. The fact that she was a trained danseuse was an added advantage for the role of Kokila/Sitara.

What marks this movie is the music. Ilayaraja and Vamsi's fabulous combination begins here. During the post-production of the movie, those who saw the rushes gave negative comments, while Ilayaraja loved the movie. For those who thought it was a drag, Ilayaraja gave a powerful background score which plays a character by itself in the movie. The songs are a highlight for the movie.

Vamsi eccentric and highly individualistic style of shooting, especially songs, is displayed right from Sitara. The song 'Kukuku...Kokila Rave' was picturized entirely on hands and feet! The movie, much to the nervous producer's relief, completed a run of 100 days in 12 centers.

Sitara won Best Regional Movie, Best Regional Playback (Female): S. Janaki for 'Vennello Godari Andam' and Best Audiographer: SP Ramanathan. Bhanupriya became a huge star after this. Sridevi wanted it to be remade in Hindi and Ilayaraja wanted a Tamil version, both of which Vamsi politely refused. Sitara is a movie that has unforgettable songs; it also marks the beginning of Vamsi's spate of memorable movies.

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SIMHASANAM 1986

Story, Screenplay, Editing, Producer & Direction: Krishna.
Nirvahana: G. Adi Seshagiri Rao-G. Hanumantha Rao.
Banner: Padmalaya Studios (P) Limited.
Action: Veeru Devgan.
Art: Bhaskara Raju.
Choreography: Srinivas.
Cinematography: VSR Swamy.
Dialogues: Tripuraneni Maharadhi.
Lyrics: Atreya-Veturi.
Music: Bappi Lahiri.

Cast:
Krishna,
Jayapradha,
Radha,
Mandakini,
Waheeda Rehman,
Gummadi Venkateswara Rao,
Satyanarayana,
TL Kantha Rao,
Amjad Khan,
Tyagaraju,
Giribabu and Others.

Story:
Krishna debuted in 1965 (Tene Manasulu), and within a span of 20 years acted in various genres of movies and established his production house/studio Padmalaya. In 1985, Krishna sought to get into direction, and along with co-producer G. Hanumantha Rao and writer Tripuraneni Maharadhi decided the genre-'Janapadam'. Inspired by real-life royalty like Rudrama Devi and Gona Ganna Reddy, the characters of Alaknanda Devi and Vikrama Singha were conceived, and the movie was aptly titled Simhasanam.

The kingdom of Dasharna's has a brave and able army chief by the name Vikrama Singha (Krishna). Princess Alaknanda Devi (Jayapradha) is in love with him. The chief minister contrives to dethrone the king and procure the throne for his son. But as long as Vikrama Singha is present, his plans cannot bear fruit. So he traps Vikrama Singha by getting false witnesses to testify that he has tried to kill the princess. Vikrama Singha is exiled.

Meanwhile, the neighbouring kingdom of Avanti has the crown prince Aditya Vardhana (Krishna) who looks exactly like Vikrama Singha. The Raj Guru of Avanti contrives to procure the throne for his son. Vikrama Singha finally foils the chief minister's plans to acquire the throne of Dasharna. At the same time he poses as Aditya Vardhana of Avanti and overcomes many hurdles to retain both the thrones of Avanti and Dasharna.

Krishna appears in a dual role, but that's not all. He directed the movie in both Telugu and Hindi. In Hindi, Jeetendra (The star of remakes) was the lead, and the movie titled Singhasan. Kader Khan wrote the script-dialogues in Hindi. Amjad Khan played a role in both the versions, marking his debut in Telugu. His character was dubbed by Nutan Prasad. Music by Bappi Lahiri proved to be a highlight, and also marked Bappi Da's entry into Telugu movies.

A brigade of beauties was cast including Jayapradha, Radha, Mandakini and Waheeda Rehman (whose dubbing was provided by Sowcar Janaki). VSR Swamy was the director of photography, an old favorite with Krishna. The special effects were taken care of by Ravikanth Nagaich. Director Teja was assisting him at that time. Son Mahesh's movies with Gunasekhar has one elaborate set always, but Krishna started it way back then with Simhasanam.

There were many other firsts for Krishna's directorial debut. From the beginning, it was planned on a large scale, with a budget exceeding 4 crores. The thing to be noted here is that both the Telugu and Hindi versions were started and released at once! Simhasanam was the first 70mm movie of South India.

It was the first Telugu movies to have 85 prints and was released on March 21, 1986 in 153 theatres all over South India. It ran for 100 days in a total of 6 centres (Vizag-Chitralaya 70mm, Vijayawada-Raj 70mm, Hyderabad-Devi 70mm, Kakinada-Devi 70mm, Rajahmundry-Swamy, Guntur-Manga Deluxe 70mm). In hindsight, Simhasanam is a landmark movie in Krishna's career.

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SIRI SIRI MUVVA 1976

Story, Screenplay & Direction: K. Viswanath.
Presenter: Chintha Ramakrishna Reddy.
Producer(s): N. Bhaskar Reddy, Karri Laccha Reddy & U. Chinaveerraju.
Banner: Geetha Krishna Combines.
Art: Thota.
Choreography: Pasumarthi.
Cinematography: VSR Swamy.
Dialogues: Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy & Jandhyala.
Lyrics: Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy.
Music: KV Mahadevan.

Cast:
Chandramohan,
Kavitha,
Ramaprabha,
Devadas Kanakala,
Kaikala Satyanarayana,
Sakshi Ranga Rao,
JV Ramana Murthy and Others.

Story:
Producer trio N. Bhaskar Reddy, Karri Laccha Reddy and U. Chinaveerraju started out by dubbing a Tamil movie into Telugu. The movie was Venkateswara Mahathyam, which got them good profits. Now they wanted to get into making a movie, not merely dubbing it. K. Viswanath had narrated a story to producer DVS Raju, but he was unimpressed. He narrated the same to the trio, who gave their nod to start the movie. Siri Siri Muvva starring Chandramohan and Jayapradha was made and ran to full houses.

