tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55067134099549306032024-03-14T02:35:56.054-07:00Kasinadhuni ViswanathPadma Shri Kasinadhuni Viswanath, popularly known as K. Vishwanath, is a Telugu movie maker whose contributions have been significant to Indian films from the Telugu film industry. He was born in the South Indian city of Vijayawada in 1930.EelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-67043625948907394182007-02-18T03:15:00.000-08:002007-02-18T03:28:25.252-08:00Kala Thapasvi Dr. K. ViswanathStar Profiles<br />Kala Thapasvi Dr. K. Viswanath<br />By Srinivas Chundi<br />Sep 12, 2002, 16:16<br /><br /><br /><br />Kala Thapasvi Dr. K. Viswanath <br />-By SRINIVAS CHUNDI <br />vishwanath <br /> The Telugu Film Industry is described as one of the most successful industries in Indian Cinema. Over the decades, it has entertained and influenced millions of audiences with hundreds of films. For many years, it stood first in the number of films made and revenues earned. It is truly an industry in every sense, and has seen many mega projects, big players, major hits along with low budget ventures, small time producers and miserable flops. <br /><br /><br />Notwithstanding all this, it has largely gone unnoticed at the national level, unlike the Assamese, Bengali, Hindi and Malyalam film industries which have produced many films that have won national and international acclaim. It has mostly confined itself to the elements of commerce in film making, rarely moving out of the beaten track. It has been criticized for pandering to the tastes of the mass audiences, with little regard for quality or standards, particularly so, in the past few years. Though a few off beat films or "art films" have been made in Telugu, mostly by film makers from other languages, Telugu films have been predominantly commercial in nature. <br /><br />One film maker, however, has won wide national acclaim for some of his films in our language. Director Dr. K. Viswanath, is one of the best directors the Telugu Film Industry has produced. Through his work, he has created some truly memorable films, that stand out as remarkable works of art, in the field of Telugu cinema. With a judicious combination of artistic and commercial elements, he has created films that have appealed not only to the common cinema audience, but also to the more discerning and selective ones. His films have won many national and state level awards for him as a director and his cast as well. Many of them have been screened at various International Film Festivals and have been admired for their artistic and aesthetic values. This article is intended mainly to discuss the nature of some of his work and does not give any major facts or figures, historical or otherwise, related to his films. Since my knowledge related to some of his earliest films is limited, I shall mostly confine myself to his work starting from the seventies. <br /><br />The earlier stages of his career saw Viswanath as an assistant to the veteran director, Adurthi Subba Rao. Viswanath considers him as his mentor. His first film as an independent director was Atmagauravam. Most of his films during this period were based on family stories, with a generous dose of sentiment, much in the same pattern of the films in 60's. A notable exception is Sudigundalu, which he co-directed with Adurthi Subba Rao. To some extent the influence of his Guru is visible in some of these films. These were followed by a few films like Chelleli Kapuram, Sarada, O Sitha Kadha and Jeevana Jyothi. These films were based on powerful stories centered around women, often with an element of tragedy in them. They featured highly talented actresses like Sarada and Vanisri, who have turned out memorable performances in them. However, it is in Siri Siri Muvva, that the famed artistic touch of K. Viswanath first became visible to the people. This was followed by a series of films based on the themes of art, music and dance. Some of his later films discussed issues of social concern while others presented simple morals and facts of life to the common man in a palatable form. A popular observation is that, most of the names of his films begin with the letter 'S'. It is said that he has a sentimental preference for such names, though there are a few exceptions. <br /><br />A notable feature of Viswanath's films is that all of them are wholesome family entertainers. Along with a liberal dose of humor and sentiment, they contain beautiful visuals, good music, powerful and realistic characters, and above all, a firm story line. In an age when most film makers are in a frenzy trying to make a quick buck by attracting the masses with substandard films containing vulgarity and an excess of commercial elements, he stuck to his style, in spite of a few commercial setbacks. This has earned him and his films, a respectability which very few directors can claim. <br /><br />Viswnath's skill as a director is unparalleled in the industry. Few directors have been able to emulate the standards he has set in film making. His ability to treat even mundane subjects such as the non-violence, patriotism, social equality and the evils of dowry in a novel manner, has set him apart in a class of his own. The artistry which he displays in visualizing various sequences in his films, the fluency and the lyrical nature of his narration and the creativity in his ideas make his films thoroughly enjoyable and memorable. The various scenes in Sankarabharanam, the climax in Saptapadi, the incidents leading up to the romance between Jayaprada and Kamal Hasan in SagaraSangamam, the manner in which Moon Moon Sen shows the beauty of nature to a blind man in Sirivennela, the way in which Bhanupriya comes to realize the significance of dance in her life in Swarna Kamalam are all but a few examples of his directorial skill. His films, particularly the ones based on music and dance, are full of such artistic portrayals that make them such a feast for the audience. They are what one can truly describe as "Drushya Kavyalu", poetry recited in spectacle. His sincerity and complete involvement are perceptible in every frame of his film. Unlike many other directors, he usually confines himself to one film at a time, dedicating all his faculties to its making. <br /><br />Viswanath's penchant for subjects centered around music and dance, is well known. He is fascinated by these subjects, to degree where he is accused of being obsessed with them. Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, SiriVennela, SrutiLayalu and SwarnaKamalam are all his movies based entirely on the themes of art, music and dance. Of these, Sankarabharanam, the internationally acclaimed film, brought him great fame as a director of art films. It narrates the story of two people, Sankara Shastri and his disciple Thulasi, who try to keep the tradition of classical music alive, against all odds. It is said that, after witnessing this film, many parents in those days encouraged their children to learn classical music and dance. SagaraSangamam deals with a highly talented classical dancer, who unfortunately fails to get the recognition he deserves, but passes the baton of classical dance to the next generation. Sirivennela depicts how a beautiful woman brings out the latent talent in a blind man to make him a famous musician. In SritiLayalu, it is up to a child artist to bring his family together, with his talent and his mother's guidance. In SwarnaKamalam, the heroine who originally believes that the pursuit of classical arts is of no worldly use, changes her mind on meeting an American dancer, who venerates Indian Classical Dance forms. In these films, the director has made the best use of the artistic talents of popular as well as lesser known film stars, which had mostly been untapped hitherto in the field of cinema. Manju Bhargavi, Bhamidipati Sabitha, Kamal Hasan, Jayaprada, Shanmuga Srinivas and Bhanupriya have all been shown to the world as highly talented artists. Even in films such as Saptapadi, Suthradharulu, Swathi Kiranam and Apathbandhavudu which deal with a wide range of subjects, classical and traditional art forms find a major place. <br /><br />Apart from films related to the art forms, Viswanath has made many films dealing with a wide range of human and social issues. In Saptapadi, he decries the evils of untouchability and the caste system. In Subhodayam and SwayamKrishi he emphasizes the dignity and respectability of manual labor. In Subhalekha, he deals in a humorous way, with the dowry system, which is one of the major evils in today's society. While Suthradharulu urges the present day society to recognize the need for it to adopt the ideals of non-violence, SwathiKiranam depicts the harm that can be caused by the baser instincts of envy and anger in a man, however accomplished he may be. In spite of the nature of these subjects, they are presented in a subtle manner with an imaginative story line, with just the right amount of emphasis on the intended message. They exemplify, how a good film maker can deliver the right kind of message, making the best use of cinema as an art form and a powerful medium of expression. An inherent message, that is present in many of his films is the indomitable nature of the human spirit and determination, which cannot be subdued by any kind of physical handicap. With these films, he has won recognition as a director with a social commitment who understands the kind of role films can play in advocating desirable changes in man in particular and society in general. <br /><br />Most of the characters created by Viswanath in his movies, are unique in nature. The meticulous attention to detail he pays is evident in every aspect of these characters, including the cast, appearance, behavior, mannerisms and dialogues. His technique of introduction and subsequent portrayal of these characters leaves them imprinted on our minds for a long time. A few of them deserve a special mention. The character of a film actress Sithalu in Sithamalakshmi, Sankara Shastri and Thulasi in Sankarabharanam, an unsuccessful dancer Balakrishna and his friend Madhavi in SagaraSangamam, a mental retard Sivayya and his wife Lalitha in Swathimuthyam, a reluctant and mischievous dancer Meenakshi in Swarnakamalam, an accomplished but vain musician Anantha Rama Sarma in SwathiKiranam and the milkman Madhava and his friend Hema in Apathbandhavudu have won accolades for their creator as well as the players. Some protagonists in his films have a physical or mental handicap, which is quite unusual in mainstream cinema today, where the hero and the heroine are a picture of perfection. Quite often, the comedy in his films is centered around theses main characters, rather than being confined to the comedians meant for the purpose. <br /><br />Given the standard and quality of his films, it is not surprising that Viswanath has won innumerable honors and awards for them. His films have bagged many Nandi Awards, including those for the best film, best director and the best screenplay. Apart from these, many art associations and film clubs have bestowed several honors on him. He was awarded the Honorary Doctorate in recognition of his contribution to Telugu Cinema. His work with in field of art cinema in Telugu has earned him the title of "Kala Thapasvi". The extraordinary visualization of his characters provides the cast playing them an extensive scope for performance. His ability to bring out the best in them has seen many of them winning awards for their performance in his films. Chiranjeevi in Subhalekha, SwayamKrishi and Apathbandhavudu, Kamal Hasan in SagaraSangamam an SwathiMuthyam have won Nandi Awards for the best actor. Sumalatha for SrithiLayalu, BhanuPriya for SwarnaKamalam and Amani for Subha Sankalpam have won the best actress awards. Several of his films including SwathiMuthyam and Suthradharulu have been recognized as best regional films made in Telugu at the national level. <br /><br />Notwithstanding his achievements, Viswanath has had his share of commercial setbacks. One of his films, Sirimuvvala Simhanadam, was released in theatres only for a couple of days, before being canned for good. Films like Saptapadi, Sirivennela and Swathikiranam were not received well by the masses. Apathbandhavudu, a major film with "Mega Star" Chiranjeevi and Meenakshi Seshadri in the lead roles, bombed at the box office, though it won a few Nandi Awards. The success of his films in Hindi can, at best be described as modest. Most of his films in Hindi were remakes of Telugu versions, which somehow seemed to lack the depth and magic of the originals. The Hindi version of Sankarabharanam, Sur Sangam, went practically unnoticed. Remakes like Kaam Chor ( Subhodayam), ShubhKamna (Subhalekha), Sanjog (Jeevana Jyothi) , Jaag Utha Insaan (Sapthapadi) and Eeshwar (Swathimuthyam) have received less than a warm reception from the Hindi audiences. A notable exception is Sargam (Siri Siri Muvva), which was a reasonable hit. One of his straight films in Hindi, Sangeet, with Madhuri Dixit playing the dual roles of a mother and her blind daughter, was described as a respectable film. Dhanvaan, another straight film in Hindi, however, was a flop. A probable reason for this is that these films did not contain adequate "spice", which the Hindi audience is used to. Moreover, the remakes lacked the nativity and finesse of the originals. <br /><br />Viswanath has, some times been accused of being too simplistic in his view of the present day's materialistic world. His films rarely contain an evil angle, the likes of which is seen in most other films. Though films like Swathimuthyam, Apathbandhavudu and Subha Sankalpam do have characters that resemble the conventional villain, the idea of "good vanquishing the evil" does not find a major place as such, in these films. The common man, who is fed with a generous quota of villainy and evil in most other films, probably finds this too bland for his taste. Another popular criticism heard against him is that he is obsessed with the subjects of music and dance. While it is true that quite a few of his films are based on these subjects, he has mostly made use of them as a medium of expression, to put forth a simple message. Notwithstanding such criticism, his films continue to provide the audiences with healthy entertainment. He can be credited with some degree of success in bringing the classical art forms closer to the common viewer. Though no social problem can be solved with a single film, any effort that is made to create an awareness about it through the powerful medium of cinema is commendable. In an age when cinema has remained just but an item of commerce, we are lucky to have a director like K.Viswanath who works with it for what it is, an art form and a effective medium of expression. <br /><br />We at telugucinema.com thank Sri Srinivas Manohar chundi for giving the article - Sri. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />© Copyright by Telugucinema.comEelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-66006257508784813332007-02-18T03:01:00.000-08:002007-02-18T03:03:17.326-08:00Swarna Kamalam(2): Swarna Kamalam <br /> Banner : Bhanu Art creations<br /> Director: K.Viswanath<br /> Producer: K.Benarji <br /> Year of the Release: 1988<br /> Box-Office Result: Average<br /><br />Working under K.Viswanath's direction was a great gift to any upcoming artiste. Venkatesh was lucky to have got a call from Viswanath in the early days of his career. Venkatesh, being an upcoming actor, still not matured to do performance oriented roles that time, where as Viswanath kind of movies require some natural performance. One really wondered how this would be possible? But they made it possible. Viswanath cleverly used the potential of Venkatesh that time and offered a role of a young painter who craves for traditional arts. Though movie had importance to a legend in koochipudi dance, and his daughter, this character takes the lead in their life and supports them till the end. With excellent songs from Ilayaraja, spell bounding histrionics from BhanuPriya and last but not least, fine performance from Venkatesh, this movie reached the target audience. Venkatesh, with this film, proved that he had ambitions to do different roles if chances were given.EelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-50971809469665404832007-02-18T02:59:00.002-08:002007-02-18T03:01:15.199-08:00Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani MuthyamSwathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam<br />Jun 6, 2006, 04:57<br /><br /> <br />Disclaimer.. I can only offer a tribute to this wonderfully crafted masterpiece. When you are dumbfounded by the mere excellence of a great worksman, redundancy is sure to creep in and this being my first post, I would request and expect some lenience from the generous readers.<br /><br /> <br />swathimuthyam <br />Kasinadhuni Viswanath, popularly known as K.Viswanath(KV) is one of the rarest phenomena to have happened to our an otherwise, unoriginal, inspid, grossly commercial, film industry. KV's tendency for picking up the most unconventional of themes, defying the crass, commercial realities, is by itself a laudable quality. I am always amazed by the conviction that he carries in his story and, the screenplay is an absolute reflection of the clarity of his thought. There have been , are , and will be great directors, who blaze their trail for others to follow. All of them carry a common passion for which they live and are willing to die. The director that comes closest to Viswanath's style of taking,in the present crop, is Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I digress!!<br /><br />As much as I praise KV for his artistic brilliance, there is another interesting piece to the puzzle. There are a very few times in a regular actor's life, when he gets to enact the role of his life. And actors like Kamal Hassan,Amir Khan thrive on such opportunities, to extract the best of their faculties. For them, each role is a work of art.There is absolutely no scope for mediocrity. It never occurs to me that Kamal/Amir are actors. They get into the skin of the character so much so that they almost, always end up living the role on screen.<br /><br />The magic of Ilayaraja and the prowess of KV was completely overshadowed by the histrionic excellence of Kamal. The characterization of Kamal deserves special mention. On the face of it, it looks pretty simple. All he has to do is behave like a 10 yr old, a naive 10 yr old at that . But, you can appreciate his talent only when you see him display the subtle nuances. Usually, we all talk about the chemistry between the lead pair. Thats a foregone conclusion in this movie. What is more amazing, though, is the magic that Kamal shares with KV. KV always manages to get the best out of Kamal, be it Saagara Sangamam(aaah..we will definitely discuss this some other time, for sure) or Subha Sankalpam.<br /><br />For some movies, music is a part of the movie. For KV's movies, music is the whole and soul of the movie. KV displays his flair (as always!!) for the right kind of music. And, no wonder, Ilayaraja delivers it with a bang. While Sagara Sangamam needed classical touch to the music, the theme of Swathi Mutyam demanded a folk touch. One song, that needs particular mention and stands as a flagship product from the KV brand , is "Rama Kanavemira". This song is a judicious fusion of four different traditions(prakriyas) of music. It only takes the calibre of an Ilayaraja to mix Harikatha, Chekka Bhajana, Kolatam and light music, to create soulful, situational music. I never get bored of playing this song in my car, forever.<br /><br />The theme of the the movie is based on how a naive, child-like person, emerges unscathed in a dog-eat-dog world, managing to uplift the lives of some troubled souls, on his way. Swathi Muthyam, like most of KV's other movies, is a social commentary. He reflects on the societial maladies like the bane of widowhood, the trachereous nature of people around us, etc which narrating the theme. Also, there is an underlying reflection of goodwill still left in the society, depicted skillfully through the characters of the dhobi , Nirmalamma,Radhika,etc. The character enacted by Radhika needs a special mention. She holds her own in this illustrious company of the (soon-to-be) legends. She is successful in emoting the life of a helpless widow, who having a lot of self esteem, still longs to fill the void in her life. She depicts a character, that has lost hope in life, for all the pain it inflicted on her.<br /><br />Those were the days when we had women like BhanuPriya, Radhika, Jayasudha, Sridevi who could match the hero in all the frames. Occasionally, we all yearn for a strong female character that could provide the much needed balance. And, then I realize, its only wishful thinking, in contemporary cinema, to make a wish on those lines, except for a few flashes from someone like a Kamalini.<br /><br />All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema. <br /><br />- Sridhar<br /><br /><br /><br />© Copyright by Telugucinema.comEelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-23393750011778499032007-02-18T02:59:00.001-08:002007-02-18T03:01:13.656-08:00Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani MuthyamSwathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam<br />Jun 6, 2006, 04:57<br /><br /> <br />Disclaimer.. I can only offer a tribute to this wonderfully crafted masterpiece. When you are dumbfounded by the mere excellence of a great worksman, redundancy is sure to creep in and this being my first post, I would request and expect some lenience from the generous readers.<br /><br /> <br />swathimuthyam <br />Kasinadhuni Viswanath, popularly known as K.Viswanath(KV) is one of the rarest phenomena to have happened to our an otherwise, unoriginal, inspid, grossly commercial, film industry. KV's tendency for picking up the most unconventional of themes, defying the crass, commercial realities, is by itself a laudable quality. I am always amazed by the conviction that he carries in his story and, the screenplay is an absolute reflection of the clarity of his thought. There have been , are , and will be great directors, who blaze their trail for others to follow. All of them carry a common passion for which they live and are willing to die. The director that comes closest to Viswanath's style of taking,in the present crop, is Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I digress!!<br /><br />As much as I praise KV for his artistic brilliance, there is another interesting piece to the puzzle. There are a very few times in a regular actor's life, when he gets to enact the role of his life. And actors like Kamal Hassan,Amir Khan thrive on such opportunities, to extract the best of their faculties. For them, each role is a work of art.There is absolutely no scope for mediocrity. It never occurs to me that Kamal/Amir are actors. They get into the skin of the character so much so that they almost, always end up living the role on screen.<br /><br />The magic of Ilayaraja and the prowess of KV was completely overshadowed by the histrionic excellence of Kamal. The characterization of Kamal deserves special mention. On the face of it, it looks pretty simple. All he has to do is behave like a 10 yr old, a naive 10 yr old at that . But, you can appreciate his talent only when you see him display the subtle nuances. Usually, we all talk about the chemistry between the lead pair. Thats a foregone conclusion in this movie. What is more amazing, though, is the magic that Kamal shares with KV. KV always manages to get the best out of Kamal, be it Saagara Sangamam(aaah..we will definitely discuss this some other time, for sure) or Subha Sankalpam.<br /><br />For some movies, music is a part of the movie. For KV's movies, music is the whole and soul of the movie. KV displays his flair (as always!!) for the right kind of music. And, no wonder, Ilayaraja delivers it with a bang. While Sagara Sangamam needed classical touch to the music, the theme of Swathi Mutyam demanded a folk touch. One song, that needs particular mention and stands as a flagship product from the KV brand , is "Rama Kanavemira". This song is a judicious fusion of four different traditions(prakriyas) of music. It only takes the calibre of an Ilayaraja to mix Harikatha, Chekka Bhajana, Kolatam and light music, to create soulful, situational music. I never get bored of playing this song in my car, forever.<br /><br />The theme of the the movie is based on how a naive, child-like person, emerges unscathed in a dog-eat-dog world, managing to uplift the lives of some troubled souls, on his way. Swathi Muthyam, like most of KV's other movies, is a social commentary. He reflects on the societial maladies like the bane of widowhood, the trachereous nature of people around us, etc which narrating the theme. Also, there is an underlying reflection of goodwill still left in the society, depicted skillfully through the characters of the dhobi , Nirmalamma,Radhika,etc. The character enacted by Radhika needs a special mention. She holds her own in this illustrious company of the (soon-to-be) legends. She is successful in emoting the life of a helpless widow, who having a lot of self esteem, still longs to fill the void in her life. She depicts a character, that has lost hope in life, for all the pain it inflicted on her.<br /><br />Those were the days when we had women like BhanuPriya, Radhika, Jayasudha, Sridevi who could match the hero in all the frames. Occasionally, we all yearn for a strong female character that could provide the much needed balance. And, then I realize, its only wishful thinking, in contemporary cinema, to make a wish on those lines, except for a few flashes from someone like a Kamalini.<br /><br />All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema. <br /><br />- Sridhar<br /><br /><br /><br />© Copyright by Telugucinema.comEelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-84048261698083666832007-02-18T02:59:00.000-08:002007-02-18T03:01:12.640-08:00Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani MuthyamSwathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam<br />Jun 6, 2006, 04:57<br /><br /> <br />Disclaimer.. I can only offer a tribute to this wonderfully crafted masterpiece. When you are dumbfounded by the mere excellence of a great worksman, redundancy is sure to creep in and this being my first post, I would request and expect some lenience from the generous readers.<br /><br /> <br />swathimuthyam <br />Kasinadhuni Viswanath, popularly known as K.Viswanath(KV) is one of the rarest phenomena to have happened to our an otherwise, unoriginal, inspid, grossly commercial, film industry. KV's tendency for picking up the most unconventional of themes, defying the crass, commercial realities, is by itself a laudable quality. I am always amazed by the conviction that he carries in his story and, the screenplay is an absolute reflection of the clarity of his thought. There have been , are , and will be great directors, who blaze their trail for others to follow. All of them carry a common passion for which they live and are willing to die. The director that comes closest to Viswanath's style of taking,in the present crop, is Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I digress!!<br /><br />As much as I praise KV for his artistic brilliance, there is another interesting piece to the puzzle. There are a very few times in a regular actor's life, when he gets to enact the role of his life. And actors like Kamal Hassan,Amir Khan thrive on such opportunities, to extract the best of their faculties. For them, each role is a work of art.There is absolutely no scope for mediocrity. It never occurs to me that Kamal/Amir are actors. They get into the skin of the character so much so that they almost, always end up living the role on screen.<br /><br />The magic of Ilayaraja and the prowess of KV was completely overshadowed by the histrionic excellence of Kamal. The characterization of Kamal deserves special mention. On the face of it, it looks pretty simple. All he has to do is behave like a 10 yr old, a naive 10 yr old at that . But, you can appreciate his talent only when you see him display the subtle nuances. Usually, we all talk about the chemistry between the lead pair. Thats a foregone conclusion in this movie. What is more amazing, though, is the magic that Kamal shares with KV. KV always manages to get the best out of Kamal, be it Saagara Sangamam(aaah..we will definitely discuss this some other time, for sure) or Subha Sankalpam.<br /><br />For some movies, music is a part of the movie. For KV's movies, music is the whole and soul of the movie. KV displays his flair (as always!!) for the right kind of music. And, no wonder, Ilayaraja delivers it with a bang. While Sagara Sangamam needed classical touch to the music, the theme of Swathi Mutyam demanded a folk touch. One song, that needs particular mention and stands as a flagship product from the KV brand , is "Rama Kanavemira". This song is a judicious fusion of four different traditions(prakriyas) of music. It only takes the calibre of an Ilayaraja to mix Harikatha, Chekka Bhajana, Kolatam and light music, to create soulful, situational music. I never get bored of playing this song in my car, forever.<br /><br />The theme of the the movie is based on how a naive, child-like person, emerges unscathed in a dog-eat-dog world, managing to uplift the lives of some troubled souls, on his way. Swathi Muthyam, like most of KV's other movies, is a social commentary. He reflects on the societial maladies like the bane of widowhood, the trachereous nature of people around us, etc which narrating the theme. Also, there is an underlying reflection of goodwill still left in the society, depicted skillfully through the characters of the dhobi , Nirmalamma,Radhika,etc. The character enacted by Radhika needs a special mention. She holds her own in this illustrious company of the (soon-to-be) legends. She is successful in emoting the life of a helpless widow, who having a lot of self esteem, still longs to fill the void in her life. She depicts a character, that has lost hope in life, for all the pain it inflicted on her.<br /><br />Those were the days when we had women like BhanuPriya, Radhika, Jayasudha, Sridevi who could match the hero in all the frames. Occasionally, we all yearn for a strong female character that could provide the much needed balance. And, then I realize, its only wishful thinking, in contemporary cinema, to make a wish on those lines, except for a few flashes from someone like a Kamalini.<br /><br />All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema. <br /><br />- Sridhar<br /><br /><br /><br />© Copyright by Telugucinema.comEelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-50279644332208914812007-02-18T02:57:00.000-08:002007-02-18T02:59:25.047-08:00Sirisirimuvva (1976)Sirisirimuvva (1976)<br />Jan 18, 2006, 00:07<br /><br /> <br />Sirisirimuvva (1976)<br /><br />Technical:<br />35 MM<br />Eastman Color<br /><br />Cast:<br />Chandramohan ... Sambayya<br />Jayaprada ... Hyma<br />Satyanarayana ... Hyma's father<br />Devadas ... Bhadram<br />J.V. Ramanamurthy ... Temple priest<br />'Sakshi' Rangarao ... Dance master<br />Allu Ramalingayya (Guest) ... Producer<br />Ramaprabha ... Hyma's step-mother<br />Niramalamma<br />Phanikumari<br />Baby Varalakshmi<br />N.D. Lakshmi<br />Kavita (debut) ... Savitri<br />Ankineedu Prasad<br />Rambabu<br />Jitmohan Mitra<br />Lakshminarasapuram Raja<br />Story, Screenplay: K. Viswanath<br />Dialogues: Veturi Sundararamamurthy, Jandhyala<br />Lyrics: Veturi Sundararamamurthy<br />Music: K.V. Mahadevan<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela, Pattabhi<br />Concept Designer: Jayakrishna<br />Operative Cameraman: S. Gopal Reddy<br />Camera Assistants: Sarath, M.V. Raghu<br />Associate Director: Munjuluri Bheemeshwara Rao<br />Choreography: Pasumarthy<br />Art: Thota<br />Assistant: Thota Tharani<br />Production Executive: Edida Nageswara Rao<br />Camera: V.S.R. Swamy<br />Producers: Karri Lacchireddy, N. Bhaskar Reddy, N. Chinaveerraju<br />Direction: K. Viswanath<br /><br />Songs:<br />oorEgina vaaDE... maavoori dEvuDammaa challanga mammElu raamuDammaa<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Pattabhi<br />Cast: Chandramohan<br /><br />jhummandi naadam sayyandi paadam tanuvoogindi eevELa chelarEgindi oka raasaleela<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela<br />Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada<br /><br />andaaniki andam ee puttaDibomma andarikee andanidi poochina komma<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam<br />Cast: Chandramohan<br /><br />raa digiraa divi nunchi bhuviki digiraa<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam<br />Cast: Chandramohan<br /><br />evarikevaru ee lokamlO evariki eruka! yE daareTu pOtOndO evarinee aDagaka<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam<br /><br />neelamEgha sariraa<br />Playback: P. Susheela<br />Cast: Kavita<br /><br />bhavabandhaalanu tenchi bahudooraMgaa visirESaaree vittanaanni<br /><br />odigunna pilupu oka gontulone palikindi<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela<br />Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada<br /><br />gajje ghallumanTunTE gunDe jhallumanTundi gunDe jhallumanTunTE kavita velluvautundi<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam<br />Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada<br /><br />pilichaanu eduTa nilichaanu kOri kOri ninnE valachaanu<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela<br />Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada<br /><br />gOdaarallE venneTlO gOdaarallE<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela<br />Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada<br /><br /><br /><br />Story:<br />Hyma (Jayaprada), a dumb girl since birth, is the first daughter of a school master (Satyanarayana). She loves to dance and thus learns classical dance along with Saritha (Kavita), her step-sister. Hyma's step-mother does not like Hyma excelling in dance and bars her from learning. Sambayya (Chandramohan), an orphan and street singer, likes to help Hyma and her father, as he has great respect for them. He is good at playing Dappu (a handheld drum). When Hyma's marriage is fixed, he goes to the city and earns money for her anklets (muvvalu). When he returns, he realizes that she is getting married to a cheater. He stops it with the help of a girl whom he rescues in the city. Hyma's father dies with a heart attack, and her step-mother and sister leave her and go to the city, as Saritha gets a chance to act in films. Sambayya takes Hyma to the city and tries to fix a good match for her, when he realizes he is suffering with TB. How Hyma realizes her love for Sambayya and what happens next is the rest of the film.<br /><br />About the film:<br />This is the first film in which Viswanath gave more importance to classical dance and music. Though he worked on similar lines in Chelleli Kaapuram, the theme of that film does not have as much importance to dance as Sirisirimuvva. The film was a huge hit and Viswanath tested the same formula in his other films that followed since. Some scenes in Sirisirimuvva repeat in some other films too. An example is a scene in which the heroine realizes her love for the hero but the hero asks someone else to marry her (Subhalekha, say).<br /><br />This is the only film for which Veturi Sundararamamurthy gaaru penned the dialogues (along with Jandhyala). Kavita debuted with this film as a step-sister to Jayaprada. Later again, she acted in Viswanath's direction, in the lead role of the film President Peramma for DVS Productions. Ace cameramen S. Gopal Reddy, M.V. Raghu and Sarath worked as assistants to V.S.R. Swamy gaaru in the film. Good photography by V.S.R. Swamy elevates the mood of the film, and particularly mentionable is the scene in which Hyma dances in the moonlight (which was shot at mid-day, in fact!).<br /><br />The film released in Deepak Mahal (Deepak) in Hyderabad and celebrated silver jubilee there. The film was later remade in Hindi as Sargam (1979) with Jayaprada made her debut in Hindi and Rishi Kapoor played the role of Chandramohan. Rajani Sharma played the role of Kavita; she later acted in a couple of Telugu films with Krishna. The song DaphleevaalE Daphlee bajaa... is a quite popular number in this movie even today!<br /><br />Chandramohan shares his experience with TC:<br />My first major film with Viswanath gaaru is O Seetha Katha. That was a good hit, which was later remade by Balachander gaaru with Kamal Hasan and Rajinikanth doing the roles of Devadas Kanakala and me. Devadas gaaru and I became very good friends while we were working together. Though the film was a huge success and I got the good name, I was not flooded with solo hero roles. I was doing some film in Rajahmundry at that time, when Jayakrishna gaaru came to me one day and said that a producer from the nearby area is planning to make a film and that they are looking for an artiste who can accommodate all dates in a single schedule. I asked who the director was and what the story was. He informed me that the story is somewhat like Moogamanusulu but with a difference and narrated the story to me. I liked the story and said I'll do the film. Then, he said actually they have plans to the film with Kamal, so that they can make a bilingual. So I felt little disappointed. After a month again, Devdas came to me and said I might do the film and the new girl Lalitha Rani will be doing the heroine role. (Jayaprada appeared with her original name Lalitha Rani in her first film. It was Prabhakar Reddy who changed her name to Jayaprada with the film Maaku Swatantram Vacchindi). Though Devdas assisted Viswanath gaaru in the film, his name does not appear in credits as assistant director. The film was shot completely in and around Rajahmundry except for the songs that were done in Ooty. As I learned playing Dappu for the film Rangula Raatnam, it became easy for me to enact the role to perfection. For the song raa digiraa..., Viswanath gaaru explained the scene to me and gave me complete freedom to do the scene the way I wanted it. He gave instructions to Gopal Reddy gaaru to coordinate with me. So, whatever I did for that song was completely was my responsibility. But the outcome was good, and I was happy with that! The film was later dubbed into Tamil and there also it became a good hit. Though the producers are Lacchireddy gaaru, Chinaveerraju gaaru and Bhaskar Reddy gaaru, it was Edida Nageswara Rao gaaru who looked after the project. They gave partnership to him, as he was looking after the whole concept. So, it's unofficially his first film as a producer. He was there all the time looking the project over from the concept to the finishing and releasing of the film. <br /><br />Edida Nageswara Rao speaks:<br />Yes, it's unofficially my first film as a producer. The official producers approached me for a dubbing film. They got the rights of a Tamil film Venkateswara Kalyanam and asked me to help with the dubbing as I was doing dubbing for some films at that time. So, I helped them with that and also helped them to sell that film. They could make a profit of two lakhs on that film, and this encouraged them to make another film. As they are not aware of anything regarding films, they asked my help and offered me partnership for my work. From the beginning, I wanted to do a film with Viswanath gaaru. I liked his films like Chelleli Kaapuram, Kaalam Maarindi, etc. – he touched a different subject every time. So, I went and asked him to work for this film. Initially, he approached DVS Productions with that script, but they were hesitant to take risk with this script. When he narrated to me, I liked it immediately and wanted to do it. Once the film was done, before re-recording, I showed the film to Katragadda Srinivas Rao gaaru (Navayuga Pictures distributor). After watching the film, he said it looked like a documentary film on dumb people and he didn't like it much, but I was not disappointed with his feedback. Once the film released and became a hit, a felicitation to the cast and crew of the film was arranged, in which he praised the film, and then I reminded him his words earlier! ...The film was made with less than ten lakhs and made huge profits to us. It had a silver jubilee run in many centers and we got money by selling the remake rights in Hindi and dubbing in Tamil too. For me, it was a good start to make the films I like. I feel so happy to have been a part of the team of this film.