The story had many twists and turns. It is the story of Hyma (Jayapradha), a mute girl who is passionate about dancing. She is ill-treated by her stepmother (Ramaprabha), who wants to make her daughter Savithri (Kavitha) a heroine. Sambayya (Chandramohan), an orphan is deeply in love with Hyma, and saves her from being cheated by her vile stepmother and her nephew, Badram (Devadas Kanakala).

Sambayya takes Hyma to the city after her father's (Satyanarayana) death, where he is inflicted by TB. Once Hyma gets to know, she earns money by dancing at a Kalakshetra. Sambayya wants her to marry the organizer Ram Babu, but Hyma's heart beats only for her loyal companion Sambayya. Savithri acts in a movie and gets shunned by all, and Hyma takes care of them-all is forgiven. Sambayya and Hyma get married and all's well that ends well.

Sambayya's role was first supposed to be donned by Kamal Hassan, but it was Chandramohan who finally did it. He had already worked with Viswanath in O Sita Katha. After Siri Siri Muvva, Chandramohan's career really took off.

Many people were considered for the role of Hyma, including famous danseuse Shoba Naidu. It was Jayapradha, a little known and upcoming starlet then, who bagged it. She too never looked back after this landmark role. Actress Kavitha debuted with this movie in the role of Savithri, who is Hyma's step-sister.

VSR SwamyThe cinematography was appreciated in the movie, especially in the songs. The credit went to VSR Swamy who was assisted by today's biggies like S. Gopal Reddy, MV Raghu and Sharath. Veturi penned the lyrics and had co-written the dialogues with Jandhyala. KV Mahadevan's music was another highlight for this movie; Susheela won the national award for playback (Jhummandhi Naadham).

The trademark dance and music in K. Viswanath's movies started with this movie. The symbolism and maturity with which some of the scenes were dealt with impressed viewers and the film fraternity alike.

Siri Siri Muvva was remade into Hindi as Sargam, marking Jayapradha's Hindi debut. Rishi Kapoor played the male lead. The song Dafli Wale Dafli Baja became a huge hit, and is famous even today. The producer trio later made Siri Vennela with K. Viswanath, which was an average runner.

Today's trend of remaking golden hits of the past in Hindi was desired even then, by Kowsalendra Rao. He wanted Viswanath to remake Siri Siri Muvva, but the director declined. Siri Siri Muvva marked a coming of age cinema for the 70s era in Telugu.

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YAMAGOLA 1977

Direction: Tatineni Rama Rao.
Producer: S. Venkata Ratnam.
Banner: Sri Pallavi Films.
Art: S. Krishna Rao.
Cinematography: S. Venkata Ratnam.
Editing: Sanjeevi.
Lyrics: SriSri.
Music: Chakravarthi.
Story: DV Narasaraju.

Cast:
NTR,
Jayapradha,
Rao Gopala Rao,
Kaikala Satyanarayana,
Allu Ramalingaiah,
TL Kantha Rao and Others.
Story:
Yamagola-the name itself fires our imaginations. And an extremely fertile imagination is what each and every Indian has, what with the diverse cultures and sub-cultures, history and mythology that we possess. Using Hindu mythology and sociology, can one conceive a movie idea? That's exactly what our Telugu movie veterans did, and we are talking way back-to the 1960s here.

C. Pullaiah adapted a Bengali novel to make Devanthakudu, with NTR as the protagonist and SV Ranga Rao playing none other than the Hindu Lord of Death-Lord Yama. After this, many stories with Yama as one of the characters came about. Again in 1977, Yamagola was conceived. The script, story and even the title was passed to many hands, and finally it was S. Venkata Ratnam of Sri Pallavi Films who ventured to make the movie. After many changes and several discussions, the story was finalized.

Satyam is a youth leader and a Panchayati Board President who stops the ex-President of the board, Rudrayya (Rao Gopala Rao) from executing his corrupt schemes. Satyam and Rudrayya's daughter, Savithri (Jayapradha) are in love and plan to get married. So Rudrayya gets Satyam killed, who immediately goes to heaven. He angers the King of Heaven, Indra, who sends him straight to hell. In hell, he influences the soldiers of death, Yama's army using communist theories and rights of labor, and turns them against their leader-Yama, and Hell shuts down. Yama sends him back to Earth, where Satyam changes his name and teaches Rudrayya a lesson.

The base of this theme is derived from a Hollywood production called Death Takes a Holiday (1934). This socio-fantasy had to undergo many script changes to finally reach a shape and a structure worthy of NTR. But even Balakrishna, who just displayed his potential in Dana Veera Sura Karna as Abhimanyu was considered to play Satyam, but finally it was NTR who was finalized for the role. The dialogue 'Yamunda', used by Lord Yama, played by Kaikala Satyanarayana became famous and was used in many other movies later on. This was actually taken from the play 'Savithri' where the character of Yama uses this word on stage whenever he makes an entry.

The shooting of Yamagola began on NTR's birthday-28th May, and was completed before the schedule ended! But the release was delayed because Adavi Ramudu was playing in full swing, and producer Venkata Ratnam wanted the very same theatres where Adavi Ramudu was playing for Yamagola. He had to wait for almost 4 months, but without regret-he readily agreed, and it was worth the wait. After Lava Kusa, Dana Veera Sura Karna and Adavi Ramudu, Yamgola joined in the league of Telugu movies which made a sum of 1 crore (and more, later on). One thing to be noted-all four of them starred NTR.

After Adavi Ramudu, NTR and Jayapradha became a hit pair, and were repeated for Yamagola, with the audiences appreciating the duo immensely. To add to their chemistry, Chakravarthi's mass songs including 'Olammi Tikka Reginda' fuelled their success. Chakravarthi's musical career just took off after this movie, with SriSri's 'Samaraniki Nede Prarambham' becoming a huge success too.