<br /><br />by Sri sriatluri@yahoo.com<br />compiled and Edited by Nachaki<br /><br /><br /><br />© Copyright by Telugucinema.comEelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-5396767578719037192007-02-18T02:38:00.000-08:002007-02-18T02:41:18.373-08:00Retrospect: Subhalekha 1982Retrospect: Subhalekha 1982<br />Feb 7, 2006, 06:00<br /><br /> <br />Prashanti Creations <br />Subhalekha (1982)<br /><br />Technical Details:<br />35 mm<br />Color<br />Reels: 15<br />Duration: 2 hrs 20 minutes<br />Censor Date: June 03, 1982<br />Release Date: June 11, 1982<br /><br />Cast:<br />Chiranjeevi ... Narasimha Murthy<br />Sumalatha ... Sujatha<br />J.V. Ramana Murthy ... Jagannatham<br />K. Satyanarayana ... Ankela Adiseshayya<br />Tulasi ... Lakshmi <br />Girish ... Mohan<br />Hemasundar ... Bhattu<br />Jitmohan Mitra ... Keshava Rao<br />Ch. Krishnamurthy ... Srinivasa Rao<br />Nirmalamma ... Narasimha Murthy's grandmother<br />Potti Prasad ... Subba Rao<br />Pushpakumari ... Sujatha's mother<br />Rallapalli ... Gurnadham<br />Vankayala ... Challeshwara Rao<br />Subhalekha Sudhakar (debut) ... Murali<br />Arun (debut) ... Rao<br />Allu Ramalingayya (guest) ... Lawyer Chillara Bhavani Sankaram<br />Anupama, Baburao, Dham, Ganeshwara Rao, Krishna Chaitanya, Malini, Phani, Sakshi Rangarao, Srinivas<br /><br />Dialogues: Gollapudi Maruthi Rao<br />Photography: Lok Singh<br />Operative Cameraman: Sharath<br />Editing: G.G. Krishna Rao<br />Art: Thota Tarani<br />Choreography (Dances): Parupalli V Seshu<br />Music: K.V. Mahadevan<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela, S.P. Sailaja, S. Janaki, Purnachadnra Rao<br />Lyrics: Tallapaka Annamacharya, Veturi Sundararamamurthy<br />Producer: Allu Aravind, V.V. Sastry<br />Story, Screenplay, Direction: K. Viswanath<br /><br />Songs:<br />vinnapaalu vinavale vintavintalu<br />Lyric: Tallapaka Annamacharya<br />Playback: S. Janaki<br />Cast: None (Titles song)<br /><br />OhO taddhimi takajhaNu<br />Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy<br />Playback: S. Janaki, Purnachadnra Rao<br />Cast: Chiranjeevi<br /><br />neyyamulallO nErELLO, oyyana ooreDi uvviLLO<br />Lyric: Tallapaka Annamacharya<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam<br />Cast: Chiranjeevi<br /><br />raagaala pallakilO kOyilamma raalEdu eevELa endukammaa?<br />Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela<br />Cast: Chiranjeevi, Sumalatha<br /><br />sarvadaa Sreekaram dEvI (verse)<br />Playback: S. Janaki<br />Cast: Sumalatha<br /><br />nee jaDa kucchulu naa meDakucchulu kanuka<br />Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, S.P. Sailaja<br />Cast: Subhalekha Sudhakar, Tulasi<br /><br />marugElaraa O raaghavaa<br />Playback: S.P. Sailaja<br />Cast: Chiranjeevi, Sumalatha<br /><br />aitE adi nijamaitE adE nijamaitE<br />Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy<br />Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, S.P.Sailaja<br />Cast: Chiranjeevi<br /><br />Story:<br />Hema (Sumalatha) is an M.Com. graduate and hails from the middle class. She refuses the marriage proposal of Mohan (Girish), son of the Councilor Ankela Adiseshayya (Satyanarayana), as they demand dowry. This creates problems in her household, which leads her to walk away from the house. Murthy (Chiranjeevi), a hotel server, helps her get a job and supports her in her troubles and gets her marriage fixed with Rao (Arun Kumar). Meanwhile, Hema's sister drags into love Adiseshayya's youngest son Murali (Subhalekha Sudhakar) in order to teach a lesson to Adiseshayya. Who will marry Hema, Murthy or Rao? <br /><br />Subhalekha Sudhakar speaks:<br /> <br />Subhalekha Sudhakar <br />After completing my B.Com., I joined the Madras Film Institute as I was interested in films since childhood. After completing the course, I went and met Viswanath gaaru when my principal informed me that he was looking for new artistes for the film Saptapadi. But, Girish, a senior to me in the Institute, was selected for the role. I joined Taj Coramandel as receptionist and used to work in night shifts so that I could look for roles in the day. One day, when I went to hotel for my duty, I was informed that Viswanath gaaru left a message for me to come and meet him. I went and met him the very next day. A photo session was held for Tulasi, Sumalatha, and I at Sree Edida Nageshwara Rao's house; I was selected for the role of Murali, the youngest son of Ankela Adiseshayya (Satyanarayana). My first remuneration was Rs.1,116/-. The first schedule at Vizag was a song with Tulasi (nee jaDa kucchulu...). We first practiced that song from morning to midnight. I was not good at dancing and was not at all comfortable with it. Dance master Seshu gaaru, Tulasi and I were working together for that song. After the dance rehearsal, I was exhausted and thought acting was just not my cup of coffee (Sudhakar prefers coffee then Tea) and wanted to go back. But, then, I wanted to give a try one more day. ...Seeing the film after so many years, I still feel that I could have done a better job if the song was shot towards the end of my shooting for the movie than as my very first film schedule. After the Vizag schedule, we shifted to Hyderabad. The film was a good success that celebrated 100 days in some centers and even 125 days in some centers. I was one of the fortunate ones who got a good debut and a good hit, also while working with the legend Viswanath gaaru my first film. <br /><br />About the film:<br />Chiranjeevi and K. Viswanath worked first time for this film. For Sumalatha, this is the first big hit. Though she did a couple of films under the direction of Bapu gaaru, they didn’t do her career any good. Films like Rajadhiraju and Pelleedu Pillalu didn’t work out at the BO. This film was a good hit at BO and she later worked with Chiranjeevi in films like Aalayashikharam, Khaidi, Agnigundam, Veta, etc. (Though she did Pasivadi Pranam, Swayamkrushi, Gangleader, etc. she didn’t paired with him). Chiranjeevi and Viswanath later worked together in the films like Swayamkrushi and Aapatbaandhavudu. The film won the Nandi award that year and also fetched many awards to Chiranjeevi. His dancing abilities were shown as best in that film at that time. He really worked hard for the dance scene that comes as an ad shooting, showing him in different classical dance forms. Chiranjeevi is at his best in all the scenes, particularly in the episodes where he deals Bhattu (Hemasundar). The film was also the debut film for Arun Kumar. This is the second film of Gollapudi with K. Viswanath.<br /><br />Viswanath repeated some scenes of Saptapadi in this film too. Of particular mention are the BGM of DOlaayanchala DOlaayaam symbolizing the condition of the heroine and the song marugElaraa O raaghavaa used in both these films. One scene of Sirisirimuvva was also repeated in this – the scene where the heroine decides about the hero is shown in a similar fashion. The film was shot partly at Dolphin Hotel in Vishakhapatnam and surroundings and in Hyderabad at Bhagyanagar Studios. Though the story deals with dowry system, K. Viswanath repeats the story in the lines of Sirisirimuvva, where the hero helps the heroine get out of her troubles, and the heroine falls in love with the hero towards the end.<br /><br />The film was later remade into Hindi under the title Subhkaamnaa (1983). Rakesh Roshan, who earlier remade Subhodayam in Hindi, remade this film with Rathi Agnihotri doing the role of Sumalatha, while Rakesh himself did the role of Chiranjeevi.<br /><br />Sharath, who worked later with S. Gopal Reddy before he became a cameraman independently, worked as an assistant to Lok Singh in this film. Camera is one of the major plus points of the film.<br /><br />The film was released in Sandhya 35 mm in Hyderabad and celebrated 100 days in that theatre. The film might have been a bigger hit if it was delayed for some more time, as Chiranjeevi's another film Intlo Ramayya - Veedhilo Krishnayya was still running successfully in Shanti at that time. There was not even two months gap between these films. Intlo Ramayya - Veedhilo Krishnayya celebrated one year in Shanti. Incidentally, both the films have dialogues by Sri Gollapudi Maruthi Rao.<br /><br />Acknowledgements : Sri Subhaleka Sudhakar<br />Editied and compiled by Nachaki<br /><br />Comments: The film has Menu with Play movie, Songs and Chapters menu. Released through SV Entertainers. Available at www.southindiandvd.com<br /><br />By Sri<br /><br /><br /><br />© Copyright by Telugucinema.comEelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-31942332971140287222007-02-17T10:53:00.000-08:002007-02-17T10:56:51.581-08:00Swaraabhishekam<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCxtMYsps7Z8t2FLa7Crqwqv4o8TqkOLH-sge_pBHADp98wXKRZVSPaMwBKgRNtq8YA0YlAYkrlMl6cSROu1boLoaN7sX46ujnf6pl03Bu2u2OrCoQ3Jlg-4m-JHl92ql7B2bIFTorw8/s1600-h/title-500.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCxtMYsps7Z8t2FLa7Crqwqv4o8TqkOLH-sge_pBHADp98wXKRZVSPaMwBKgRNtq8YA0YlAYkrlMl6cSROu1boLoaN7sX46ujnf6pl03Bu2u2OrCoQ3Jlg-4m-JHl92ql7B2bIFTorw8/s320/title-500.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032578321372567762" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXCsxvEYUG2LhtCV4qobo-SZmG3I1K1Nz53i6whkQe18qDCGqsXXXfBsv-7zlcXfh_NDyIu4AxE9s4YgNJAoFQ-6aSVj_Kk0ZgazL2aP1XRVR5mdU_3Xk2qMYTkLbOjCVOAtRHp0n06Q/s1600-h/logo-small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXCsxvEYUG2LhtCV4qobo-SZmG3I1K1Nz53i6whkQe18qDCGqsXXXfBsv-7zlcXfh_NDyIu4AxE9s4YgNJAoFQ-6aSVj_Kk0ZgazL2aP1XRVR5mdU_3Xk2qMYTkLbOjCVOAtRHp0n06Q/s320/logo-small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032578239768189122" /></a><br />Swaraabhishekam<br />Kavita Ganduri<br />Rating: 3/5 <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdVuLFIdb21XNi7TyCsKA91m_AFfXeswa3wfujUG4qVlfAb0Oj5wTueJ-qHMfDIfJgx7nwRhxAF61gLpPr_NTsV-GDpq3AaDS2eC9xj_rzgXRT5QZ6S8LtLb_TS2DFtnQrRx7o1VIwLU/s1600-h/w.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdVuLFIdb21XNi7TyCsKA91m_AFfXeswa3wfujUG4qVlfAb0Oj5wTueJ-qHMfDIfJgx7nwRhxAF61gLpPr_NTsV-GDpq3AaDS2eC9xj_rzgXRT5QZ6S8LtLb_TS2DFtnQrRx7o1VIwLU/s320/w.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032578428746750194" /></a><br /><br />Its after a long gap of 9 years, K.Viswanath has directed this movie. When you hear the name of this "kala tapsavi" you naturally have high expectations from his movies... and unfortunately this movie cannot take a place in the list of his earlier classics like "Sagarasangamam, Swarnakamalam, Sruthilayalu etc., though this one also falls in the category of "A Tribute to Traditional Music". <br /><br /> <br />This is a simple story about two brothers- Srinivasachary (K.Viswanath) and Ranga(Srikanth) who are populary known in the music world as "srirangam brothers". Ranga is a widower with two kids. Srinivasachary is happily married to Urvasi and has no kids. Both of them earn great fame by scoring music for films. Surekha(laya), a T.V. anchor and Ranga fall in love and get married. Surekha"s mind gets polluted by thinking that Srinivasachary is getting all the credits while the real hard work is being done by her husband. Her mother adds fuel to the fire when only the elder brother is awarded with Padmashri. Henceforth, the brothers get separated. The rest of the story is how Surekha realizes her misake and the brothers get re-united. <br /><br />Srikanth renders a controlled performance. Urvasi is good as the wife of K.Viswanath. Laya is ok. Shivaji and amukta malyada (I heard she is K.Viswanth"s grand daughter) are good. Sridhar plays an important role of a music loving cobbler. Music by Vidyasagar is good.<br /><br />The good points: <br /><br />K.Viswanath in the role of Srinivasa chary is exceptionally good. <br /><br />The scene where Shivaji tries to create a environment to impress his blind mother reminds you of the scene in "sagarasangamam" and is very touching. <br /><br />The train scene where Music therapy can do wonders is well depicted. <br /><br />The other side: <br /><br />The movie appears dragged in the second half and the inclusion of Shivaji and amukta malyada run on separate tracks and sometimes seem irrelevant to the main story. <br /><br />Though I don"t say the movie is bad, it is not a feast like Viswanath"s earlier movies. <br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbiDQfTn_IpZY29iAugu5E2YYRIZn4gD1bctruOrgbXtX2T2rXQ_5kXJVThyphenhyphenq59qhwHMDXDpR-VcPFUUcnjj-tfNMI_W4JXObLVzVCsEkZSDxh5odOtxZ3UXV4XSlcQ7w4KtRYtnLq04/s1600-h/swarabhishekam.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbiDQfTn_IpZY29iAugu5E2YYRIZn4gD1bctruOrgbXtX2T2rXQ_5kXJVThyphenhyphenq59qhwHMDXDpR-VcPFUUcnjj-tfNMI_W4JXObLVzVCsEkZSDxh5odOtxZ3UXV4XSlcQ7w4KtRYtnLq04/s320/swarabhishekam.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032578428746750178" /></a>EelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-10156802668497694982007-02-17T10:42:00.000-08:002007-02-17T10:53:32.711-08:00Sankarabharanamu<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-hsvPcjK_Eb1wB61pMExzSG4SlCwZc9rEVyw-wthDGz_WEzg8HijpwCdSyk2HdcL8NC86AUCyzuEboBtNncdjLhJxK3cC0Bg9t6-ex7yUn5KEkhhlO0iUJbcML8IMCqAmERARn5D_hI/s1600-h/title-500.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-hsvPcjK_Eb1wB61pMExzSG4SlCwZc9rEVyw-wthDGz_WEzg8HijpwCdSyk2HdcL8NC86AUCyzuEboBtNncdjLhJxK3cC0Bg9t6-ex7yUn5KEkhhlO0iUJbcML8IMCqAmERARn5D_hI/s320/title-500.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032575714327419010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPaZs-VlVQHXaGdZyHIGs-ScJNhC__6ak1VSyI1HXakw1_sEbxq0_VfTVtutllU4tdBn2e9PW_yh3pXeWFiWYG-h_-GBoXYwLHo2SMsFHu0BZAMdHH7PFzWewBjVVbpTz3haqdcxGd0g/s1600-h/logo-small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPaZs-VlVQHXaGdZyHIGs-ScJNhC__6ak1VSyI1HXakw1_sEbxq0_VfTVtutllU4tdBn2e9PW_yh3pXeWFiWYG-h_-GBoXYwLHo2SMsFHu0BZAMdHH7PFzWewBjVVbpTz3haqdcxGd0g/s320/logo-small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032575624133105778" /></a><br />Sankarabharanamu<br />Lyrics translation by Brij Bala <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHnDtVbWKC5DuZuYV_YBybCAos70bL7b6r3zzANJfO7FuSeVorify0WqfK-E38MbcztIOG0TP4rdsvEjxG-RDI9c-z2Qm2AMng4Ggo3NsGvi5b52hGUUh8MJMmC2sE-y4aiOFlzn9ZI0/s1600-h/1906.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHnDtVbWKC5DuZuYV_YBybCAos70bL7b6r3zzANJfO7FuSeVorify0WqfK-E38MbcztIOG0TP4rdsvEjxG-RDI9c-z2Qm2AMng4Ggo3NsGvi5b52hGUUh8MJMmC2sE-y4aiOFlzn9ZI0/s320/1906.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032575851766372498" /></a><br />Vishwanath's musical hit, Sankarabharanam (The Jewel of Shiva), is often presented as the film that transformed the Telugu film industry in 1980s. Proudly identifying with the grand Karnatic musical tradition of the Telugus, the movie introduced classical music to the mass audiences and went on to become a runaway success. Also remarkable is the fact that S.P.Balasubramanyam flawlessly rendered all the songs with no previous classical training or experience. <br /><br />The film spawned 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). <br /><br />Veturi Sundararaamamurthy's lyrics add a whole new dimension of depth to the remarkable songs in this movie. Unfortunately, they might remain inaccessible even to many Telugu speaking people, especially the younger ones today. With the help of Ms.Brij Baala, we bring you the following translations of the songs. In this issue, we present the first two songs; The last three songs Maanasa Sancharare, Brochevaarevarura and Dorakuna Ituvanti Seva will be presented in the next issue. <br /><br />This page uses Unicode. If your computer does not display Telugu script, please read and enjoy the pdf version. If you would like to set your computer up to display Telugu Unicode, please see help here<br /> <br /><br />ఓంకార నాదాను <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXsc9FUjg6wLkJ8CSWZf7wWxUoigHpXM2Crzpsxyvw9wdzCaUNAYavf1zS970p7wWaUB8i8BfdX6O292EkLTXMPg1D_MOKW3hn4IacwByxQvfAuvMZgRXvui7e1ThRHTfBQD6CqeMd8M/s1600-h/sankarabharanamu1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXsc9FUjg6wLkJ8CSWZf7wWxUoigHpXM2Crzpsxyvw9wdzCaUNAYavf1zS970p7wWaUB8i8BfdX6O292EkLTXMPg1D_MOKW3hn4IacwByxQvfAuvMZgRXvui7e1ThRHTfBQD6CqeMd8M/s320/sankarabharanamu1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032575933370751138" /></a><br /><br />1. ఓంకార నాదాను సంధానమౌ గానమే శంకరాభరణము <br /><br />OmkAra nAdAnu sandhAnamou gAnamE SankarAbharaNamu<br /><br />Word to word meaning<br />---------------------<br />Om kAra nAda = the celestial sound called Om<br />anusandhAnamou = that applies / harnesses<br />gaanamE = the song<br />SankarAbharaNamu = the rAga called SankarAbharaNamu (the jewel of Shiva)<br /><br />Gist<br />----<br />The song that harnesses the power of the celestial sound Omkaaram is the one and only "SankarAbharaNam"<br /> <br />2. శంకర గళ నిగళము శ్రీహరి పద కమలము <br />రాగ రత్న మాలికా తరళము శంకరాభరణము <br /><br />Sankara gaLa nigaLamu Sreehari pada kamalamu<br />rAga ratna mAlika taraLamu SankarAbharaNamu<br /><br />Word to word meaning<br />---------------------<br />Sankara = Shiva's<br />gaLa = throat/neck<br />nigaLamu = embraced<br />Sreehari = Lord Srimannarayana's<br />pada kamalamu = lotus feet<br />rAga ratna = the gem of rAga<br />mAlika = garland<br />taraLamu = shining<br /><br />Gist<br />----<br />This SankarAbharaNamu is the shining jewel in the garland of gems called ragas. This is the adornment that embraced Shiva's neck and Lord Srihari's feet.<br /> <br />3. శారద వీణా రాగ చంద్రికా పులకిత శారద రాత్రము <br />నారద నీరద మహతీ నినాద గమకిత శ్రావణ గీతము<br /><br />SArada veeNA rAga chandrikA pulakita SArada rAtramu<br />nArada neerada mahatee ninAda gamakita SrAvaNa geetamu<br /><br />Word to word meaning<br />---------------------<br />SArada veeNA rAga = the song of Goddess Saraswati's instrument<br />chandrikA = the moonlight<br />pulakita = made ecstatic<br />SArada rAtramu = the night of Sarad Ritu (the season that follows rainy season, known for its moonlit nights)<br />nArada = the muni nArada<br />neerada = the cloud<br />mahatee ninAda = the sound coming from the instrument called mahati<br />gamakita = filled with the nuances of notes (gamakas)<br />SrAvaNa geetamu = the song of SrAvaNa month (Aani maasam that's characterized by rains)<br /><br />Gist:<br />-----<br />This SankarAbharaNam is like the ecstatic Sarad ritu night that's filled with the moonlight called the song from Goddess Saraswati's veena. This SankarAbharaNam is the song of Sravana month that's filled with the fine shades of notes from Narada rushi's Mahati veena and the sounds from clouds.<br /> <br />4. రసికుల కనురాగమై రస గంగలో తానమై <br />పల్లవించు సామ వేద మత్రము శంకరాభరణము <br /><br />rasikula kanurAgamai rasa gangalO taanamai<br />pallavinchu sAma vEda matramu SankarAbharaNamu<br /><br />Word to word meaning<br />---------------------<br />rasikulaku = to the connoisseurs<br />anurAgamai = dear / close to heart<br />rasa gangalO = in the great river of "rasa" (emotion or sentiment)<br />tAnamai = bathed<br />pallavinchu = that blossoms<br />sAma vEda mantramu = the verse of the fourth veda called saama veda<br /><br />Gist:<br />-----<br />This SankarAbharaNam rAgam is the mantram from sAma vedam that's soaked in the fountain of emotion, cherished by the connoisseurs/experts of music and has blossomed.<br /> <br />5. అద్వైత సిద్ధికి అమరత్వ లబ్ధికి గానమె సోపానము.... <br />సత్వ సాధనకు సత్య శొధనకు సంగీతమే ప్రాణము <br />త్యాగరాజ హ్రుదయమై రాగరాజ నిలయమై <br />ముక్తి నొసగు భక్తి యోగ మార్గము <br />మృతియలేని సుధాలాప స్వర్గము శంకరాభరణము <br /><br />advaita siddhiki amaratva labdhiki gaaname sOpaanamu....<br />satva saadhanaku satya Sodhanaku sangeetamE praaNamu<br />tyAgarAja hrudayamai rAgarAja nilayamai<br />mukti nosagu bhakti yOga mArgamu <br />mRtiyalEni sudhAlApa swargamu SankarAbharaNamu<br /><br />Word to word meaning<br />---------------------<br />advaita siddhiki = to attain the state of advaita<br />amaratva labdhiki = to gain the immortality<br />gAname sOpAnamu = only music is the staricase (path)<br />satva sAdhanaku = to achieve the satva guna (best one of the 3 gunas - satva, rajas, tamas)<br />satya sOdhanaku = to seek the truth<br />sangeetamE prANamu = music alone is the life<br />tyAgarAja hrudayamai = as heart and intent of saint tyagaraja<br />rAgarAja nilayamai = as the abode to the king of music<br />muktini osagu = granting the liberation<br />bhakti yOga mArgamu = the path of devotion<br />mrutiyalEni = that has no death / that never perishes<br />sudhAlApa swargamu = the heaven where song (alapana) is the ambrosia<br /><br />Gist:<br />----- <br />Only music is the path that leads to the state of advaita and the state of immmortality. To seek the truth of nature and God, and to achieve the greatest of gunas called Satva guna, music alone is the key. This SankarAbharaNam is saint tyagaraja's heart and abode to Lord Rama. This is the path of devotion that grants the liberation, and key to the immortal heaven where the nectar of music flows.<br /> <br /><br /><br /><br />రాగం తానం పల్లవి <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06UqWPbAqsL_9bv5k36Kq9GRWtlenazrvUCnP5XU3x-HwGnO1DRrKhRb-M8xIa8kP52YkS_1lqct2iNGD2wDo77o8fTv7Av9EBv5LtCVNxJgsqSz9zTBSw5DAqhnhoLOwVpsdDRu5z84/s1600-h/sankarabharanamu2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06UqWPbAqsL_9bv5k36Kq9GRWtlenazrvUCnP5XU3x-HwGnO1DRrKhRb-M8xIa8kP52YkS_1lqct2iNGD2wDo77o8fTv7Av9EBv5LtCVNxJgsqSz9zTBSw5DAqhnhoLOwVpsdDRu5z84/s320/sankarabharanamu2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5032575933370751154" /></a><br />రాగం తానం పల్లవి <br />నా మదిలోనె కదలాడి కడతేరమన్నవి <br /><br />rAgam tAnam pallavi<br />nA madilOne kadalADi kaDatEramannavi<br /><br />Word To Word<br />-------------<br />rAgam = the raaga<br />tAnam = the rythemic pulse of song<br />pallavi = the opening lines of the kriti<br />nA madilOne = in my heart and mind<br />kadalADi = danced / dwelled<br />kaDatEramannavi = told me to seek my end/destiny<br /><br />Gist<br />-----<br />The ragam taanam and pallavi dwell and dance in my heart and inspire me to seek the ultimate goal of life.<br /><br /> <br />నాదవర్తులై వేదమూర్తులై <br />రాగకీర్తులై త్రిమూర్తులై <br />రాగం తానం పల్లవి <br /><br />nAdavartulai vEdamoortulai<br />rAgakeertulai trimoortulai<br />rAgam tAnam pallavi<br /><br />Word To Word<br />-------------<br />nAdavartulai = the ones who dwell inside the sound<br />vEdamoortulai = the ones who are personified by vedam<br />rAgakeertulai = the ones who are praised by the raagas<br />trimoortulai = the three gods - chaturmukha brahma, vishnu, siva<br /><br />Gist<br />----<br />The ragam, tanam and pallavi that are like the three gods who dwell in the eternal sound and are personified by the vedam and are praised by the music itself, are inspiring me to seek my goal.<br /> <br />క్రిష్నా తరంగాల సారంగ రాగాలు <br />క్రిష్నలీల తరింగిణీ భక్తి గీతాలు <br />సస్యకేదారాల స్వరస గాంధారాలు <br />సరస హ్రుదయ క్షేత్ర విమల గాంధర్వాలు <br />క్షీర సాగర శయన దేవ గాంధారిలో <br />నీ పద కీర్తన సేయగ <br /><br />krishna tarangAla sAranga rAgAlu <br />krishnaleela taringiNee bhakti geetAlu<br />sasyakEdArAla swarasa gAndhArAlu<br />sarasa hrudaya kshEtra vimala gAndharvAlu<br />ksheera sAgara Sayana dEva gAndhArilO<br />nee pada keertana sEyaga<br /><br />Word To Word<br />-------------<br />krishna = the river Krishna<br />tarangAla = waves<br />sAranga = dappled / colorful<br />rAgaalu = raagaas<br />krishna leela taringiNee = the great book of devotional compositions by Sri Narayana Teertha<br />bhakti geetAlu = devotional compositions<br />sasya kEdArAla = fertile lands green with crops<br />swarasa gAndhArAlu = the natural and unadulterated northern lands (gandhara is a region, also gandhara is a note in the musical scale)<br />sarasa hrudaya kshEtra = the hearts of connoisseurs<br />vimala = pure, unblemished<br />gAndharvAlu = the union/wedding with mutual consent OR the art of gandharvas, i.e., music<br />ksheera sAgara Sayana = Lord SriMahaVishnu who's reclining on the milk ocean OR the tyagaraja kruti named Ksheera Sagara Sayana<br />dEva gAndhaarilO = in the raga deva gaandhaari<br />nee pada = your feet<br />keertana sEyaga = singing praise<br /><br />Gist<br />----<br /><br />The dappled waves of river Krishna, Sri Narayana Teertha's devotional compositions, the lush green fertile gaandhara region filled with crops, and the pure music in the hearts of connoisseurs - all these are singing your praise in raga deva gaandhaari, O Lord Narayana!<br />Another Meaning<br />---------------<br /><br /><br />Sri Narayana Teertha's devotional hymns resembling the colorful waves of river krishna, And the gaandhaara notes that enrich the Kedaara raagam are getting unioned in the hearts of connoisseurs and singing the glory of Lord's lotus feet in the keertana called "Ksheera Saagara Sayana" set in deva gaandhaari raagam. <br /> <br />శృతి లయలే జననీ జనకులు కాగ <br />భావాల రాగాల తాళాల తేలి <br />శ్రీ చరణ మందార మధుపమునై వ్రాలి <br />నిర్మల నిర్వాణ మధు ధారలే గ్రోలి <br />భరతాభినయ వేద వ్రత దీక్ష పూని <br />కైలాస సదన కాంభోజి రాగాన <br />నీ పద నర్తన సేయగ <br /><br />Sruti layalE jananee janakulu kAga <br />bhAvAla rAgAla tALAla tEli<br />Sree charaNa mandAra madhupamunai vrAli<br />nirmala nirvANa madhu dhAralE grOli<br />bharatAbhinaya vEda vrata deeksha pooni<br />kailAsa sadana kambhOji rAgAna<br />nee pada nartana sEyaga<br /><br />Word To Word<br />-------------<br />Sruti layalE = tone and beat<br />jananee janakulu kAga = became mother and father<br />bhAvAla = in meanings<br />rAgAla = in tunes<br />tALAla = in rythms<br />tEli = floating<br />Sree charaNa = Lord SriHari's lotus feet<br />mandAra = flower called mandara<br />madhupamunai = like a honeybee<br />vrAli = resting<br />nirmala = unblemished<br />nirvANa = liberation<br />madhu dhAralE = streams of nectar<br />grOli = drinking<br />bharatAbhinaya vEda = the vedam called bharata sastram (dance)<br />vrata = pious observance<br />deeksha = oath<br />pooni = undertaking<br />kailAsa sadana = one who dwells in Kailasam / lord Shiva<br />kambhOji rAgAna = in the raaga called kaambhoji<br />nee pada = your feet<br />nartana sEyaga = danced<br />Gist<br />----<br />I became a honeybee born to Sruti and Laya and floating in the meanings tunes and rythms reached the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu to drink the nectarian flows of moksham/liberation. I undertook the oath of practicing the Bharata sastra as Lord Shiva who dwells in Kailasa mountain is dancing to the raaga kaambhoji.<br /> <br />Notes:<br />-------<br /><br />The Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi is the longest and technically most challenging item performed in Carnatic classcial music concerts. The song is personifying the ragam and tanam and pallavi as trimurtis. The lyrics to this song indicate a deep understanding of music and dance on the part of the lyricist. Every line is a double entendre, one meaning pointing to a beautiful landscape (ideal for dance) and the other pointing to the notes, ragas and keertanas in music, both meanings culminating towards devotion and the praise of Lord. <br /><br />For example, the Gaandhaara in the first charanam refers to a region in the northern side of India (today's Afghanistan) that was very fertile, and also rich in sculpture. Gandhaara silpams were fashioned after beautiful bhangimas or poses in classical dance. Also, Gaandhaara is a note in the 7-note musical scale. Kedaara means fertile land and also it's a name of a carnatic raaga. The usage of "Gaandhaara" combined with "Kedaara" thus gives us two explanations, one based on music and one based on dance.EelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-65069346032090449282007-02-12T03:12:00.000-08:002007-02-14T14:02:58.896-08:00Velugu Needalu<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Y2Lh41xAIofXkXmdlM2iEHY-s68IUkWuT_vcwXR9nTAjZ0PnS_kecJjEbBLqFfU8SH47L8gbF-mK3fIdXyNXMfQxE7-e3254r_-2nu1hyphenhyphenVdxDWLokhJ-HDEyuHWAFfjuwraIlv7Ds_0/s1600-h/realstars-vamsi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Y2Lh41xAIofXkXmdlM2iEHY-s68IUkWuT_vcwXR9nTAjZ0PnS_kecJjEbBLqFfU8SH47L8gbF-mK3fIdXyNXMfQxE7-e3254r_-2nu1hyphenhyphenVdxDWLokhJ-HDEyuHWAFfjuwraIlv7Ds_0/s320/realstars-vamsi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030603899136792530" /></a><br />Velugu Needalu<br />Vamsi <br /><br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Here is the the series that focuses on the many greats who lurk in the shadows behind the silver screen bringing out the best in them, to radiate and redirect their brilliance onto the silver medium. We hope that these articles would focus our attention and applause to these true "stars" to whom limelight and spot lights do not usually beckon upon. <br /> <br />1. The sewing machine's pedal is worked on continuously<br />2. The small wheel on the top of the machine rotates furiously<br />3. The cloth moves from one edge of the machine, through the needle onto the other<br />4. While the jacket drops on the other edge<br />5. A lady rises to from the bottom of the frame, wondering about the jacket in an exaggerated fashion<br />6. Sundaram, a spectacled bundle of undying optimism and false promises, is framed between the triangle she makes with her hand on the hip and the unrelenting needle that is pushing into the cloth<br />7. All this while the background music is rattling like a twig on a tin roof<br /><br />And these are 6 different cuts that happen within a span of a few seconds. The pacing is furious, the framing is innovative, the editing pushing the retentive capacity and the discerning capability of the eye in regard to the holding time of each frame, and more importantly the music, the main partner in the crime, is pulling the strings in the background.<br /><br />Pick any few seconds of his movie, the frames feel like moving at twice the prescribed pace for a regular Telugu movie. Add to that the hurried nature of his characters, which seem to occupy their own frenzied world, caught up in their own whirlwind of activities. His transition from a normal story teller to a different kind of narrator to a 'dynamic' director would however need to observe at half his pace and half his speed. He never deviated from his off beat path and never tried to run the mainstream race. It takes a different kind of imagination to pull off even the weird imagery in a tasteful way like a beautiful woman in a garish dress holding a huge lotus between her teeth, a small face wearing a huge vermillion, the hero's costumes with the dangling price tags, glasses that seem too large for the face, to name a few. He handled the dolly as an assistant to the director, he worked his pen as author of good repute, he wielded his baton creating some hummable tunes, he worked behind the lens that eventually made his name synonymous with weird, innovative, jarring, imaginative, confused, dynamic and many such extremes - Vamsi.<br /><br /><br />If history is any indicative, a given audience can fairly predict the style of a movie coming out of a director's pedigree. That is because they usually confine themselves to a particular genre they can truly identify with and truly believe in and hence do not stray too far from that comfort zone. This gives some sort of predictability buffer to the audience so that there is a near or an absolute match between what it expects and what the maker delivers. In this aspect it is quite difficult to categorize Vamsi as a 'genre director', for the range he has showed in his repertoire and for the pattern and predictability game that he so willingly refused to be a part of. He balanced a "manchu pallaki" with a "preminchu pellaaDu", he upended a "sitara" with a "anveshaNa", he neutralized the ripples of a "aalaapana" with a "Ladies Tailor", he rib-tickled the viewer with a "April 1 viDudala" while showing the depths of pathos with a "Maharshi". The fact that he never tried recreating successes by sticking to the same formula that brought him monetary rewards and commercial acceptance, speaks a lot about his desire to not fall back on his previous glories but start the reconstruction process with each new venture by deconstructing himself totally. And just like anything, which tries to tread a new ground that is vastly different from the previous terrain that would meet either totally acceptance or summary rejection, quite a few of Vamsi's ventures tried to stand up on failing legs.<br /><br />Two technical aspects stand out in Vamsi's movies - the hurrying camera and the over worked editing machine. During the times when a framing a shot consisted in placing the camera right in front of the talking parts and observing the action as a impassionate observer, not too far from duplicating the standard setup of the good old drama days, Vamsi's camera has the sort of urgency that would grab hold of audience's attention and virtually drags it at the same pace, racing through the forests, running along the roads, maneuvering through the woods and hurrying through the fields. The energy that the movement infuses into the frame, which correlates with the mood of the scene, is one reason to explain why a picture is worth a thousand words. Sundaram hopes to get rich, and get rich quick. He basks at the idea of having to wait years spending his energy, life and importantly time at the sewing pedal. He seeks quick nirvana and instant gratification. And when a half baked get rich quick scheme back-fires on him, he finds himself caught up in the vortex of a turbulent tornado struggling to keep find some breathing space while furiously trying to score at another half baked quick scheme. Add to this mix his characteristic trait - he is lazy. The camera work in Ladies Tailor reflects Vamsi's getting into the mindset of Sundaram. Sundaram has a deadline before he finds the "maccha unna bhaama" that would bring him name, fame and glory. He whittled down the sample size to 3. He has to work in a secretive manner, lest he becomes the object of some serious "attention" of venkata ratnam. All the 3 "bhaamalu" are closing on him at an alarming pace with marriage proposals. The race against time and life that is rightly depicted in the camera accompanying sundaram at every step, working at double the normal pace, places the audience right in sundaram's shoes in understanding his urgency of the task and urgency of his mind.<br /><br />Rhythm forms an important part in his style, while cutting between two frames. His cutting almost assumes a lyrical nature that fits into a musical scale that is controlled by the pace and the tempo of the scene. He does not hold on to a scene till it has completely justified its purpose but instead splices in several extra frames that completely changes the way the scene would play out normally, were it cut in a conventional way. This extra information that pertain to either a sudden changed emotion of the characters involved or an exaggeration of an inner feeling, urges the audience to not take the character on his/her spoken word but instead treat it on the 'face' value in light of this new information. Maharshi, who has a dubious distinction in college, rags on a girl to prove his superiority, only to be hard slapped by Suchitra. The moment Suchitra imprints her palm impression Maharshi's cheek, the scene cuts away to Suchitra dousing Maharshi with a bucket full of colored water, some on his shirt, some on his face. If followed conventionally, Maharshi would start a hate-love relationship that would finally culminate into Suchitra accepting Maharshi. Instead, Vamsi cuts down the process of Suchitra adding color to Maharshi's pale and vapid life, with just a single frame of dousing. No love-hate relationship, no courting, no cheesy dialogues, no corny situations. Just one slap across the face, just one spliced frame in between and movie takes a different direction. The forest officer suggests that Bhanupriya and Karthik act intimate to catch the killer let loose in the jungle in "anveshaNa:. And while the mechanics of the process are being worked out between the hero and heroine, the frames of Satyanarayana (forest officer) turning his grim expression into a sly smile while his eye balls roll above to their roof, suddenly changes the equation for the audience and throws it off the scent. Again the nature of the scene that is played out heavily contributing to the rhythm of the cutting. The dynamic nature of the camera and the furious and unforgiving scissors, helped Vamsi trademark his style and vision on the silver screen, as one with little patience for lethargy and scant respect for the gravity of the scene.<br /><br /><br /> Part - II<br /><br />When the age of age-old heroes was ruling the roost dictating box office returns, Vamsi picked up the case of the proverbial ornate piece of the Telugu film - the heroine, and built strong situations around her allowing her to pursue the possibilities that tested her mettle through intelligence, patience and perseverance, than showing her the easy way out of the tough and troubled times through the regular song and dance routines, or weep and wallow techiniques. manchu pallakee, sitaara, praeminchu pellaaDu, anweshaNa, Aalaapana, Lawyer suhaasini - these movies bear testament to the fact that the female character, the focal point in all of the above, was only provided with the right tools to pull herself out of the tough situations she finds herself in, stand on her feet and brave the world, than allowing the character to lean against the stronger shoulder of the hero and depend on him to chart out the course of her life. <br /><br />It is interesting to note that though the single note of a world built around revolving around the female character is played in all those aforementioned movies, it is the application of this milieu to different genres that is unique to Vamsi's ability to apply similar situations to varied circumstances. While Manchu Pallaki, a straight drama, deals with a woman trying to mend the ways of 4 wayward youths and showing them a world that they never knew existed before, Preminchu Pellaadu, a comedy piece, deals with a woman trying to the mend the relationships between 2 families and showing them the better colors of world through love and caring. While Anweshana, a suspense thriller, toys with the life and the ambitions of a wide-eyed girl venturing into troubled waters, Aalaapana, a musical set piece, finds a damsel in distress finding solace at the feet of art and dance.<br /><br />Adapting his own work "mahallO kOkila" to the silver screen, sitaara brought out Vamsi's best as a story teller, script-writer, visionary beyond his years, and an ear that even surpassed his vision. sitaara, and maharshi to a certain extent, are his only introspective movies that revolve around the plight of the central characters while viewing the entire world through its lens in an almost first person narrative, and understand what they have to undergo to find themselves at peace with the world around. Symbolisms galore, sitaara had Vamsi exactly pin pointing the mindset of a girl, held captive in her own house (and in her own mind) by rules and regulations, trials and tribulations, screaming out for a voice of understanding and reaching out for a hand of compassion. sitaara is torn between her own fear masquerading as loyalty towards her family and her own inability to break free from the clutches of traditionalism, when fate gives her a chance in the form of Raju, a street performer. <br /><br />The images of a lark held captive in a "bangaaru panjaram" before the arrival of Raju into sitaara's life and its gradual transformation from being a reticent one to one which speaks her mind freely and sings her heart out merrily, brought out in such vivid fashion in the song "ku ku koo, kOkila raave, raaNee vaasamu neeku endukO, rekka vippukO chukka landukO (lyric: Veturi)", demonstrates in ample measure Vamsi's vision of extending a metaphor to literal terms and depicting a literal situation in symbolic terms. In one heart rending scene when Sarath Babu comes to know about his loss in a court case, on which their (his and his sister sitaara's) entire lives depended on, Vamsi takes the dialogue out of the scene to convey sarath babu's mindset and instead relies on imagery - Sarath Babu lighting up his cigarette standing underneath a birdcage, the voices in his head drowing down his weak voice of reason, sitaara looking at her brother anxiously, sarath baabu extending his arm slowly and burning the wings of the birds in the cage up above, the violins screeching simultaneously in tandem in the background, sitaara muffling her scream in shock and disgust - to drive home the point in less words and more images.<br /><br />Parallel this story and imagery to a similar one set in reverse - a free bird, with neither care or concern walks into a well laid trap willingly (and unknowingly at the same time) and by the time it realizes of the danger, it has already set in motion a series of dangerous incidents out of which there is no escape. Collaborating with Yandamuri Veerendranadh, Vamsi's anveshaNa remained one of the best suspense thrillers ever made in Telugu. sitaara and anveshaNa had this similar thread of damsel in distress, metaphorized in picking up the life of the birds, sweet but short lived, free but always on the look out for the imminent danger, spreading joy all around while hiding their inner turbulence all the time. If sitaara plays out as an introspective piece, anveshaNa opens up the playing ground in a broad way by throwing in enough portions of edge of seat suspense, and nail biting thrilling situations into the mix. <br /><br />Similar to Yandamuri's abhilaasha, the suspense in anveshaNa is written into the framework of the script and when the final moment of revelation occurs, and the motivations and the machinations of the killer are revealed, the audience is caught with total surprise when they retro-fit the pieces of the puzzle and find all the loose ends tightened up and gaping holes covered up. Vamsi revisits sitaara's imagery of birds in captive and takes it a step further with anveshaNa. Just like the score of Bernard Hermann for the movie Psycho, which comprised of entirely stringed instruments, Vamsi's interpretation of mood swings of the lead character (essayed by Bhanupriya) completely revolves around the flaps of the wings, the songs of gay abandon (or the shreiks of anguished cries), the freedom of their spirits (or the fetters of the traps) of the birds. With manchu pallaki, sitaaraa, praeminchu pellaaDu and anveshaNa (and to some extent, aalaapana and Lawyer suhaasini), Vamsi covered full spectrum from female emancipation to female empowerement adding visuals to his structure and adding aurals to his visuals.<br /><br /><br /><br />P.S. Guess who collaborated on the script with Vamsi on Lawyer Suhasini?