Allu Ramalingaiah as Chitragupta can be called a highlight to the movie. All his funny histrionics generated many laughs, as did Rao Gopala Rao as Rudrayya and TL Kantha Rao as Indra. All these factors were necessary to appeal to all kinds of audiences, from the front benchers to family audiences and children. So happy was the producer with the response to Yamagola that instead of handing out shields on the silver jubilee celebrations, as was the norm, he handed out gold ornaments.
But in Hindi, where it was re-made with Jeetendra as Lok Parlok, the Hindi audiences could not tolerate the de-mystification of Yama, and the Lord of Death being teased by a mere mortal. Similarly in Tamil, in Yamanukku Yaman, Shivaji Ganeshan played the roles of both Satyam and Lord Yama-which was not digested by audiences either. So it flopped in both Hindi and Tamil.

Yamagola worked with NTR's mass appeal, the well-written comic interludes and the acceptance of Telugu audiences of this unique socio-fantasy, and set many a trend in Telugu cinema.

Songs:
Olammii, tikka rEgindaa? oLLantaa timmirekkindaa?
Lyrics: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: NTR, Jayaprada

vayasu musurukostunnadi vaana merupula sogasu
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: NTR, Jayaprada

aaDave andaala surabhaaminii! paaDave kaLalanni okaTEnani
Lyrics: C. Narayana Reddy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: NTR, Majubharghavi, Tatineni Rajeshwari, Madhumathi, and others

samaraaniki nEDE praarambham! yamaraajuku mooDenu praarabdham!
Lyrics: SreeSree
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: NTR

chilakakoTTuDu koDitE, chinnadaanaa! palakamaaripOtaave, paDuchudaanaa!
Lyrics: C. Narayana Reddy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: NTR, Jayaprada

Gudivada ellaanu, Guntur-u poyyaanu! EDa chusinaa Emi chEsinaa nannE kaavaalanTaaru!
Lyrics: C. Narayana Reddy
Playback: P. Susheela
Cast: Jayamalini

[+/-]

SARDAR PAPARAYUDU 1980

Story, Screenplay, Dailogues & Direction: Dasari Narayana Rao.
Producer: Kranthi Kumar.
Banner: Sri Annapurna International.
Action: Sambasiva Rao.
Art: Bhaskara Raju.
Choreography: Saleem.
Cinematography: S. Venkataratnam.
Co-director: CV Ramanababu.
Costumes: M. Krishna.
Editing: GG Krishna Rao.
Lyrics: Srisri, Rajasri & Dasari Narayana Rao.
Music: Chakravathy.
Re-recording: Ramanathan (Prasad Studio).
Singers: P. Susheela, S. Janaki, SP Balu & Benarjee.
Studios: Prasad, Vauhini, AVM, Sharada & Arunachalam.

Cast:
NTR,
Sharada,
Sridevi,
Pandaribhai,
Athili Lakshmi,
Jyothilakshmi,
Satyanarayana,
Raogopal Rao,
Allu Ramalingaiah,
Gummadi,
S. Varalakshmi,
Prabhakar Reddy,
Mohanbabu,
Tyagaraju,
Ashokkumar,
Chalapati Rao,
Dr. Bhaskara Rao,
KV Chalam,
PJ Sharma,
Kodala Ravi,
Raghavaiah,
Veeramachaneni Prasad,
Benarjee,
Raju,
Adinarayana Murthy,
Banojirao,
RK Dharmaraju,
Seetharam,
Sureshbabu,
Suresh,
Telephone Satyanarayana,
Vanga Apparao,
Chidatala Apparao,
Chandraraju,
Janardhan,
Prasad,
Subbarao,
Apparao,
Narasimha Rao and Others.

Story:
NTR as Sardar PaparayuduOne of NTR's landmark movies, Sardar Paparayudu was inspired from Dilip Kumar's Bollywood blockbuster Kranthi. Incidentally, the producer shared the same name-Kranthi Kumar. He was a small-time producer till then, he picked women-oriented subjects and made 'Sarada', 'Ame Katha', 'Kalpana' and 'Jyothi'. A casual bet with his friend made him decide to make a movie with the reigning superstar, NTR. A vague idea and a precise ambition actually got him dates from the star, and work on the movie began.

Dasari Narayana Rao was to direct this movie, who was inspired by Kranthi. Dasari, Kranthi Kumar and Palagummi Padmaraju scripted the movie together and Paparayudu was ready to roll. Later the title was changed to Sardar Paparayudu for the extra punch.

The story goes like this: Paparayudu is a freedom fighter whose name is maligned by traitors headed by Dharmaraju (Raogopal Rao) and Co. Paparayudu is jailed for the murder of Raja Raghav Raju, in reality committed by the villainous trio. Dharmaraju's daughter Vijaya (Sridevi) is in love with Inspector Ram Mohan, who is later discovered to be Paparayudu's son. A revenge drama follows and Paparayudu finally avenges himself on his enemies.

This movie was a trendsetter in its own right, and many movies with similar storylines have emerged since then. NTR-Dasari combo was seen before in Manushulantha Okkate and Circus Ramudu. The dialogues written by Dasari in this movie became so popular that the LP records and cassettes of the audio track of the movie sold like hot cakes. The re-recording was also highly appreciated in the movie, especially of the scenes belonging to the pre-independence era.

Music by Chakravarthy and the choreography by Saleem was targeted at the newly emerging 80s 'Mass' Mania. 'Tella Cheera', '1980 Varaku Ittanti Pilla' and 'Uyyalaku Vayasochindi', written by Dasari and rendered by SP Balasubrahmanyam and Susheela drew whistles and hoots from the 'youth'. After the movie finished a 50-day run, the song 'Jyothilakshmi Cheerakattindi' was added to it. Sri Sri's 'Vinara Bharatha Veera Kumara', a Burrakatha rendered by the famous 'Burrakatha Benarjee' is ever-popular.