<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> Part - III<br /><br />Illayaraja - In ways beyond ordinary imagination, every turn that Vamsi took while trying to find his style, his niche and his way of interpreting the words on paper to images on the screen, be it with finding unique angles to look at a frame, playing with the pacing of the scene either by speeding up the cutting beyond the conventional standards or slowing it down below the acceptable standards, here is this unassuming partner in crime, aiding and abetting Vamsi's whims and the fancies in regard to the distinct and a different vision, seeing Vamsi's challenge of the rough cut (of the movie) and then raising the stakes even further with his re-recording, trumping Vamsi's jumpy editing style with an equally (and sometimes more) quirky score, in the process, making Vamsi's movie as much as his movie.<br /><br />After much vacillation and a final validation with his would-be, Rajendra Prasad decides to ask for a 2% fee for his services as Urvasi's lawyer in cheTTu kinda pleeDaru. The moment he quotes his price to the client sitting in front of him, his head falls on the desk with the hand making a V sign. The frame holds on for a second and the beat starts with the nodding of the Urvasi agreeing to his fee. The two note beat (twig on a tin roof) grows even further and stronger and slowly merges with a harp, a violin, the percussion and the rest of the accompaniments, when the shot cuts away to a weird dreamland, where the hero and the heroine wear huge spectacles with no glasses, ride on a bullock cart with no driver and move about in a house, with no walls. Yet another brutal battle of artistry at display between these two artisans who 'shamelessly' push the limits of their skills to unconventional corners and often derive pleasure subjecting the celluloid to never before seen imagery, never heard before melody.<br /><br />It is not so much in the regular melody department, which is greatly mellifluous in itself, that Illayaraja announces his presence with his baton raised high when working with Vamsi. The mark that makes up the Vamsi-Illayaraja style (and it is not just Illayaraja style here) consists in the male voice constantly interrupting the female without letting her complete her sentence, or the female tone chipping in with her additional input to each paadam while the male voice carries along the tune in a careless, reckless spirit in case of a regular duet, or the hurried or haphazard directions that the tunes and the tones take in case of a solo, or the humdrum, confusion dangerously bordering on cacophony in case of a group effort.<br /><br />kOnalO<br />sanni jaaji malli jaaji malli<br />maenulO<br />ponna poola valli paala velli<br />vaeNilO<br />kanne naaga malli naagamalli<br />teerulO<br />anuraaga valli raaga valli<br /><br /><br />There lies a marked difference between Vamsi-Illayaraja's duets and Illayaraja's regular compositions with other film-makers, in that, most of the tunes with Vamsi reduce (splits) themselves to the point that they cannot bear the extra weight of orchetrations, nor any extra gloss (beats, rythms et al) that go hand in hand with the commercial format of the telugu movie song. Equally interesting is the fact, that the musician is completely attuned to the ways the director cuts his songs even before the camera rolls, and thus builds the requisite breaks, pauses, interruptions and overlaps already into his tunes, laying down the proper foundation that the director could build his vision upon. It can therefore be said without further consideration that if the picturization is built on a rythmic scale, the music supporting it assumes a lyrical nature.<br /><br />Illayaraja's efforts in Vamsi's ventures are distinctly two phased - pre-picturization and post-picturization. After the principal photography is completed and the film is secured in the cans, the director collaborates with the editor in trimming down the picture to acceptable levels. At this point when the sound is still not mixed with the picture yet, and temporary tracks (song tracks and dialogue tracks) usually assist the director in deciding the tempo of the scene, Vamsi's skill in editing comes to fore. A good understanding and appreciation of his ability, to visualize the video and the audio components that go into the scene, could be had if the aural part of the movie is completely eliminated from the equation and the movie is watched just with the images, since that is exactly what Vamsi delivers to Illayaraja's table before the background score is mixed in. Consider a editing resource intensive song like "ekkaDa ekkaDa ekkaDa" (Ladies Tailor) which, as lore has it, was picturized without the song being recorded in the first place. And when the film is delivered to the recording theater with just a bunch of images cut in a seemingly chaotic form, the music director infuses life into the images by breathing in mood into them. Considering that each image does not last for more than a second, and each image is completely different in framing to the next and to the previous, and the perspectives that keep changing rapidly from one to the another, it takes a herculean effort on the part of the music director to compose a tune that is fast (for the pacing), dynamic (for the mood), catchy (for the content) and appealing (for the senses).<br /><br />Sanskrit discos (Maharshi), recording dance tunes (Sri Kankamahalakshmi recording dance troup), peppy duets (Preminchu Pellaadu), baleful solos (Anweshana), classical treats (aalaapana) - Illayaraja matched Vamsi's thirst for difference and his quest for uniqueness at every step and marched along the creative roads of weird imagery and refreshing sounds, tagging his name permanently to Vamsi (ala, Bapu-Ramana) while making the team Vamsi-Illayaraja synonymous with innovative, creative and imaginative.<br /><br /><br /> Part - VI<br /><br />Even though muLLapooDi introduced the suaveness and the coolness of gOdaavari dialect (maanDaleekam) with Contractor's character in Muthyaala muggu, it was Vamsi who really patronized the accent and popularized it in almost all his movies. The dialogue delivery being rapid paced, the accent being distinctly different, and thanks to the actors' ability in skillfully moulding their speech around this unusual brand of telugu, the gODaavari yaasa has found wide spread acceptance with the audience and has come to remain as a central stay even in the current movies. Majority of the Telugu movies follow sisTlaa maanDaleekam, which is usually the standard dialect for all the talking parts of a movie, whose origins are found in Krishna and Guntur districts. When a character (or the writer) chooses to follow a different dialect (like Kota Srinivasa Rao's Kaasayaa character in pratighaTana) that is different from the norm, it places an enormous amount of burden and pressure, both on the character and on the writer, while trying to hold the audience's attention without getting distracted away the way the language is spoken. It is mainly for this reason that serious characters are seldom given different accents and majority of the characters that deal with the accents are comedic in nature. Vamsi uses this principle to separate his serious characters from the spoofy parts. For example in April 1 Vidudala, while everybody around Shobana and the Doctor character converse strictly in gOdaavari yaasa, these 2 choose to remain faithful to the standard accents, thus differentiating the tone of their speak and mood of their tone.<br /><br />Vamsi's dialogues owe a lot to the chaos of the group environment that make up most of his comedic frames. Most of the times it might not even be because of the wit of the dialogue than it is because of the timing of the delivery and the timing of the firing of the dialogue within the chaos. When one character tries to out-pace the other, and the other tries to catch up with some other, one character slows down the complete tempo of the dialogue for creating the rib-tickling effect. "paenu korukuDu" subbaa rao stands up on the stool trying to fix his wiring of the ceiling fan while holding both the ends of the wire in his mouth shouting instructions to his second wife about turning the switch on on his command, while she is totally lost in the dreamy eyes of her favorite hero on TV. subbaa rao's instructions to his second wife are interspersed with his voice of his first wife who is getting antsy while holding onto the stool, preventing her from getting on with her morning chores. The TV in the background blares out the latest song of the hottest hero mesmerizing his second wife completely grabbing her attention. Diwaakaram looks at this seemingly explosive situation and tries to work it to his advantage. The entire setup of this situation is not so much about the dialogue as it is about the timing. subba rao shouts his instructions, second wife lost in tv, first wife screaming about her daily routine, diwaakaram walks in and calls out subba rao's name, subba rao accidentally blurts out the switching instruction to is wife, second wife turns the switch on, the circuit completes in subba rao's mouth. If muLLapooDi's dialogue charaterizes the wit and sarcasm, Jandhyala's dialogue brings out light hearted humor, Vamsi's dialogue churns out the comedy through sheer group dynamic.<br /><br />Vamsi's association with Tanikella Bharani (and Vemuri Satyanarayana) to a large extent laid the foundation for his initial foray into comedy and it was Bharani's rapid wit that evolved into Vamsi's style over a period of few movies. praeminchu peLLaaDu, anweshaNa, Ladies Tailor, Maharshi, Sri Kanakamaalakshmi Recording Dance Troupe, cheTTu kinda pleaderu speak for Vamsi brand humor which was later continued in his association with L.B.Sriram and Sankaramanchi Pardhasaradhi. While their initial movies were too hesitant to step off the conventional comedic tracks, Vamsi and Bharani's Ladies Tailor marked a clear departure from what is standard, what is regular and what is conventional. Setting the movie in a remote village in the Circars, with the only set piece being the natural splendor around, Ladies Tailor created an interesting backdrop for a bunch of interesting characters centering around an interesting plot point. The interesting aspect of the script is that it does not highlight nor does it exploit the "maccha" point of the script inasmuch as it is concerned about Sundaram's travails in getting to the point. baTTala satyam, seenu gaaDu, venkaTa Ratnam roll off the wit of the pen while naagamaNi, daya and neelavaeNi take shape along the sharper edges. Ladies Tailor became a template for the rest of their collaborations where it is more about the characters than it is about the plot, where it more about the dynamic that it is about the dialogue and where it is more about setting up than it is about the payoff. The colloquial humor of the area, the rhythms in the speech of the speaking populace, the lush and natural vegetation that provided a safe habitat for these seemingly normal characters, all his low budget ventures seem to catch various glimpses through different slices of the same interesting setting.<br /><br />Following his mentor K.Viswanath's footsteps, Vamsi had a keen ear for great music, acute eye for amazing camera angles, a dictatorial attitude while chopping up the film and a zany mind for a weird sense of humor. A true director in all senses of the word, a true visionary in all facets of the craft and a true film-maker in the truest spirit of the art.<br /><br /> The EndEelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-66488380560981699712007-02-12T03:05:00.000-08:002007-02-12T03:05:24.598-08:00part 4<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaG5KblC2ahVJ_Mmqfopknn54dJb382JA9dgOeJQCskrBRZhsOLgNTjpBZpoU_Q3YO47YOlTIzGYWbOTHRq_g1mmSidRnEvuA3vCxYK9tagCMYAj4bA-RPki78P1CQzuHjr3H9p_lFZI0/s1600-h/poem-viswanath.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaG5KblC2ahVJ_Mmqfopknn54dJb382JA9dgOeJQCskrBRZhsOLgNTjpBZpoU_Q3YO47YOlTIzGYWbOTHRq_g1mmSidRnEvuA3vCxYK9tagCMYAj4bA-RPki78P1CQzuHjr3H9p_lFZI0/s320/poem-viswanath.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030603237711828882" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRU0Y1LaolTc8W1w14w7S57QNoBxD331YTnbMun3Ijf2R6FoknpBk57gfJABnmu2kJpE4tyIcYDyClrK8QxHmRNxj6HeqN2IhdCyXhwxAvXE63Tw45gHCEWv85USQOWkJbfnpdcr2oETA/s1600-h/i.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRU0Y1LaolTc8W1w14w7S57QNoBxD331YTnbMun3Ijf2R6FoknpBk57gfJABnmu2kJpE4tyIcYDyClrK8QxHmRNxj6HeqN2IhdCyXhwxAvXE63Tw45gHCEWv85USQOWkJbfnpdcr2oETA/s320/i.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030603242006796194" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aFNul6emFsnj4xLGjlgnh5fKfvVmzXBEzb9k5Oz28GbqLwapG4bCboHsZRpw7y2nXjjI0Mr_gvfowWSwj5UUZNjCBCmSVB9XF0pscivgaBGjbAfLfHfrb5ZoaQAa_QvVsId9YjykpYc/s1600-h/io.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aFNul6emFsnj4xLGjlgnh5fKfvVmzXBEzb9k5Oz28GbqLwapG4bCboHsZRpw7y2nXjjI0Mr_gvfowWSwj5UUZNjCBCmSVB9XF0pscivgaBGjbAfLfHfrb5ZoaQAa_QvVsId9YjykpYc/s320/io.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030603242006796210" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieB5QroDOlyzbduS3BxS2H_XKeTnqP1foEK9WUWlQWYbFtMuDH5JqjbzRMwS9tbxxkRFd1mtCx28n3CFCT_WgOWoiCTIcFsDZ6LKrQ-NOdXEWwTQ6-5TLisM8fj4iALxCvDM7VyGGVKXk/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieB5QroDOlyzbduS3BxS2H_XKeTnqP1foEK9WUWlQWYbFtMuDH5JqjbzRMwS9tbxxkRFd1mtCx28n3CFCT_WgOWoiCTIcFsDZ6LKrQ-NOdXEWwTQ6-5TLisM8fj4iALxCvDM7VyGGVKXk/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030603246301763522" /></a>EelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-91995249512428285642007-02-12T02:48:00.000-08:002007-02-14T14:18:54.072-08:00Velugu Needalu:K Viswanath<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT4HpbZt3jRrr-NNpLPrI2Tucx3xoI8yJO0POakUP2PMmZuQmm9j-pgPtxwf0nyj5UneKbdaZdR4FLPDdJZnH5aftrvf5fhSGyl7n26XvazAp-Ei384fHTmCweBtDD5XqNWqWKSxZELE/s1600-h/veluguneedalu-kviswanath.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT4HpbZt3jRrr-NNpLPrI2Tucx3xoI8yJO0POakUP2PMmZuQmm9j-pgPtxwf0nyj5UneKbdaZdR4FLPDdJZnH5aftrvf5fhSGyl7n26XvazAp-Ei384fHTmCweBtDD5XqNWqWKSxZELE/s320/veluguneedalu-kviswanath.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030599952061847426" /></a><br />Velugu Needalu<br />K Viswanath <br /><br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Here is the the series that focuses on the many greats who lurk in the shadows behind the silver screen bringing out the best in them, to radiate and redirect their brilliance onto the silver medium. We hope that these articles would focus our attention and applause to these true "stars" to whom limelight and spot lights do not usually beckon upon. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OnccwFF-zfAtprWRcZfobIgFP4VSll8vNcxfQKB_25nnstq9ncrZfWRzzigxlJlTzhx-CIjnAZquuOq6BvVFcFz8Dy3ARHyfZQEmVkbTh27lxuDTx-1cqnYWq3xymlrBZeM8lTgJS7k/s1600-h/i.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OnccwFF-zfAtprWRcZfobIgFP4VSll8vNcxfQKB_25nnstq9ncrZfWRzzigxlJlTzhx-CIjnAZquuOq6BvVFcFz8Dy3ARHyfZQEmVkbTh27lxuDTx-1cqnYWq3xymlrBZeM8lTgJS7k/s320/i.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031516412183468018" /></a><br /> <br />Prologue<br /><br />The sea was quite turbulent that day; the waves were crashing fast and hard against the unmoved rocks; unfazed by the attitude of the rocks the waves keep on addressing (appealing to) the rocks; Madhavi spots Balu sitting on one of the rocks pondering over the events that transpired after his mother's death; She comes running towards him eager to share her feelings, her ambitions (art) and ultimately her life with Balu. The background music (Illayaraja) soars just like the waves in the background. And just when she is about to reach him and hold his hand to never let go of it for eternity, she finds the man who left her hand at the altar looking at (for) her. Silence reigns. Madhavi retreats her steps (and intentions). Her husband moves forward a few steps. Balu chooses to remain in the background. Madhavi controls the surge (and urge) of her emotions. Her husband rises to the occasion at just the right time. Balu transforms his admiration and love for her into pure devotion (aaraadhana) right at that moment.<br /><br />gunDelO chOTu choosukunna manishiki<br />moorthigaa kOvela kaTTi<br />bhaktigaa koluchukunna vaeLa<br />praema ganga urakulatO saagi saagi<br />baadhyatala aanakaTTula aagi<br />aaraadhanaa saagaraala Odi chaeru vaeLa<br />aavaeSamula uppenala jaDilO<br />tana manishini munchettha valenani kadili<br />aalOchanala tarangaalugaa taggi<br />nuDuTa boTTugaa chindaka<br />paadaala paaraNi tanu kaDugu vaeLa<br />sagara sangamam - karuNa ganga praema saagaraala<br />rasaananda saagaara sangamam<br /><br /><br />A classic K. Viswanath moment. A moment that screams of subtlety. A moment that urges the viewer to dig deep inside of him to try to understand what each of the characters might be undergoing. Madhavi's situation - torn between her love for Balu, her respect(?) for the tradition. Balu's condition - vacillating between his heart and his art. Husband's dilemma - unable to decide between what is good and what is right.<br /><br />Set the classical (sometimes, semi-classical) music aside, set the semi-classical dances aside, set the soothing words aside, set the lilting lyrics aside, set the actors, their statures, their performances aside - Viswanath's movies revolve largely around these moments filled with simple yet profound emotions that convey a thing or two, saying a word or two about human drama.<br /><br />When Rangadaasu becomes a collector and is posted to the same village as his parents, the whole village comes together to greatly rejoice the return of their son to their land. His mother watches the procession with from a distance and unable to contain the excitement and unable to conceal the giddy delight anymore, runs away far from the procession to her home dragging her husband into the hut enroute. Haridaasu is baffled by his wife's never seen before display of emotions. She closes the door, looks around for a second, drags him closer and plants a kiss on his cheek and says - "entha manchi koDuku nicchavayyaa!" and weeps in delight.<br /><br />putrOtsAhamu tanDriki<br />putruDu janiyincinapuDu kalugadu janulA<br />putruni kanugoni pogaDaga<br />putrOtsAhambu nADu pondura sumatee!<br /><br /><br />Another classic Viswanath moment. The link he creates between a simple sumatee satakam poem and an otherwise ordinary moment of a child being recognized and lauded by the rest of the world in front of his parents, and his ability to expand on an emotion conveys a thing or two, saying a word or two about human drama. No loud words, no harping on the moment, no beating the emotion till the point of death. Touch the moment till it creates an impact and move away from it.<br /><br /> <br />The medium he chooses to convey these moments neatly wrapped and nicely packaged is art - classical art. If it is vocal in SankaraabharaNam, it is dance in Saagara Sangamam, if it is instrumental in Sirivennala, it is vocational art in Swayam Krushi. The art that gradually is getting lost in the evolutionary process of times, tastes and attitudes. Sankara Sastry chides Sarada in front of his prospective in-laws for mis-stepping boundaries and wandering away from norms and traditions ("ala swara sankaram chaeya Daaniki siggu laeduTae neeku"). He atones his outburst at his innocent kid by offering haarathi right in his palm. While he retires to bed (but still unable to sleep because of the burnt palm), Sarada comes in with a cup of butter, gently applies to his palm and STARTS TO SING THE SWARAMS IN THE WAY IT IS MEANT TO BE SUNG. Words need not say more. It is not a question of finding words to the occasion, it is a situation where no more words are needed.<br /><br />Another quintessential Viswanath moment<br /><br /><br /><br />Part 2<br /><br />Silence - a state that speaks more and better about a frame than a thousand words. Never more than in the visual medium is the value of silence understood better, and if used properly, is the emotion conveyed effectively, shifting the onus of explaining the scene to the audience allowing it to have it's own interpretation of the proceedings and derive it's own meaning of the context. Build a few words, present the argument and let the audience be known what the director exactly thinks about scene in question and the point is made. Take the words out of the equation, rely on the mood, cut back and forth between the expressions, proceed with the action and a point could made this way too. A double-edged sword, the latter way of handling a scene can literally slice the mood apart, if the setup to the silence is too shaky or if it just lacks the proper gravitas rendering the whole exercise as hypocritical and pretentious; but, move the set pieces in just the direction and place them apart at just the right distances, the result is a true work of art - the very reason why visual medium scores and ranks much above its aural counterpart, proving over and over again, that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.