NTR dons the role of Alluri Seetharamaraju in this song, a dream he cherished and realized only in this movie. The filmmaker, fans and NTR himself enjoyed the dual role of father and son portrayed by him in this movie. He took special care to see that the dialogue and mannerisms of both the distinct characters remained distinct and the dubbing part of it was also done with utmost dedication. The role of Baba by Gummadi and Mohan Babu's role of a British soldier were also a hit with the public.

There was a sentiment among the makers that if NTR gets injured on the set during the filming, then the movie is a hit. And sure enough, this movie saw NTR fracturing his wrist-not the first time, incidentally. He had almost 10 fractures in his lifetime while filming various movies, all of which turned out to have really long runs at the BO. NTR was appreciated in this social drama, proving his versatility and dedication as an actor yet again.

[+/-]

MUTHYALA MUGGU 1975

Direction: Bapu.
Presenter: M. Sukumar.
Producer: Maddali Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao (MVL).
Banner: Sri Rama Chitra.
Cinematography: Ishan Arya.
Lyrics: C. Narayana Reddy, Gunturu Seshendra Sharma & Arudra.
Music: KV Mahadevan.
Singers: Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna, SP Bala Subrahmanyam, Suseela & Ramakrishna.
Story, Screenplay & Dialogues: Mullapudi Venkata Ramana.
Cast:
Sridhar,
Sangeetha,
RaoGopala Rao,
Kantha Rao,
Arja Janardhana Rao,
Baby Radha,
Master Murali,
Allu Ramalingaiah,
Nutan Prasad,
Suryakantham,
Mukkamala,
Mada,
Halam,
Jayamalini,
Sakshi Ranga Rao, and Others.
Story:
Hindu mythology has always been a great source of themes for our filmmakers. They have borrowed freely many stories from them and converted them into beautiful films. The very first Telugu talkie 'Bhaktha Prahlada' was based on a story in the Bhagawatham. The story of Rama, or 'The Ramayanam' as it is called, has been made into beautiful films like 'Sampoorna Ramayanam', 'Seetha Kalyanam', 'Seetha Rama Kalyanam', etc. The first two films are by the great creative duo Bapu and Ramana.

Great lovers of this great epic, they have gone on to create a social version with the scene of action as around Bhadrachalam and aptly titled it 'Andala Ramudu'. No surprise then that when they think of a new film, they are naturally drawn towards the epic again. To be a bit different from their regular trend, in 1975, they took the post-Ramayana story and adapted it as a social movie. The result is, as you might have correctly guessed, is 'Muthyala Muggu'.
'Muthyala Muggu' is the story of an innocent woman separated from her husband by the evil designs of a crooked man, aided by a modern-day villain, who is ready to do any evil job for the sake of money. Unable to bear the misery of their mother, the victim of the villain, her twin children set about to bring to light the evil plot, and succeed in reuniting the couple. The similarities between the Uttara Ramayana story of Rama, Seetha, and their twin children Lava and Kusa, and that of 'Muthyala Muggu' are too many to be told again. Even the character of Hanuman finds a place in this film.

'Muthyala Muggu', though released some 30 years ago, is very fresh in the minds of Telugu cinegoers because of its total native touch. Very rarely do you find a film, which, like Mutyala Muggu, can be classified as a typical Telugu film.

'Muthyala Muggu' created a new trend in the evolution of characters, the presentation of events, and the rendering of dialogues. It redefined villainy in the Telugu movie. Mullapudi Venkata Ramana says, "We, in the film world have certain standard notions about the character of a villain. He looks rugged, wears a crooked look, and doesn't try to hide the fact that he is a villain. But do we ever come across a man who admits to being a cheat, and cunning, cruel and notorious? I feel that in real life, we don't see a villain attired the way a cine-villain dresses! Everywhere around us there are villains, looking like us but doing the things we don't do! So I thought why not show a villain who is different from the typical cine-villain?"

That was how the lively character called Contractor took shape and evolved in the movie. This new age villain is a man with a vision and a monster with a mission. He is smart enough to know that even his trusted assistant is bound to cheat him. So he warns him, 'aa mukka ne lekkette mundu cheppala!', meaning that 'you should have told me this before I counted the notes'. He further warns his trusted lieutenant, his assistant, that he may end up in the dikky of the car, (dikkilo einchesta!). For this unusual villain, all the villainous jobs he undertakes are contracts. He finishes them with perfect timing. Even his accomplices like the dancer Halam or the Nithya Pellikoduku (Nutan Prasad) are like professionals employed by a company. The dancer even says 'Kamarajo, Somarajo.. Esina chota dooti eyyavu gadaa..', emphasizing the fact that hers is a regular job with duties at different places.

The two characters of Maddela Vaallu is a wonderful satire on the flatterers surrounding the present day politicians, who are more or less contractors affecting our day-to-day life. How interesting to see in real life now, those similar to the filmi character of the contractor in the movie! Ravu Gopala Rao, as the Contractor, ensured for himself a permanent place as the most sophisticated villain of the new age. His dialogue delivery set a new trend in the film industry, and the LP records of the dialogues sold like hot cakes!

The characters in 'Muthyala Muggu' are too well polished for any one to forget. The husband Sridhar is just an ordinary mortal who suspects some affair between his wife and the midnight caller. The character of the wife evokes sympathy because, in spite of her innocence, she has no chance to prove her innocence. She walks out of the house silently, and lives under the protection of the priest, who too is a victim of the contractor's villainy. The priest is the Bapu-Ramana version of saint Valmiki.

The genius of the duo can be further seen in the characterization of the role of Allu Ramalingaiah, who, in the end turns monkey-like in his actions and gestures, as a punishment for his wrong doings. What a brilliant performance Sri Allu delivers as a man bitten by a monkey! The character of Sridhar, who just goes to attend the marriage of his sister's friend, and becomes the groom himself, is also superbly drawn. He sums up his character in one single sentence that he has married the girl because he has been unable to bear the comments that the money his father has earned by unjust means the money he has donated. This reminds of Lord Sri Rama, who would do anything to safeguard His father's honor.