<br /><br />Tulasi, who has just been acquitted by the court of murder, stand on the steps of court. Her mother had just been dragged away by the police, kicking and screaming and hurling curses and abuses at her. Her hopes dashed and her life doomed. Alone, she awaits her true verdict of future. Her uncle comes back and tries to grab her and drag her back into the wretched life that she greatly detested. And the scene calms down here. All that we could hear are the crushing footsteps (typical of "aaku cheppulu") that resonate in the halls of justice of Sankara Sastry. An impressive figure (aided by the low-angle tilt of the camera to enhance the commanding stature), he looks on at the uncle who had his hand on Tulasi's shoulder, from the top of the stairs. Silence rules on. The hand is drawn away. Sankara Sastry walks by the uncle and Tulasi joins him. Uncle looks on mutely and the scene cuts away to both of them riding the horse drawn carriage speeding away through the streets much to the astonishment of the onlookers.<br /><br />Dissect this scene and see how much information was infused into those last few shots without being aided by the otherwise wonderful words of Jandhyala, one can call it a true tribute and deep respect of Viswanath to the visual medium. The low-angle of Sankara Sastry standing on top of the steps of the court hall, a principled man with an unblemished and untainted record, looking down upon the uncle (He who has not sinned shall cast the first stone - well, Sankara Sastry can). The air of confidence and the gait of proper culture, his hands folded in front, the look of seriousness in his face ripping away whatever faux-authority that the uncle had over Tulasi. The walk down the stairs down to them, a glance at Tulasi and the walk away. The instructions to Tulasi were not conveyed and implicit. The order to the uncle was unexplained and unnecessary. The acceptance of Tulasi by Sankara Sastry was unspoken. While the carriage zooms fast in the streets of the city with eager onlookers, the sense of regality conveying that Sastry does not care about what the world would think of a pious man together with a woman of disrepute. The entire sequence is just one among the several poignant silences that Viswanath peppered in Sankaraabharanam, each silence varied but equally effective as every other. Consider the scene when Tulasi meets Sankara Sastry in his compartment the very first time, when she runs away from her house. No introductions, no drawn out dialogues, no explanations - a true testament of the ability of the direction to trust the scene, to trust the audience and more importantly, to trust to the value of silence.<br /><br /> <br />It is not only when dealing with one particular emotion alone did Viswanath employ the services of silence. When Balu comes to know that Madhavi has got him an entry into National Dance festival, emotions take over and silences the words. Balu's mixed sense of happiness, elation, indebtedness, respect, admiration, and that important emotion of being finally recognized even by a single person who places him next to the stalwarts - Silence rules and lets the mood spill over. It is very prudent of the director to make that important decision of whether to translate those feelings into words or hold back on the words and let expressions interpret the emotions. Sivayya is helpless in making a decision, whether to let Lalitha and her kid leave him and have a seemingly better life with her father-in-law or spend a contended life with whatever they had. One needs to appreciate Viswnath's sensibility and judgement here, because of Sivayya's inability in framing complex words around complex thoughts. He is a kid at heart and acts like a kid with a big heart. He cannot verbally express the conflict between what is good and what not right. He starts to sulk at a corner and when Lalitha catches him in his solitude, she (we) finds him, fiddling with his fiddle, throwing his hands around, unable to overcome his sorrow nor able to control his emotions. Again, no dialogues, no words, no sounds.<br /><br />kaadaa mounam prati bhaavaaniki bhaashyam<br /><br /> Viswanath's hardest challenge - Sirivennela)<br /><br /> <br /> Part 3<br /><br />How can one describe the exquisiteness of the beauty pervading all around, if one cannot feel the sense of it visually? How can one describe of the nature of the beauty that envelopes the every day life, if one cannot aurally express the emotion? The challenge that the director had taken upon himself to take out the two important facets of the motion picture - the visual and the aural aspects, and then try to describe the nature of the beauty, the cause and its effect, through the characters that have no access to those important faculties, talks a lot about the immense faith that he reposes in them to convey his audacious idea, without the view and the word, but simply with the feel. With "Sirivennla", Viswanath has taken one more brave step towards finding an interpretation, a way to explain, a way to totally abstract the idea of beauty, that he started off with "Sirisiri muvva". The title of the movie, which in itself is quite poetic, is about a sheer grace of the stillness of the night in full bloom, which one character has no idea what it looks like, and which the other character has no idea how to describe it, but which the audience feels, both the characters understand it at a much deeper level. As some poet who once quipped aptly, if mathematics is the only way to explain the nature around us using the mind, art is the only way to feel the nature around us employing the senses, Viswanath takes the latter route and endows his blind hero with a great feel for the world around him and his mute heroine with the ability of communicating through her art.<br /><br />He accepts the challenge of using silence for communication, instead of words, and takes it to an entirely different level, when the mute heroine draws up the portrait of the hero, not in a typical fashion of stroking the silhouettes and shading the sides, but in an abstract way of drawing up the "ucchwaasalu" and "niSwaasalu" and shaping up the entire picture as an embodiment of a "sampoorNa maanava moorthi", who feels the "vaekuva raagaalu" in his "vaeNu gaanam", who feels the expressions of "kavanam" and "gaanam" in his life process, who feels the eternal sound of sustenance ("aadi praNava naadam") in every breathing moment of his life thereby encompassing the entire nature in himself. Viswanath moved beyond the realms of drama, beyond his usual comfort medium of scripting and depicting human emotions using art as his canvas beyond using simple, but heart-touching, metaphors to drive home his point and instead ventured into a new arena, where simple answers do not quite suffice when explaining that a blind person could feel, perceive and enjoy the bounty of nature just as any regular person blessed with sight, where simplistic situations, like the heroine has to have admiration and thereby fall in love with the hero only because of cinematic considerations, are completely replaced with the struggle that both face while explaining the true natures of their love, where payoffs in the end occur, not in a normal way of the hero and heroine united in the end as the culmination of their love, but rather depicting the confluence of sensory perceptions progressing towards the common goal of "rasa siddhi", thus moulding "Sirivennala" as a true work of art. <br /><br />Though Viswanath has taken up the subject of art devoid of normal means of expression much before "Sirivennela", in "Sirisiri muvva", he treated the latter more as a drama concerning the struggle of a mute lady, communicating with the world through the expression of her dance. By the time he moved on to "Sirivennela", Viswanath has done away with the (self-)pity, the condescension, the sympathy that he had for his physically challenged characters and started to delve into the struggle that concerned their minds. Examine his take on love from the hero and heroine's perspectives. Hero adores the beauty that he can only perceive through sound and feel. Heroine admires the extent of the hero's vision (avalOkanaa vistruthi) and is in love with him for what he perceives is beautiful. The metaphor of likening the hero's life to the instrument he excels at, the flute, by suggesting the wind, that blows through the flute, breathing life into it, causing it to flutter and creating such a melodious sound, is the same force of inspiration that the hero feels for his muse. Hero's interpretation of love is one that is based on inspiration - one which would inspire him to rise to higher levels, one which would force him to achieve greatness, one which would make him in the process make him a better person. On the other hand, the heroine does not get drawn towards the hero just because they share a handicap. She understands his true affinity towards his art, his respect for his muse, and his humility towards his greatness. While Viswanath creates the muse as the one that breathed life into the hero to mould him for what he is, he shapes the other who shares a kindred feeling as the one that would mould the hero for what he would be (refer to the heroine's skill as the sculptor and a painter).<br /><br /> <br />If it is tough to move forward a scene without words, it is sheer bravery to plot an entire movie around non-communicating characters and yet establish a semblance of communication, if not via the normal mode, but through the much difficult and different way of using art. Viswanath tries to outdo himself by setting greater goals through out the movie, by trying to describe "vennela lO brundaavanam" to a blind girl, or trying to explain why the hero loves his muse even when he has no idea of her physicality nor knows anything about her past, or when the heroine sees the hero celebrating his unison with the nature (in the song "ee gaali") and starts to develop feelings for him ("ee swathi vaani lO naa aatma snaana maaDe") depicted through the excellent visual of the ink mixed with the rain, flowing through his flute and ending up in the paper in her lap.<br /><br />gunDe lOtula bhaavaalu bayalu chaeyu baadhyatala alasi solasi<br />kanulu alasi pOvaa? gontu mooga pOdaa?<br />kanTa imaDani soundaryam paluka naeraani santOsham<br />taeTa parichi parichi<br />kanulu alasi pOvaa? gontu mooga pOdaa?<br />manasu kanna kalalu panchukona panina murisi murisi<br />kanulu alasi pOvaa? gontu mooga pOdaa?<br />jaeravalasina majilee yeTTakaelaku kaLa chaerinaaka<br />kanulu alasi pOvaa? gontu mooga pOdaa?<br /><br /><br /> Viswanath's poetic best - Swarna kamalam)<br /> <br /><br /> Part 4<br /><br />What purpose does art serve or what purpose does it have to serve? Enlightenment, awakening, entertainment, stimulation are some of the answers. After these states are reached and these purposes are served, art has the ability to go one step forward and render the state of pure joy. Bliss is what is also known as. Once that state is reached, the lines between between who is driving, what is being driven ceases to exist, meaning, the question whether the art is motivating the artist or whether the artist is exhibiting his art becomes irrelevant. It is that state when one would have a tough time between differentiating between the driver and the driven. As is with anything, the state of transcendence is inexplicable - words fall short of explaining the meaning, emotions fall short of expressing the feeling. It becomes a paradoxical situation to have it to explain to someone and make them see the purpose of the art and what the end result of such a progress could be, if both words and emotions fail to come to the rescue. To embark on the journey of the pursuit for perfection, to start with the process of finding pure joy, to set forth on a mission to dig deep into oneself and come face to face with bliss, requires one to have that one essential ingredient, FAITH, without which the pursuit become purposeless, the process is devoid of the desired result, and the mission become pointless.<br /><br />Viswanath's movies, apart from the drama that is built around, are about the preservation of the legacy, pertaining to the ageless and timeless art, and handing them over, in word and in faith, to the subsequent generations. Sankara Sastry, an cold person with a tough heart, eventually dies in peace, when he realizes that his art is in the safe hands of Tulasi. Balu, an aimless and rudderless burned out artist, rests in peace, after passing on whatever he had gathered over the years to Sailaja. While the rest of the movies deal with reservation, Swarna Kamalam deals with the pains and trials of realization. Meenakshi has a tough time realizing what is in her hands is much more worthy than she is running after. The eternal battle of materialism versus spirituality (in a broader sense) rages on in her mind, while she gets drawn more and more towards the glitz of the former than endure the rigors of the latter. And it is at this point that faith takes over. Faith - a trust in the institution of art, that it would certainly offer all that it has promised and much more, a belief that regardless of the hurdles, the end goal could be reached with enough perseverance, a dogmatic approach that has been handed over by the earlier generations, who have proved beyond any reasonable doubt that it works. Viswanath has made the point of Meenakishi's realization, the point of her believing in her innate art, a sudden one, that is as abrupt and as sudden as someone finding the path of faith.<br /><br /> <br />Swarna Kamalam has the unique distinction among the rest of his movies, in that the movie is completely about a person finding her true inner calling. Viswanath does not deviate from this path of self-realization and makes Meenakshi go through the same path as several before have trudged, before reaching that point of eternal joy and enormous satisfaction. By pointing out the different phrases of disinterest, denial, disgust, slowly transforming into deep thought, deep churning and eventual embracement, by indicating the metamorphosis of the personality of Meenakshi, from a hot headed typical angst ridden youth to a mellowed down, level headed understanding personality (depicted in a subtle way through her early morning make-up procedures), Viswanath lays down the path that is more personal and one that is fraught with self-doubt and guilt. It would not start getting better until it turned absolutely worse, quotes a proverb. Right at the point of the lowest ebb, right at the point of total and complete darkness, right at the point of absolute doom, where the surge to the better takes place, where the pursuit of light takes shape, where the will to wrest control takes root, does every artist realize that what had been accompanying him/her all through out in all his/her travails is not what is around him/her, but what is inside of him/her.<br /><br />Chandrasekhar finds himself in a thankless position. His love for Meenakshmi is consumed by his stubbornness to make her see what is right for her. His admiration for her art is usurped by his undying passion for making her realize the true purpose of her gift. Caught between his unrelentess approach, continuing the tradition of her father, and his mentoring instincts, continuing the tradition of the guru-shishya parampara, is the tender feelings that admires her, adores her, respects her and loves her. In comparison to his previous movies, Viswanath makes the mentor on the same level as the protégé thus bringing in the ego element into play. Meenakshi spites Chandram's motives and takes it out on her art during her dance performance. Meenakshi resents Chandram's intentions and takes it out on her art by completely reneging it for a professional opportunity. Viswanath does not make it clear whether Chandram's advances are guided by his feelings for her, or whether they seek an ulterior motive of her mending her ways and getting back to her roots. A glance at the three gurus in Meenakshi's life, her father who claims the role of her tutor, Chandram, who assumes the role of the mentor, and the American born Odissi dancer, who triggers the realization process, and one can safely conclude that Viswanath's idea of self-realization is not of one that occurs instantly overnight, be it through a song or be it through a few words; instead it is a path that is long drawn out beset with detours and troubles, but one that ends in answer for the purpose of art - one of pure joy, one of pure bliss.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_3zaimaM2_zszx6-b1hhsreT7ecuuBcZRnx3kSp2bCEGwyiaUBmYnPUit9eMVpvrm6EZvSET5vW95CEOUz9XyHNFbZcBtsaS6eIk6f3VvUAGqAva5VavX8iJRruetS2ZxnxvgrZ0a88/s1600-h/poem-viswanath.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_3zaimaM2_zszx6-b1hhsreT7ecuuBcZRnx3kSp2bCEGwyiaUBmYnPUit9eMVpvrm6EZvSET5vW95CEOUz9XyHNFbZcBtsaS6eIk6f3VvUAGqAva5VavX8iJRruetS2ZxnxvgrZ0a88/s320/poem-viswanath.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031516321989154786" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /> Viswanath - the wordsmith)<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Part 5<br /><br />Do words punctuate emotions or emotions emphasize words? Viswanath's economy of expressions is as renowned as his clarity with words. Having worked with the likes of Adurthi, Mullapoodi, Dukkipaati, Gollapoodi in the early stages of his career, Viswanath honed his ear in picking up the right word for the right situation and play it for that exact moment of time. Take any slice of the most emotional moments of his movies, the dialogue plays right into it and does not over-stay its welcome. Yaajulu walks into the shack briskly and notices his grand-daughter, Hema, not yet prepared for the dance performance later that evening. "aemiTi ammaayi inkaa tayaaru kaalaedu"? thunders his voice. "aa talanTu inkaa pOyalaedu" comes the reply from his docile daughter-in-law, from behind the door. "aemiTi evarannaa posaedundaaa, laekaa adee naenae pOyaalaa" remarks Yaajulu and walks away. The son sandwiched between his father's commandeering and his subservience irratatedly comments "aemiTo, vedhava Slaeshalu, ardham kaaka chastunnaam". The little trinkets of information that seep into such dialogues not only serve the purpose of advancing the plot but also lets the viewer under the dynamic between the characters. That which could be played over reams and reams of dialogues and emphasized over scenes and scenes of raw stock, is simply replaced by understanding the true nature of the characters and supplying them with the right word. "aDagaDam aemiTayyaa, kaDigaestaanu. veyyi marDarlu chaesina vaaDinainaa kaLLallOki kaLLu peTTi nijam cheppinchaeyagalanu. vaaDanTae naakaemannaa bhayamaa! unnaaDaa lOpala?" asks Madhava in a tone that smacks of bravado. "aa pakka gadilOne unnaru" pat comes the reply from gOpaalam. "nee moham manDa, cheppavaemayyaa aa maaTa. naa maaTalu vinnaaDanTaavaa?" cowers Madhava. Just a little line that explains completely about the relationship between Sankara Sastry and his childhood friend Madhava.<br /><br />Of all the pens that have worked with Viswnath on the majority of his ventures, Jandhyala, Aakella, MVS Haranadha Rao and Sainath, Jandhyala's understanding of Viswnath's characters extends beyond the rest of his peers. Penning for sirisiri muvva, seetamaalakshmi, SankaraabharaNam, saptapadi, SubhOdayam, Subhalaekha, saagara sangamam and AapatbaandhavuDu, Jandhyala's craft, under Viswnath's tutelage, can see a marked transition from one movie to the next, peaking with saagara sangamam, which, arguably, has the best words that any writer has breathed into the characters' lives. "naenu ekkuva taagalaedu vadinaa", a slouched Balu looking at the Krishna paadaalu in front of the house refusing to come in. "naenu aDagalaedae", an even more understanding sister-in-law with a dinner plate in her hand, settling beside Balu. As much as the situation can bear the burden of the extra words and over-emotions, Viswanath reigns the both of them and renders one of most heart-rending scenes of the movie. "talent okkaTae saripOdu, raasi peTTi unDaalanDee. abbO birju maharaaj, great dancer, Shoba Naidu, abbO pedda pedda vaaLLantaa vastunnaaranDee" marvels Balu as he leafs through the invitation and stops at one leaf. "eena kooDa pedda dancer ae" observes Madhavi. The cue stops the flows of words to hammer the point further and it almost feels like Jandhayla knew the exact instant, when he should stand back and let Kamal, Jayaprada and Illayaraja have their moment.<br /><br />"Music is divine whether it is Western or Indian. sangeetaaniki bhashaa bhaedaalu, swapara bhaedaalu unDaalu, adoka ananta jeevana vaahini. ae jaati vaaraina ae matam vaaraina andulO daaham teerchukOvacchu" starts Sankara Sastry when trying to teach some sense into the reckless youth, bent on ridiculing "swadharmam" while blindly embracing and aping the western culture. A look at Viswanath's creations, it is quite obvious that the dominant tone of his characters is one of sensibility, that is rooted in wisdom, experience and intelligence. Even after Sambayya slaps Chinna hard across his face for picking up a cigarette, more out of fear that he too would follow the tracks of his drunkard father Govindu, he repents immediately for his rush of blood unable to come to terms as how to the "spare the rod, spoil the child" tenet would work against a child, who does not understand his doings (wrong or right) in the first place. "inta chaesinaa, inta koTTina, aa pasi manasuki enduku ardham kaavaTam laedO teliyaDam laedu" laments Sambayya, teary-eyed, confessing his surge of unruly emotions to his beloved, Ganga. When the entire village is finally up in arms against the atrocities of neelakanThaiah, and wants to settle the score in terms of flesh and blood, a calming voice of Hanumanthadaasu appeals to the sensibilities of the mob, arguing how a violence only begets violence the greedy appetite for blood and flesh can never be quenched nor can it never be quelled. While it is quite easy to play up the situation and fan the emotions of the characters, feeding it with "powerful" dialogues, it is all the more difficult to see the speck of sensibility amid the unruliness, a spark of intelligence in the face of insanity and a tinge of wisdom buried under the heap of foolishness.<br /><br /> <br />Any mention of Viswanath's movies flashes the images of dance, culture, music, words and emotions. As subtle as his penchant for emotional words, humor is very much an ingredient of his characters' worlds and a healthy dose of comedy is sprinkled all throughout, that which is un-obtrusive and un-obstructive to the regular proceedings. Wit, sarcasm, satire, innocence and all the different variations of comedy find place in his worlds. "ekkaDainaa, illu kaalipOyina vaaDini choosunTaavu, voLLu kaalipOyina vaaDini choosinTaavu, ilaa bhakti tO kaali pOyina vaaDini ekkaDanna choosaavaa naayanaa" - a blackened face with a mirthless laugh (Swarna Kamalam). "sundOpasundulaa? vaaLLevaru?", "inkevaru, sundulu meeru, upsundulu vaaru". "aemiTO nanDee, rOgam paerutO deeniki, deeni moguDu hOdaalO naaku baagaanae maryaadalu jarugutunnaayi" (Sagara Sangamam). "adi rishabhamaa, vrushabhamaa", "abbae rishabhamaenanDee, rishabhamae. akkaDa rishabham paDitae hindOLam endukavutunDanDee, charukaeSi avutundi gaani", "chaarukaeSaa???", "abbae, chaarukaeSaa, kaaphee, kaaphee avutundanDee", "nuvvu mundu lae ikkaDi ninchi" (SankaraabharaNam). "ammo ammO, noone elaa pilla kaalavallaaga pravihinchaestOndO, Oraey vedhava aapu aapu", "aravaddu anTae vinalaedu gaa, eddu chooDu koorchunDipOyindi. ippuDu aa ganuga nee meDalO vaesukuni nuvvu tirugu" (Swati mutyam). There were no separate comedy tracks, there were no specialist comic actors, there were no separate comedic words. An observation of the lifestyle of the characters, the situations there are thrown in, and the events that happen around them, proved plenty enough raw material to Viswanath to extract the comedic ore that is refreshing, heartening and more importanly, plain funny.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> part 6<br /><br />vaagardhaaviva sampruttou vaagardha pratipattayE<br />jagatahpitaram vandE paarvateeparamESwaram vandE<br />paarvateepa ramESwaram<br /><br />The original verse of Kalidasa, which means just like the inseparable linking of the word and its meaning (vaakku, ardham), I beg to thee "aadi dampatulu", the inseparable couple (the slight modification of parvatee parvamaeSwaram to sound parvateepa (husband of Parvati) and ramaeSwaram (husband of Laskmi) was credited to Veturi Prabhakara Sastry, the renowned poet and scholar, Veturi's father), can very well be used to describe Viswanath's long and continued journey with the lyrical word. From "charaNa kinkiNulu ghallu ghallu mana" (chelleli kaapuram) to "nee chentae oka chechita naitae" (Swaraabhishaekam), Viswanath's association with the poetic structure can be characterized by his work with the two seminal poets of their respective generations - Sri Veturi Sundararama Murhty and Sirivennela Seetarama Sastry. With "swaati mutyam" providing the hand-off movie between Veturi and Sirivennla, Viswanath extracted some of the best works from these illustrious poets that were ever put on paper, the scope being telugu film lyrics. Sirivennla once commented that receiving an award under Viswanath's stewardship isn't all that satisfactory and rewarding and his jocular angst certainly has some merit and meaning. With the context that is just ripe to be interpreted lyrically, with the characters that definitely have a depth and a lot of conflict, the situation would automatically write itself into a beautiful poem and all that the poet had to do was offer it a little verbal help (maaTa saayam). The styles of Veturi and Sirivennela (the scope restricted to Viswanath's movies) can be juxtaposed to observe how each of them treated the situations and how each of them felt for the characters.<br /><br />Though Veturi started his "pada prasthaanam" with "O seeta kadha" (also under Viswanath's direction), it wasn't until "siri siri muvva" that he became a regular mouthpiece until "swati mutyam" and later for a brief stint with "Subha Sankalpam" and "Swaraabhishaekam". Veturi's observation of the characters and the situations can arguably be termed as very distant and very macro-level (not be considered superficial, in the slightest bit). When dealing with as grave a subject as untouchability and casteism, Veturi turns very philosophical and puts the words<br /><br />aeDu varNaalu kalisi indradhanasoutaadi<br />annee varNaalaku okaTae ihamu paramunTaadi<br /><br />aadi nunchi aakaaSam moogadi<br />anaadigaa talli dharaNi moogadi<br />naDumavacchi urumutaayi mabbulu<br />ee naDamantrapu manushulakE maaTalu<br />inni maaTalu<br /><br />into a simpleton's mouth, herding his cows. Passion about the topic and personal opinion do not get in the way of the context and subject and his observation of the situation can be termed as clinical at best, right in tune with a "gollavaaDu" who doesn't comprehend what the fuss regarding a man's caste and creed is all about. Even while envying God for all the good things that happen to him without any effort on HIS part, Veturi pens<br /><br />raayaitae naemi raa daevuDu<br />haayigaa unTaaDu jeevuDu<br />unna chOtae gOpuram<br />usuru laeni kaapuram<br />anee unnaa mahaanubhaavuDu<br /><br />There is just a hint of jealousy and a dash of envy in the words of a lazy bum who ponders over the simplicity of the life of God. Veturi does not go overboard, rising above the situation, and starts wondering about the bum could make the world better place, if he possesses the same magical powers as God. All that he is concerned with is some food at the right time, a nice shelter at the nighttime and no botheration with the world any time.<br /><br /> <br />SankaraabharaNam - what made the words "Sankara gala nigaLamu, Sreehari pada kamalamu, raaga ratna maalikaa taraLamu SankaraabharaNamu" so immensely popular even with the illiterates, when the song is peppered with "samskruta bhooyisTa pada bandhaalu" and laden with such deep concepts as "advaita siddhiki amaratva labhdiki gaanamu sOpaanamu"? As is with the rest of his movies, the authority of the character and the amount of respect he deserves makes the audience understand and appreciate, even when the language spoken by the character is quite out of their reach. Veturi's prowess is quite evident here when he does not let the language dumb down (or brought down) to the level of the commoner and allows it to remain on the same plain as the character. And when Chandramohan comes into the picture, the tone of the pen softens quite a bit when he teasingly mouths "madhura laalasala madhupa laalaanala, pedavilOni madhuvu raali vratamu pooni jataku chaeraga" to Raajyalakshmi. The choice of the words chosen for the lyric oozes of "chilipitanamu" and "konTetanamu". The way the lyric segues from the Tyaagaraja's traditional lyric "sama nigamaja sudhaa maya gaana vichakshaNa gunaSeela dayaala vaala" (He who expounded the ambrosia-like (amrutamu laanTi) Samaa vedam with benevolent qualities, please take care of me) into "madhura laalasalu" and "madhupa laalanalu" remaining in the same nectar-like metaphor but applying to a different context, is absolutely brilliant of Veturi. Again, he takes no liberties with the character and remains in the same playing field.<br /><br />Sagara Sangamam - "mOhanaala vaeNuvoodae mOhaanaanguDitaDae lae, pOtanna kaitalannee pOtapOsukunnaDae maa muvvaa gOpaaluDae maa mudddo gOvinduDae" - what better lyric to be debased and debauched by the rut of "steppulu"? With exception to the song "mouna maela nOyi ee marapu raani raeyi", Veturi remains completely unattached to the characters within the rest of the lyrics. Since the movie is about a man's admiration and adoration of his lady love that he is even willing to take on any indignation and any suffering, while passing on his art, the words written for the movie remain as much ethereal and platonic as the intangibility of his feeling. Sagara Sangamam and SankaraabharaNam remain some of the best works of Veturi where the day to day struggle that the artist undergoes, the regular rigor, the conflict of his with the rest of the world, is never treated (or is never reflected) in the words that come out. Instead they remain quite detached (bordering on stand-offishness), separating the art from the artist. Even when the character lost in the drunken stupor balancing on a thin rod on the top of deep well, Veturi's macro-mind does not get bogged down by Balu's struggles or conflicts nor get saddled with the ecstaty for having finally met the love of his love that the character lost sometime ago. Veturi's detached mind takes over and scribbles "naruDi bratuku naTana, eeSwaruDi talapu ghaTana, aa renDi naTTa naDuma neekendukintha tapana". Compare this to a similar situation when Hyma, the mute dancer, is taken away from her home by Sambayya, unable to bear her step-mother's atrocities. The situation begs for a heavy-handed, over the top lyric and Veturi remains non-committal and muses "evarikevaru ee lOkamlO evariki eruka, ae daareTu pOtundO, evarinee aDagaka".<br /><br />When Viswanath phased off Veturi with "swati mutyam" (due to creative differences), he lost the voice of reason, the voice of fate and destiny and the voice of eventuality that Veturi so eloquently snuck into the character's words. As luck would have it, Viswanath found another voice, a voice of personality, a voice of philosphy and voice with deep-seated optimism with Sirivennela in Seetarama Sastry.<br /><br />(Viswanath's poetry - 2)<br /><br /> <br /> Part 7 <br /><br />sunni pinDini nalichi<br />chinnaari gaa malichi<br />santasaana murisindi santulaeni paarvati<br />sutuDanna maaTa marichi<br />Soolaana tega nariki<br />peddarikam nilupukone nippukanTi penimiTi<br /><br />The classic confrontation, the eternal struggle, the never-ending tug-of-war between the devotion to the husband and the draw to the child, in the words of a tragic mother. The situation where Anataraama Sarma's envy tries to boil over into Gangaadharam's talent and disrupt the peace and harmony of the family, transported to the mythological context and applied to Lord Siva's tussle with his son, is vintage Seetarama Sastry. Grasp the entire subject of the movie, distill it into the purest form and package the message applying the tools of metaphors, similes, comparisons and applications, forms the basic model of Sirivennela, especially in Viswanath's movies. This is where one can observe the marked difference between Veturi's and Sirivennela's style as far as approaching the material is concerned. While Veturi relegated himself to be a distant observer of the proceeding, Sirivennela tries to get in closer to the subject, and make the struggles and conflicts of the character a more personal one. While Veturi covers the exterior and periphery of the material, Sirivennela digs into the interior chiseling his way to the core. The subjects remaining the same, it would be really interesting to observe the take of each of these distinguished poets, on Viswanath's characters which are the embodiments of the same empathy, sensibility, and tenderness.<br /><br />jhaNana jhaNana naadamlO<br />jhaLipinchina paadam lO<br />jagamu jaladaristundi <br />pedavi palakaristundi<br />gajja ghallu manTunTae<br />gunDe jhallu manTundi<br />gunDe jhallu manTunTae<br />kavita velluvaitundi<br /><br /><br />writes Veturi<br /><br />ghallu ghallu ghallu manTu<br />merupallae tuLLu<br />jhallu jhallu jhalluna <br />uppongu ningi voLLu<br />nalla mabbu challani<br />challani chirujallu<br />velluvocchi saagani<br />tolakari allarloo<br />pallavinchanee naelaku<br />pacchani paravaLLu<br /><br /><br />writes Sirivennela<br /><br />Take the above subject which is not fettered by context nor bound by the situation that talks about the feel of "andelu" (anklets) inwardly, to one's self, and the effect it generates outwardly to the world, as such. Veturi's take is of vibrancy, when the whole world reverborates with the rhythimic nature of the feet outwardly, and the steps resonating in the soul bringing the self into ecstasy inwardly. Sirivennela's observation is more mellowed and observational, when the whole word beckons to the lightening speed and the thunderous sound of the anklets, letting itself to surge, shower, and finally flow into the lotus feet of the art, the source and cause of it all. The third person perspective that Veturi embodied served Viswanath's movies to an extent that most of the songs in those movies were distant and independent, in that, the songs could survive on their own without the aid of the characters nor the context. When the torch has been passed down to Sirivennela, (and with exception to the movie "Sirivennela"), he took the cause of the characters as a personal mission and reflected the true identity of the characters in the words that they mouthed, and thus remained closer to their identities than Veturi ever did. Even when Sirivennela stayed close to the characters, remaining non-judgmental all the while, he never loses the focus of the character and more importantly, nor the objectivity.<br /><br />Swarna kamalam remains one of the hallmark pieces of Sirivennela's poetry, where he plays a fair judge balancing two points of view - one of independence and the other of structure, and comes out being perfectly impartial, treating each point of view on its own merit, enumerating the ups and downs with each side, and still remaining sympathetic to both the causes. Never once does he assume the role of a preacher taking the moral high ground against any one side, while merely remaining an impassionate observer when one side realizes the joy in the other and makes the switch, all on its own, sans the pushing and prodding, sans the lecturing, sans the brow-beating. How can a poet see two sides of the coin with the same dispassionate view being attached and detached at the same time? This is where the important distinction between these two poets come in. Stand outside the conflict and observe it from a distance, the choice become quite an obvious one and making a judgment about which side has more merit becomes more easy - Meenakshi is wrong, Chandram is right. Get close to the characters and observe the reasons behind the choices from close quarters, in the process BECOMING the characters, one would feel equally sympathetic to both the causes and does not start evaluating their decisions in terms of right or wrong, but instead finds the reason that led them to the decisions. So a "layakae nilayamai nee paadam saagaali, malayaanila gati suma baala oogali" sits with the listener just as well as "valalO odugunaa viharinchae chiru gaali? selayaeTiki naTanam naerpinchae guruvaeDi ?". Indeed!<br /><br />Ever since Sirivennela, Seetarama Sastry went along with Viswanath embarking on the same journey that the characters signed up for, discovering the marvels of life, wondering about the vagaries of the same, learning new lessons all the while and imbibing the new-found truths and age-old virtues. <br /><br />churuku manToo poDichi laepae<br />soorya kiraNam ee vaeLa<br />kaluva virisae chaluva kurisae <br />kalalu choopindae<br />veDi gaalai venTa tarimae<br />yenDa kaalam ee vaeLa<br />aeDu rangula indradhanusai<br />yeduTa nilichindae<br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />The new age dawns upon the fresh mind that sees the world around in a different light. The eye-piercing brightness of the sun light becomes the guiding brilliance that teaches discerning and distinction. The horrid heat of the torrid temparature turns itself into a bearable breeze of a soothing waft. New realization opens up new doors welcoming into new frontiers. Enlightenment and evolution are constant themes in Sirivennela's poetry, which are displayed in ample measure when the character hits upon that troubling block and with the aid of sensibility finds itself venturing into the new vistas that since before has been hidden in view. The constant urge of getting better of one's senses, getting better of oneself and moving to the next level in the natural progression of a thinking mind, remaining along with the character all the time, makes Sirivennala's observation much more personal and much more evolutionary. A child prodigy who finds his mentor in the elements of nature drawing inspiration from the natural beauty of the world that is pervading all around thusly<br /><br />ee poola raagaala pulakinta gamakaalu<br />gaaraabu kavanaala gaali sangathulu<br />nee charaNa kiraNaalu palukarinchina chaalu<br />pallavinchunu prabhoo pavaLinchu bhuvaanaalu<br /><br /><br />turns more and more introspective and drawn inwards, as he comes into grips with his prowess, growing humility and turning more sensitive thusly<br /><br />aalOchanaamrutamu saahityamu <br />sahita hitasatyamu Saaradaa sthanyamu<br />saaraSwataakshra saaradhyamu <br />gnyaana saamraajyamu janma saaphalyamu<br /><br /><br />Step in step, right with the character!<br /><br />Sirivennala's lament about having to share the best song award and reward with Viswanath for giving enough operating room for the poets to toil and flourish is more a lavish praise on the director, who realizes the power of the word and gives it its due respect, lyrically.<br /><br /> Viswanath-music)<br /><br /> <br /> Part 8<br /><br />Some associations are hard to forge, while some are hard to build upon. Some associations are hard to gel while some other are hard to stick. Especially in the areas where creativity is concerned, it is particularly difficult to hold back and silence one's own input and let the talent in the other speaks out. When a director sits down with a writer (poetic or prosaic) or with any other technician, trying to explain what needs to be told in that scene, it speaks well of his wisdom and judgement to let the technician take over from that point onwards and bring in his creativity to the mix, thus enhancing the overall appearance and presentation of the output. A good director extracts the right material for his product while a great director allows the right material to flow into his product. Present the situation, provide the context, supply the inspiration, spur the imagination and allow the magic to happen. While it is not just providing the right framework to the technicians that does the job, the art of picking up the apt output, from among the rest, depends on the judiciousness of his mind and the familiarity with his material Under the tutelage of Adurti Subba Rao, who was himself a master forger of long-term friendships (with aatreya (word), K.V. Mahadevan (sound), Selvaraj (eye), Madhusudhana Rao (money), and such), K. Viswanath picked up the right cues to form the right relationships with the right people and maintained them throughout his career. With Jandhyala, Veturi, Sirivennela, Mahadevan and Illayaraja forming his stable of artists, Viswanath set out sketching the broadlines allowing the talent to fill in the finer details. [Lore has it that the phrase "telavaaredaemO swaami" (Srutilayalu) had been coined by Viswanth, who then left it in the safe hands of Sirivennela to finish off the rest.]