'Muthyala Muggu' was shot mostly outdoors in the famous Gyan Bagh Palace in Hyderabad and on the Pulidindi Canal. Even the shooting in Gyan Bagh Palace was sudden and unexpected. Actually the shooting was planned in Sarathi Studios. The dates of the stars were all fixed and they even arrived in Hyderabad. But, as it often happens, when producer proposes, the studio owner disposes. It so happened that the studio floor meant for the set of the contractor's house was not vacant. They were just wondering what was to be done, when, as a God-sent, Sri BV Ramana Rao, a Drug Controller then, told them of the Gyan Bagh Palace, and with the help of Sri Gunturu Seshendra Sharma and his Poetess-wife Smt. Indira Devi Dhanrajgir, arranged for the uninterrupted shooting of the film there.

Many scenes in the film, like bringing the body of Rayudu in the Dicky, the entry of Mada as Panchadara Gurnatham, his discussions with the Contractor, etc., were all shot there. Even the song 'Enthati Rasikudivo Theliseraa..' was shot on Halam and Mukkamala on the lawns of the same palace. The jewellery shown in the film was also from the personal collection of Smt. Indira Devi Dhanrajgir. We cannot forget the beautiful lyric 'Nidurinche Thotaloki Paata Okati Vacchindi..' penned by Sri Gunturu Seshendra Sharma. It is the only lyric he has penned for a movie!

Bapu and Ramana are great music lovers. They requested the Mandolin player Sri Sajjad Hussain to allow them to enrich the film with his mandolin rendering for almost 16-minutes in the film, while showing the intimate scenes between the newly weds, Sridhar and Lakshmi. The tunes set by Sri KV Mahadevan to the lyrics of Sri Arudra and Sri CiNaRe were outstanding in all respects. Particularly, the title song by Arudra reverberates in almost all the Telugu households. The song 'Sri Rama Jayarama Seetharama..' sung by Sri Mangalampalli Bala Muralikrishna sets the mood for a great show.

The famous cinematographer of the Coke Ads, Ishan Arya was the cinematographer for the film. When Bapu came to know that he was the cinematographer for the film 'Garam Hava', directed by Sri MS Sathyu, he had no hesitation in asking him to take up the job, which Ishan Arya fulfilled with perfection. The photography in the picture is a feast to the eyes.

'Muthyala Muggu' was not meant to be the title of the film. Actually, Bapu and Ramana wanted to select a different title for the film. They were calling it 'Muthyala Muggu', but thought of some other name. They went on postponing the naming of the film. But as days went by, they developed a liking for the name and chose to release it with that name.

Trivia: Do you know that the Super Hero of the Telugu film world, the late NTR used to say that of the few Telugu films he liked most, 'Muthyala Muggu' takes the first place. He was all praise for the native touch in the film. He even used to repeat the dialogues of the film and was immensely happy with the treatment of the story in the film. "Can you ever imagine that one can make such a beautiful social version of the Uttara Ramayanam? That is their greatness!" he used to say.

It is also a well known fact that when Sri NTR, as the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, entrusted Bapu and Ramana with the project of preparing Telugu video lessons for the school-going children, he gave them a single line direction saying "I want these lessons to be as good and native as your Mutyala Muggu cinema". This itself is a great compliment to the great creative-duo.

[+/-]

BHAKTA PRAHLADA 1967

Banner: AVM Productions-Veerappan & Company.
Direction: Chitrapu Narayana Murthy.
Co-Producers: M. Murugan, M. Kumaran & M. Saravanan.
Producer: AV Meiyappan.
Art: KA Sekhar.
Choreography: Vempati Satyam, PS Gopalakrishnan & KS Reddy.
Cinematography: Vincent.
Editing: R. Vittal.
Dialogues: DV Narasaraju.
Lyrics: Samudrala, Dasarathi, Kosaraju, Arudra, Padmaraju & Samudrala Jr.
Music: S. Rajeswara Rao.
Singers: Madavapeddi Satyam, Pittapuram Nageswara Rao, P. Suseela, S. Janaki, Sulamangalam Rajyalakshmi & LR Eeswari.
Assistant Directors: TS Ramarao & V. Tulasidasu.

Cast:
S V Rangarao,
Balamurali Krishna,
Relangi,
Padmanabham,
Haranath,
Dhulipala,
Ramanareddy,
Nagaiah,
Anjali Devi,
Jayanthi,
Kanakam,
Baby Rojaramani,
L. Vijayalakshmi,
Geetanjali,
Vanisree,
Nirmala,
Santha,
Vijaya lalitha,
Meenadevi,
Manjula,
Sunitha,
Suseela,
V. Sivaram,
Dr. Sivaramakrishnaiah,
Malladi Satyanarayana,
Vemuri Ramaiah,
Govinda Rao,
Manda Subbareddy,
Dr. Ramesh,
Surendranath,
Krishnamurthy,
Rajarao,
Koteswara Rao,
Kolla Satyam,
Kasinathtata,
Jaggarao,
Ajad,
Polisetti Srirama Murthy,
CVV Panthulu and Others.
Story:
When the legend of the great devotee of Lord Vishnu, Bhakta Prahlada is brought up, most of us who've grown up on Telugu movies visualize only one movie. AVM's Bhakta Prahlada, with Roja Ramani as Prahlada and the veteran SV Ranga Rao as Prahlada's father, Hiranyakasyapa. This movie, which came out in 1967, had two predecessors.

The first Telugu talkie was 'Bhakta Prahlada', made in the year 1931 by HM Reddy. The first Bhakta Prahlada came out in 1926, a silent movie made by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke. It has been made and remade 10 times in more than 3 languages, but the most famous one in AP remains the 1967 version.

It all began with the director Chitrapu Narayana Murthy. He started his career assisting his younger brother Narasimha Rao in movies 'Seetha Kalyanam', 'Sati Tulasi', 'Mohini Rukhmangadhe' and 'Krishna Jarasandha'. His first directorial venture was 'Bhakta Markandeya' which starred Vemuri Gagayya and Senior Sriranjani. This movie fared well, giving the director a good name with him carving a niche for himself. Soon he went on to direct many movies, namely 'Myravana', 'Bhakta Prahlada' in Black & White in 1942 (which failed at the box-office), 'Daksha Yagnam', 'Bheeshma' and few more movies in both Telugu and Tamil. Unfortunately, he lost his son in 1963, and became emotionally incapable of working for two years after that. He was also neck deep in loses due to the failure of the movie 'Krishna Kuchela' which he himself produced.

He wanted to direct a movie for AVM to regain his financial status, and in 1965 they started work on 'Bhakta Prahlada', for the first time in color. The 58 year old director was excited about the prospect of working on this movie, which was technically far superior to the B&W version he made 25 years earlier. DV Narasaraju was chosen as the co-writer for the project, and the duo worked fast on the script. But the venture had to wait, for there were two issues. One was that there was no space in the studios owned by Narayana Murthy, as his sons were working on one movie at that time. The second and a more pressing problem in hand was a child artiste for the role of Prahlada.

AVM advertised for a child actor, and hundreds of parents turned up with their sons hoping to bag the role. Many auditions later, the makers were still looking for that touch of divinity, that spark that they felt was needed for this role. The unit members grew restless, and just as they were giving up hope, a little girl who came to visit the studios caught their attention, and so impressed were they with that kid, that she was finalized for the role. Thus Roja Ramani debuted with an astounding performance for a four year old, in a role that captured many hearts as Prahlada.

Interestingly, AVM produced 'Jeevitha', 'Vadina', 'Sangam' in Telugu which failed at the BO, all in the 1950s. The story of Bhakta Prahlada came thrice in Telugu before this, and failed at the BO. But this time, they hit bulls-eye.

Choosing the other actors was not a problem. In 1958, a hugely successful 'Chenchu Lakshmi' had the story of Prahlada in it, with SV Ranga Rao as Hiranyakasyapa and Pushpavalli (Rekha's mother) as Leelavati, her son Babji as Prahlada and Relangi as Narada. So SV Ranga Rao was the first choice for Hiranyakasyapa for AVM's 'Bhakta Prahlada'. Anjali Devi was roped in for the role of Leelavati.

The popular classical singer Balamurali Krishna played Narada in this movie. He even composed and sang three songs for the movie-'Varamosage Vanamali', 'Adiyu Anadiyu Neeve Deva' and 'Siri Siri Lali'. The rest of the songs were composed by Saluri Rajeshwara Rao-an astounding 34 songs and poems.
The dances in the movie are also quite note-worthy. Vanisri, not an established heroine at that point of time, is seen for two minutes in a dance sequence. She was rejected for AVM's 'Nadi Ada Janme' co-produced by SV Ranga Rao (which was finally done by Savithri), but AVM was impressed with her performance in a Tamil movie, and gave her this opportunity.

L. Vijayalaxmi had a dance number where her costume is reminiscent of Vyjayanti Mala's in the movie 'Amrapali'. Another dance sequence, 'Andani Suraseema Neede Noi' has danseuses Shanti, Geetanjali, Vijaya Lalitha and Venniradai Nirmala portraying the roles of Rambha, Urvasi, Meneka and Tilottama with élan.

AVM was known for its perfectionist attitude. 'Bhakta Prahlada' was dubbed into Tamil and Hindi so the scenes in the Gurukul were shot in three different languages. Since the scenes were comic, comedians from all three languages were roped in for those particular scenes for maintaining the flavor and authenticity in each lingo.

The climax had to be shot again. The climax involved Hiranyakasyapa being killed by the Lord Narasimha, who is half-human and half-lion, so they roped in a body builder for the role of Narasimha, and SVR got a dupe for the tricky shots. AVM was dissatisfied because there were no close-ups of SVR and it didn't look 'real'. Secondly, Roja Ramani, little older than a baby, was shooting night and day and looked sleepy in the climax. So an extensive re-shooting had to be done to please the boss, and once released, he was extremely pleased, both with the quality of the movie and the response critically and commercially.

A story that many of us know, 'Bhakta Prahlada', which was already made many times over, was re-created beautifully by the director Chitrapu Narayana Murthy and AVM's uncompromising production values, Saluri Rajeswara Rao's ever-green music and Vempati Satyam's elegantly choreographed dances. 'Bhakta Prahlada' stays on in the minds and memories of Telugu Cinegoers and has captured the imagination of many over the generations.

[+/-]

SRI VENKATESWARA MAHATYAM 1960

Banner: Padmasri Pictures
Direction: P Pullaiah
Screenplay: Acharya Athreya
Lyrics: Acharya Athreya & Malladi Ramakrishna Sastry, Arudra & Narasa Reddy
Camera: PL Rai
Music: Pendyala Nageswara Rao

Cast:
NT Rama Rao,
Savitri,
S Vara Lakshmi,
Gummadi venkateswara Rao,
Chittoor Nagaiah,
Shantakumari,
Suribabu,
S Janaki,
Sandhya,
Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao,
Rajanala Nageswara Rao &
Relangi Venkatramaiah

Story:
The art of making a film that remains evergreen is certainly no easy task. It requires high artistic talents, and great vision on the part of the director as well as the producer. Only a combination of imaginative and intellectual brains can create history in any field. Here we are discussing a memorable film that even after several decades stands as testimony to the high standards of Indian cinema of the olden days. 'Venkateswara Mahathyam' is an example of the high entertainment standards of the days gone by.

It was first made in 1936 by P Pullaiah under the Famous Films banner with greats like CSR Anjaneyulu and Shanthakumari in the lead roles. It turned out to be a grand success and set the trend of grand stellar combinations. Shanthakumari who played Padmavathi in the film at once became the heartthrob of that generation with thousands of admirers eager to see her again and again. The movie was said to be among the successes of the early days of Pullaiah and Shanthakumari's married life.

Generally, no producer dare make the same film a second time, though the first version of it has been a sensational hit and earned director the good will of the spectators. But P Pullaiah in his movie career of 50 years created history by remaking the 1936 film in 1960, this time under the Padmasri Pictures banner, with a change in the lead pair. While the matinee idol NT Rama Rao appeared as Srinivasa, the talented and glamorous Savithri attracted thousands of admirers as Padmavathi. Shanthakumari this time took on the role of Vakulamala. Gummadi as Bhrigu and S Varalakshmi as Sri Lakshmi performed impressively. This galaxy of talented artistes really created waves in the history of the Telugu cinema. A good number sincerely believe that this film evoked a great sense of devotion among the filmgoers!

Two literary stalwarts Duvvuri Ramireddy and Athreya wrote the dialogues for the first and the second production respectively of the movie. Though times had changed Athreya wrote the dialogues to suit the changed tastes of the new generation. In fact Athreya played three roles in shaping the movie - as a dialogue writer, as an actor in the role of Akasaraja and as the speaker of the epilogue of the movie.

The story of the film runs like this: Evil dominates the world. The wicked prosper, as the good are made to suffer as a result of the vicious impact of the spirit of the times, the Kaliyuga, presided over by Kalki. To rid the world of wickedness, great rishis hold yagas under the guidance of sage Kshyapa. However, none could be found to eliminate evil and establish virtue. Sage Bhrigu went to Lord Maha Vishnu, enjoying the blissful company of his spouse Sri Lakshmi, did not notice the sage's arrival. Furious, the sage kicked the Lord on the chest. Vishnu without being offended at all pacified the sage and made him realize how anger makes people lose their sense. Sri Lakshmi, however, could not bear all this. In great anger, She left Vaikuntam for the earth below. In search of her, Sri Vishnu too came down to the earth. He took shelter as Srinivasa in the ashram of Vakulamatha. Later, however, Srinivasa met Padmavathi and married her, as everybody knows.

There is an interesting story behind the last scene of the film. After collecting the story material Director-producer Pulliah asked Ramireddi to write the dialogue for the sequence in the last scene in which both Sri Lakshmi and Padmavathi contend for the right to be the spouse of Srinivasa in his presence. Srinivasa, vexed with this quarrel turns into stone. This is not found in any of the source material. It was Pullaiah's invention. Without being aware of it, Ramireddi went ahead with the dialogues according to the wishes of his producer. The dialogues were indeed very effective. Later, however, Ramireddi was astonished when he was told that the scene and the episode were Pullaiah's creation!

The film established Pullaiah as a producer, and the cast Shanthakumari, CSR, NTR, Savithri, Gummadi, Duvvuri, Athreya as artistes of great promise. The film was a spring board especially for NTR. It is his performance in this movie that turned him into the most beloved actor of the Telugu screen and stamped him as 'the screen god'. Admirers thronged in thousands every where behind NTR. Another great man behind this grand success was Pendyala Nageswara Rao, the music director of the film. The song 'Seshasaialavasa..' is heard and sung almost every day in Telugu homes till today. All credit to Pendyala for the tune, and all praise to the immortal voice of Ghantasala for rendering it so evocatively. So in all senses this film is Pullaiah's EVERGREEN MAGNUM OPUS!

[+/-]

SEETARAMA KALYANAM 1961

Directed by:
Rama Rao Taraka Nandamuri
Writing credits:
Buchi Venkata Krishna Chowdhary Dhanekula screen adaptation
Samudrala Raghavacharya dialogue
Produced by:
Trivikrama Rao Nandamuri .... producer
Original Music by:
Narasimha Rao Galipenchala
Cinematography by:
Ravikant Nagaich
Film Editing by:
S.P.S. Veerappa
Art Direction by:
T.V.S. Sarma
Music Department:
Krishnaveni Jikki .... playback singer
Rama Rao M.S. .... playback singer
Srinivas P.B. .... playback singer
Leela P. .... playback singer
Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao .... playback singer
P. Susheela .... playback singer
choreographer: Peda Satyam Vempati ....

Cast:
Harinath ... Lord Rama
Gitanjali ... Goddess Seetha
Rama Rao Taraka Nandamuri ... Ravana
Kanta Rao ... Narada Maharshi
Chittor V. Nagaiah ... Dasarathudu
Mikkilineni ... Janakudu
Chaya Devi
Saroja Devi B.
Gummadi ... Viswamitra Maharshi
Siva Rao Kasturi
Shobhanbabu ... Laxmana
Subba Rao A.V.
Sivaram Vallabhajosyula
Sarathi ... Nalakoobara

Story:
None of the Telugus can forget NTR for his portrayal of Ravana and Galipenchala Narasimha Rao, the great musician, for his composition of the song, 'Sri Seetharamula Kalyanamu Chootamu Rarandi..' - both in the movie 'Seetharama Kalyanam'. Ever fresh, loved by every generation, the song and the tune stand as a symbol of the greatness of the music directors of the olden days.

NTR's brother Trivikrama Rao and brother-in-law Atluri Pundarikakshaiah produced great films with artistic values. Though they could not make them financially sound, they certainly attracted thousands of admirers for the actors and won popularity and great honors for the makers. Among them, films like 'Jayasimha' and 'Panduranga Mahathyam' ran for about a hundred days. In the days that followed NTR planned to produce 'Seetharama Kalyanam'. Five months prior to these preparations he realized that the film 'Bhukailas' would be remembered by the cine-goers for its story, the artistes' great performance and the other aspects of the film. The movie showed NTR in a new role, in the character of Ravanasura. This perhaps led him to produce 'Seetharama Kalyanam' and to play the same role in this film too. With the grand success of 'Mayabazar', NTR felt encouraged to do mythological roles to enthrall the audience. His dreams of making a mark for himself in mythological roles were fulfilled in the movies mentioned above.

When NTR announced his intention to play Ravanasura in 'Seetharama Kalyanam', his brother was against it, since, NTR, by that time had impressed the audience in the role of Krishna. He wanted NTR to play Rama. But the story demanded that Rama should be very young and Ravana, mature. So he proved right in taking up the role of Ravana. He wanted a fresh face for the role of Rama. In those days, Harnath, a charming young man, was a new comer to the field. Fortunately he met NTR and the latter booked him in his new film. Thus the new and good-looking face of Harnath appeared to the audience in the character of Rama. Shobhanbabu and Kommineni Seshagiri Rao played Laxmana and Bharatha respectively in the film while B Sarojadevi played Mandodari. Audience applauded both Harnath and NTR for their grand performance.

In those days producers were not satisfied with the available artistes and talent. They always looked for faces that suited the characters in the movies they wanted to make. Thus NTR and his brother found a beautiful girl Mani who had already appeared in a group dance in the film 'Rani Ratnaprabha'. NTR gave the girl another and better opportunity as Seetha in 'Seetharama Kalyanam'. Mani who appeared as Mani in the titles of 'Seetharama Kalyanam' later was to be known as Geetanjali, and rose to be a talented heroine.

An interesting thing about the film is that the great TG Kamaladevi gave voice to Geetanjali and Sarojadevi's voice was also dubbed. You can see the role of Surphanaka in the film played by Geetanjali's elder sister Swarna.

Even after fifty years, this new fastbeat generation too listens to the tunes of the film. Especially the song 'Sri Seetharamula Kalyanamu..' has become a part and parcel of Telugu social life and at every nook and corner of the state the song can be on the record player, cassette or in the humming of a layman. This shows the strength and beauty of the film. It is a product of ever fresh art. Hence the producers and directors these days look to film personalities of the olden days as their guides and gurus. Though the great musician Saloori Rajeswara Rao for obvious reasons couldn't continue in that team, it led to the discovery of another stalwart Galipenchala. This film will for ever be remembered as NTR's most favorite one and his understanding of the promise of the up and coming artists.

More about the film:

* Seetharama Kalyanam is NTR's first directorial film and 71st film as an actor.
* Ravikanth Nagaich's first film as a cinematographer.
* NTR's name doesn't appear in the title credits as a director.
* After watching the film, Jagadguru Kanchi Peetadhipati, Sri Paramacharya Chandrasekhara Saraswati Swami blessed NTR with the title 'Vishwa Vikyatha Natasarvabouma'.
* Although Harnath's 'Maa Inti Mahalakshmi' (1959) was released earlier, 'Seetarama Kalyanam' is his debut vehicle.
* Nandamuri Lakshmaiah Chowdary and Venkatravamma, parents of NTR, appeared on screen for the first and last time before the title credits.

Sound Track
hE paarvateenaadha kailaasa Sikharaagravaasa (daMDakaM)
Playback: ghantasala
Cast: N.T.Rama Rao

sastiryona vistirNo satayojanamunnato asTa Dwara pure lanka (padyam)
Playback: M.S.Rama Rao

daanava kulavairi darmapunanusarimchu (padyaM)
Playback: ghantasala
Cast: N.T.Rama Rao

laxmi kshrasamudra raja tanaya (padyam)
Playback: M.S.Rama Rao

pamasane padmini padma haste (padyam)
Playback: M.S.Rama Rao
Cast : Uday Kumar

veenaa paaDave rAgamayE..
Playback: P.Susheela
Cast: B.Saroja Devi

inupakaTTadal kaTTina munulaina (Padyam)
Playback: P.B.Srinivas
Cast: Kanta Rao

sarasAla javaralanu nenE kada
Playaback: P.Leela
Cast: Kuchala kumari

nelataa iTuvaMTi needu maaTa needu paaTa (padyaM)
Playback: ghantasala
Cast: N.T.Rama Rao

nelataa iTuvaMTi needu maaTa needu paaTa (padyaM)
Playback: ghantasala
Cast: N.T.Rama Rao

tolutana brahma vamsamunabutti (padyam)
Playback: P.Leela
Cast: Kuchala kumari

janakuMDu sutuDunu jannammubu sesina vanitA(padyaM)
Playback: ghantasala
Cast: N.T.Rama Rao

govinda madhava damodara
Playback: Ghantasala
Cast: Jyothy

veyikannulu cAlavu gaa kana veyi kannulu cAlavu ga
Playback: P.Leela

kausalya supraja rama purva sandhya pravarthate
Playback: M.S.Rama Rao
Cast : Gummadi

nandini avamanaparici (padyam)
Playback: P.B.Srinivas
Cast: Kanta Rao

pooni bommaku pranamu poyagaru (padyam)
Playback: P.Leela

bhumiki pradakshinamu cEsi muDumaarlu (padyam)
Playback: P.B.Srinivas
Cast: Kanta Rao

NTR and B.Saroja Devi
cirunagavu cindu mOmu (padyam)
Playback: P.B.Srinivas
Cast: Kanta Rao

jagadeka maata gowri karuncimcave bhavani
Playback: P.susheela
Cast: B.Saroja Devi, Mani

sri raghavam dasarthamabrameyam (padyam)
Playback: M.S.Rama Rao

o sukumara ninu gani valacitiraa..
Playback: P.Leela, Ghantasala
Cast: Geetanjali, Harinath

kalyanamu cutamu rarandi seetaramula kalyanamu cuddam raarandi sri seetaramula kalyanamu cutaramu rarandi
Playback: P.Susheela, P.leela

B.Saroja Devi
srirama rama gunabhi rama (sotram)
Playback: M.S.Rama Rao
Cast: K.V.S.Sharma

Mangalam kosalendraya mahaneeya gunatraye (sotram)
Playaback: M.S.Rama Rao