<br /><br />From his debut movie "aatma gouravam" to Mahadevan's swan song "swati kiraNam", Viswanath's association with K.V.Mahadevan can only be paralleled, in a fitting way, by the latter's association with Viswanath's mentor, Adurti Subba Rao. Known for his meticulous rule of composing a tune only to a written lyric ("maaTa paaTaku praaNam pOyaali"), Mahadevan's work ethic matched perfectly with Viswanath's aesthetic sensibility of decorating the word with the tune. Relying purely on the beauty of the words and setting forth enhancing the beauty of it with an even simpler tune, Mahadevan's songs are known better known for how well the tune hides behind the words, allowing the listener to concentrate on what the words are trying to convey and forget about what meter and rhythm the words are set to and how well the orchestration has been arranged. It is indeed a testament for a music director who refuses to play along with the assembly line tune creation, or creating tune banks, but instead allowing the words to rouse the right passion and trigger the proper tune. Listen to the little aalapana that starts off with a female voice (P.Suseela) which marches along gracefully with the progressive steps of the veena in the first interlude of "kanchi ki pOtaava krishNammaa". Simplicity is the characteristic of Mahadevan's music. If the requirement is an outright classical piece, pick up any song of "SankaraabharaNam" and every song proves the fact above and beyond. If the requirement is outright folk, pick up the foot-tapping "Dappu" beats of "sirisiri muvva" and get swayed away by the rythm. Light music, "Subhalekha" begs to be mentioned, semi-classical, "saptapadi" stands in the front. What is interesting in all these different kinds of music is, Mahadevan did not seem to be too keen to make a mark and stamp his brand on any his creations, allowing the songs to be judged on their own merit.<br /><br />Enter Illayaraja. In the few movies that Viswanath collaborated with Illayaraja, the songs seem to retain the flavor of the maestro while adhering to the standards of Viswanath all the same. With exception to "swarNa kamalam", whose tunes were set to lyrics, the melodies of "saagara sangamam" and "chinnabbaayi" are as much popular for the tunes as they are about the words that they are set to. Consider a tune like "vae vaela gOpemmala muvva gOpaaluDae", that was decided at the end of the constant interaction between the director and the musician and later handed down to the lyricist to translate the notes (bhaavam) into a feeling (anubhooti) with the aid of a few alphabets. It is difficult in such cases to decide to whom would go the most credit - is it the music director who has come up with such a beautiful melody out of the thin air (considering, he does not have the luxury of the language yet) or is it the lyricist who has come up with the right words to fit right into the tune, embellishing the tune and extrapolating the situation or is the director who has a general idea of what he needs, in picking the right tune for the mood and right word for the tune? Now ponder on the reverse. "andela ravamidi padamuladaa, ambaramanTina hrudayamudaa". A dancer's ecstatic expression of unfettered joy flowing into the tireless pen of a thinking mind. The situation has been dictated and the words have been set. Now looking at the words and thinking about the situation, how does one come up with a tune that is both a vibration of inner senses and a celebration of soaring spirits? As the words rise from "anga bhangimalu ganga pongulai, haava bhaavamulu ningi rangulai", the tune increasingly gets more vibrant and stimulating, and when it reaches to its crescendo with "parvataalu prasarinchina pacchani prakRti aakRiti paarvati kaagaa", the notes comes down in a hurry as to observe in introspect whether it is "andela ravamidi padamuladaa, ambaramanTina hrudayamudaa". Whether it is creating a tune to the context or setting the tune to the words, Illayaraja scores, on both counts.<br /><br /> <br />One area that Illayaraja dominates (?) Mahadevan/Puhalendi in Viswanath's movies is the re-recording (background score) department. Who can ever forget the soul stirring violin melodies with mRdangam accompaniments in "saagara sangamam" that not only comment on the scenes, when Balu tries to bring her mother back to consciousness on her death-bed with his dance performance, when Madhavi recollects her favorite moments with Balu in her flashback (against a scintillating santoor score) and such. While Mahdevan/Puhalendi stuck to the traditional route and preferred to remain behind the scenes with their background scores, Illayaraja's talent spills over the screen, letting the viewer to be totally immersed in the moment, visually through the context and subliminally through the background score. One important aspect that stands out between Mahadevan and Illayaraja (scope - Viswnath's movies) was how much Viswanath/Mahadevan relied on classical music and went around modeling the scores around the traditional tunes. Each of the collaborations of Viswanath and Mahadevan would find atleast a couple of classical tunes (be it tyaagaraja swami kRthulu, ramadasu keertanalu, annamayya samkeertanalu, kshetrayya padaalu, siddhendra yogi abhinaya padaalu), which seem to be sorely missing in his works with Illayaraja, but for the occasional "bAlakanaka maya chaela sujana", "koluvai unnaaDae daeva daevuDu". As the new bride in the village, who remains quite reticent with the rest of the tattle talkers of the female group, walks up the stairs, the group muses silently to a "vayyaari muddula satya bhaamanae satyaaa bhaamane" casting angry and sarcastic darts at them. "ae teeruga nanu daya joochedavO, naa taramaa bhava saagarameedanu" laments a young lad in need of food, clothing and shelter. "mandaara makaranda maadhuryamuna daelu madhupambu bOvunae madanamulaku" the wife gently chides a greedy and a lazy husband. The keen ear of Viswanath to recollect all that he had heard till that point in his career and adapt the great wealth of literature quite adeptly to some situation in his script, talks volumes not only of the vastness of his literary reach but also his sense and taste to mould and fit them to suit his need.<br /><br /> Viswanath - longevity)a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp497y2GMhscvKKwZkfUq7NTkG0Nh06vdPUsLBqlLzb4XsPKl56VxA2w7k6lZSDFXgVWtPjBdN4YsCmCNVri7a4VPs8_PRjjpLneQae6Zfjl-odDwAtUchuTdKIzEXUxq7c9ybwOuupWo/s1600-h/io.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp497y2GMhscvKKwZkfUq7NTkG0Nh06vdPUsLBqlLzb4XsPKl56VxA2w7k6lZSDFXgVWtPjBdN4YsCmCNVri7a4VPs8_PRjjpLneQae6Zfjl-odDwAtUchuTdKIzEXUxq7c9ybwOuupWo/s320/io.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031516510967715842" /></a><br /><br /> <br /> Part 9 (last part)<br /><br />When a writer/director sets forth telling a story, he is sure to be caught up in the trappings of the box-office success formulae, swayed away by the current trends blowing in the market and get fixated on making a hit movie that would earn him another chance of finally making a movie of his choice, that is personal and satisfying. When the maker pass the buck to the audience and attribute his inability of creating a body of work that suits his passions and his tastes, to the box-office rules, current trends and hit movie-making techniques, not only does he undermine the intelligence and sensibility of the audience in accepting good movies, but also silences his own instincts betraying whatever drive and whatever enthusiasm drove him to picking up a pen and start scribbling on a blank sheet of paper; and the result, movies that are become the flavors of the week, flavors of the month, until they yield their positions to the next flavor of the week and the upcoming flavor of the month. Because a movie (for that matter, a story) is not (and need not be) a reflection of the current trends and tastes of the movie-watching public, because a movie is not (and need not be) guided by the existing standards of the society, and because a movie is not (and need not be) bound by whimsical and inconsistent rules box-office, this amazing art form has the great convenience and advantage of transcending space and time, and would be appreciated for how it struck a chord with the watcher than what it is actually about. After the huge humdrum at the box-office dies down, time remains the sole yardstick sizing up the performance of a movie, deciding if it was able to create an impact on the audience remaining in their memories long after the old trends have blown away to give way for the new ones and the formulae that were once cast in stone have been rewritten and reworked up. Longevity - the sustaining capability of a story, a character, a performance and on the whole the movie, to withstand the brutal onslaught of time and tastes on generations of audience, decide the true mettle of the movie.<br /><br />When Telugu film was just finding its way in the commercial corridors of the industry in the late seventies, (in his own words) Viswanath handed 2 coconuts one each to Veturi and Mahadevan at the launch of "SankaraabharaNam", trusting his true partners in art, believing his instincts and respecting the ability of the common man to understand and appreciate the complexities of "ucchwaasa niSwaasamulu vaayuleenaalu, spandinchu navanaaDulae veeNaa gaanaalu" and the simplicities of "aamani kOyila ilaa naa jeevana vaeNuvu loodagaa". Box-office beckoned, taste hearlded the welcome of this nouveau cinema that remained truthful to the culture, time presented an opportunity to get familiar and re-introduced with the forgotten arts. And here it is, close to three decades since the movie has come and gone - Sankara Sastry still remains an examplar of discipline and commitment, the music still remains quite fresh and evocative, the lyrics are still approachable and deep and the movie has successfully withstood the cruel breezes of the time and taste. Between the period of "SankaraabharaNam" and "saagara Sangamam", Viswanath struggled with social themes in "saptapadi" (caste discrimination), "SubhOdayam" (true awakening of the inner self) and "Subhalekha" (dowry system) built around the same construct of classical song and traditional dance. Whenever he returned to his roots of depicting an artist's personal struggle of finding an inner voice that would set him/her in peace with the world around, Viswanath met with commercial success - "saagara sangamam", "swaati mutyam", "sruti layalu", "swarNa kamalam". And in between the periods when he ventured into social themes with "swayam krushi", "sootradharulu", and the like the result remained an artistic satisfaction (in muLLapooDi's words - aardhika kaLaa khanDam). So what was it about the voice that was personal which claimed commercial success and the same tone which was voicing concerns about the society that met with lukewarm response?<br /><br />Keeping the standards of the movie - the music, the dialogues, the lyrics and the performances, the same, Viswanath personal movies had a way of holding audience's attention sympathizing with the struggle that the artist undergoes, making them identify with his pain, loss, suffering and finally his triumph and success. The mould, howevermuch, beaten and oft repeated has the advantage of being utterly sensitive to his struggles providing a unique cathartic experience when he meets success at the end. Nobody would feel bad for the loss of life of Balu at the end of "saagara sangamam", for, the audience knows that because "naasti taeshaam yasah kaaye, jaraa maraNajam bhayam" (the common rules of age and death do not apply to body of art (adulation)), Balu lives through in the art that he has successfully passed down to Sailaja. Nobody would feel cheated for the end of the life of Sankara Sastry, for he died a man in peace seeing the successful transition of his wishes, hopes and aspirations in preserving the torch of art and culture in Sankaram and the experience of watching such intensely personal stories ending on such triumphant notes, on some level, provide an opportunity to the audience to reinforce their views on their great culture and rich heritage. The social themes, howevermuch reflective of the current society, remain observational, at best, and impersonal, at worst. "sootradharulu" tackles with the subjugation and reformation of the bestial instincts in the man by instilling a voice of reason, by appealing to the sensibilities that made him a part of the society in the first place. Grappling with such a theme, and set against the typical subdued atmosphere that Viswanath's themes commonly operate under, "sootradharulu" failed to make violence more personal and identifiable whereupon when the villian character finally reforms for good, the exercise becomes an act of mere observation than identification (compare this scene to a moment in "Gandhi", when Om Puri character renounces his weapons and his ways at the fasting bed of Gandhiji throwing a piece of Chapathi at him to break his fast, Gandhiji asks why he took to weapons in the first place. Puri (character) replies that he had his 2 year old killed by the muslims and as an act of revenge he started bashing any 2 year old muslim kid that come across his ways against the walls. The moment holds on the disturbed faces of both Gandhiji and Puri. Gandhiji clears his throat and advises Puri to find a 2 year Muslim kid, whose parents have been killed in the violence, and raise him as his own kid, but raise him Muslim. Puri watches him for a couple of seconds and falls at his feat. Now the audience clearly understands the agony of Puri and the greatness of Gandhiji for such an advice. This is one of many ways of making violence personal, identifiable and reformable).<br /><br /> <br />Through a small body of work (that do not exceed 25 movies), Viswanath created a world of deeply impressionable characters occupying a world that is not set in fantasy and unrealistic ground, caring immensely about passions that resonate in them from deep within. Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao once said that there are only two makers in the industry that never shied away from their true paths, no matter the box-office pressures and producers' guidelines - one is K.Viswanath and the other R.Narayana Murthy. A successful movie is just not one that regales the audience momentarily showing them a good time and giving them their monies worth. A successful movie is one that remains with the audience for a long time, automatically extending its lifeline with the passing timelines, making them not only entertained but, more importantly, enlivened of having had the experience of walking with the maker, meeting with the characters that make the audience privileged and proud for having known them and undergoing the process of transitions and transformations that are cathartic and enriching to not just the characters themselves, but also to the audience. If success is measured on thus on a graph of time vs merit, K.Viswanath remains the one of most successful film-makers that telugu industry has ever known, who has shown the extent of a sensible mind to not just the telugu audience but also to the national and international film enthusiasts.<br /><br /> End.EelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-68956730563606568692007-02-12T02:35:00.000-08:002007-02-12T02:34:30.338-08:00కె.విశ్వనాథ్<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebknaAtklZLm8ZghC2URET9PLHeGJ0S1AyNY77Sckr_wQNnY15KkHde4Gu-53UgSRukkiBmIpSP-JRHPJAMahLyguJReqxV-lPP8OKy4tWHTR4_ZA1rrUVjAaumI1yDPeFiIwr4kHjd0/s1600-h/K_Viswanath.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebknaAtklZLm8ZghC2URET9PLHeGJ0S1AyNY77Sckr_wQNnY15KkHde4Gu-53UgSRukkiBmIpSP-JRHPJAMahLyguJReqxV-lPP8OKy4tWHTR4_ZA1rrUVjAaumI1yDPeFiIwr4kHjd0/s320/K_Viswanath.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030596039346640754" /></a><br />కె.విశ్వనాథ్<br /><br />కె.విశ్వనాథ్కళాతపస్విగా చిరపరిచితమైన పద్మశ్రీ కాశీనాధుని విశ్వనాధ్ తెలుగు సినిమా దర్శకుడు. ప్రశస్తమైన సినిమాలను సృష్టించి, తెలుగు సినిమాకు ఒక గౌరవాన్ని, గుర్తింపును తెచ్చిన వ్యక్తి, కె.విశ్వనాథ్.<br /><br />విశ్వనాథ్ 1930 లో విజయవాడ లో జన్మించాడు. చెన్నై లోని ఒక స్టూడియోలో తెక్నీషియనుగా సినిమా జీవితాన్ని మొదలుపెట్టి, ప్రముఖ దర్శకుడు ఆదుర్తి సుబ్బారావు వద్ద సహాయకుడిగా చేరాడు. అక్కినేని నాగేశ్వరరావు నాయకుడిగా నిర్మించిన ఆత్మ గౌరవం సినిమాతో విశ్వనాథ్ దర్శకుడిగా మారాడు. సిరిసిరిమువ్వ సినిమాతో ఆయన ప్రతిభ వెలుగులోకి వచ్చింది.<br /><br />విశ్వనాథ్ చలనచిత్ర జీవితంలో కలికితురాయి వంటిది శంకరాభరణం. జాతీయ పురస్కారం గెలుచుకున్న ఈ సినిమా, తెలుగు సినిమా చరిత్రలో కూడా ఒక మైలురాయి వంటిది. పాశ్చాత్య సంగీతపు హోరులో కొట్టుకుపోతున్న భారతీయ సాంప్రదాయ సంగీతానికి పూర్వవైభవాన్ని పునస్థాపించాలనే ఉద్దేశ్యాన్ని ఈ సినిమాలో ఆవిష్కరించాడు. భారతీయ సాంప్రదాయ కళలకు పట్టం కడుతూ ఆయన మరిన్ని సినిమాలు తీసాడు. వాటిలో కొన్ని సాగరసంగమం, శృతిలయలు, సిరివెన్నెల, స్వర్ణకమలం, స్వాతికిరణం మొదలైనవి.<br /><br />కుల వ్యవస్థ, వరకట్నం వంటి సామాజిక అంశాలను కూడా తీసుకుని విశ్వనాథ్ చిత్రాలు నిర్మించాడు. సప్తపది, స్వాతిముత్యం, స్వయంకృషి, శుభోదయం, శుభలేఖ, ఆపద్బాంధవుడు, శుభసంకల్పం వంటి సినిమాలు ఈ కోవలోకి వస్తాయి.<br /><br />శంకరాభరణం కు జాతీయ పురస్కారం తో పాటు సప్తపదికి జాతీయ సమగ్రతా పురస్కారం లభించింది. స్వాతిముత్యం సినిమా 1986 లో ఆస్కార్ అవార్డుకు అధికారిక ప్రవేశం పొందింది. భారతీయ సినిమాకు చేసిన సమగ్ర సేవకు గాను విశ్వనాథ్ కు భారత ప్రభుత్వం పద్మశ్రీ పురస్కారమిచ్చి గౌరవించింది.<br /><br />విశ్వనాథ్ సినిమాలలో సంగీతానికి చాలా ప్రాముఖ్యత ఉంటుంది. తన సినిమాలకు ఎక్కువగా కె.వి.మహదేవన్ నుగానీ, ఇళయరాజా ను గానీ సంగీతదర్శకులుగా ఎంచుకునేవాడు. కొన్ని సినిమాలలో పండిత హరిప్రసాద్ చౌరాసియా, కేలూచరణ్ మహాపాత్ర, షరోన్ లోవెన్ వంటి ప్రముఖ కళాకారులతో కలిసి పని చేసాడు. ప్రస్తుతం దర్శకత్వ బాధ్యతలను తగ్గించుకుని నటుడిగా ప్రేక్షకులను అలరిస్తున్నాడు.<br /><br /><br />[మార్చు] కె.విశ్వనాథ్ దర్శకత్వం వహించిన చిత్రాలు<br /> <br />తెలుగు సినిమా చరిత్రలో ఒక మైలురాయిఆత్మ గౌరవం <br />అల్లుడు పట్టిన భరతం <br />సిరి సిరి మువ్వ <br />సీతామాలక్ష్మి <br />శంకరాభరణం <br />సప్తపది <br />ఆపద్భాందవుడు <br />శృతిలయలు <br />స్వాతికిరణం <br />స్వాతిముత్యం <br />స్వర్ణకమలం <br />శుభలేఖ <br />శుభోదయం <br />శుభ సంకల్పం <br />సిరివెన్నెల <br />సాగరసంగమం <br />స్వయంకృషి <br />జననీ జన్మభూమి <br />చిన్నబ్బాయి <br />సూత్రధారులు <br />స్వరాభిషేకం <br />జీవిత నౌక <br />కాలాంతకులు <br />జీవన జ్యోతి <br />ప్రేమబంధం <br />చెల్లెలి కాపురం <br />నిండు హృదయాలు <br />చిన్ననాటి స్నేహితులు <br />ఉండమ్మా బొట్టు పెడతా <br />కలిసొచ్చిన అదృష్టం <br />ప్రైవేటు మాస్టారు <br />శారద <br />కాలం మారింది <br />ఓ సీత కధ <br /><br />[మార్చు] కె.విశ్వనాథ్ నటించిన చిత్రాలు<br />వజ్రం <br />సంతోషం <br />స్వరాభిషేకం <br />నరసింహనాయుడు <br />ఠాగూర్ <br />నీ స్నేహం <br />ద్రోహి <br />అతడుEelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-17768816091591021852007-02-12T01:56:00.000-08:002007-02-14T14:24:28.564-08:00K Viswanath movies<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVIWGUpOxNcrOoWAxBIywAMzOCCXmnPsr-7bFoKy87l_JT0eo6eaC4hV1YDFSF6ZyoJwEXJdLV3NhcsXX0eQ8X3kY4Ut2bJPSow-xYFg0tOXaE-Uy7sW2sCpcF3iOM7CYXCsNvbgNJDU/s1600-h/saptapadi.jpg"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFZWir-8ZBss0M30aihpCYCTID9LdcyUvkPCp_zv5-kqTSakj6vO2PxmZMmaxywdCESpOu2NHJt_b7vFJ2S_9OgVZg_W_eu6FfUAeeyKRgEFGe53_JAcC-BGIe7OwTNVieHIg0-PK8rk/s320/1289.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030592457343915746" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5btLaVME644HU8AXl4Wn_7cFxC6mdG1ml_FTBJHckQA32tlhs8YDZV_zSQwExKZhgcegfxgUQEMlqhSAl6N8JdT2S44aXQ_v-qtCrn3ZQqYQ50GB551oTmrlG2YkHttxzG0amMJ_DDo/s1600-h/1348.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5btLaVME644HU8AXl4Wn_7cFxC6mdG1ml_FTBJHckQA32tlhs8YDZV_zSQwExKZhgcegfxgUQEMlqhSAl6N8JdT2S44aXQ_v-qtCrn3ZQqYQ50GB551oTmrlG2YkHttxzG0amMJ_DDo/s320/1348.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030592461638883058" /></a>EelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5506713409954930603.post-5382727542965353552007-02-12T01:34:00.000-08:002007-02-08T14:38:32.108-08:00Shakeela<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGesQaGt9ieKZQlAxc52XRz6bV7CK3GQ0-UAUBNfZMYaPpnKmV9BZc-c8znXaGBVdJlexSYBVgfktZzMx7N6BSoSRUo8ZwskOuvvIpTf4zjM6YzI7bOAUSVTkO8xznmF6KmA7SvWZtrY/s1600-h/shakeela.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGesQaGt9ieKZQlAxc52XRz6bV7CK3GQ0-UAUBNfZMYaPpnKmV9BZc-c8znXaGBVdJlexSYBVgfktZzMx7N6BSoSRUo8ZwskOuvvIpTf4zjM6YzI7bOAUSVTkO8xznmF6KmA7SvWZtrY/s320/shakeela.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5030579031276148322" /></a><br />The movie 'Bhachelors' triggered the trend of semi porn films in the name of 'Youth Films'. The above named film banked on the natural instinct of college going guys to tease girls and mutter the filthy language. And, in the climax, these kinds of film deliver a message after showing all the scum.<br /><br />In the past, Malayalam film industry was known for sex films. At that point of time, IV Sasi was famous for doing these soft porn films. He made lots of films with a heroine Seema, whom he married later. IV Sasi crossed 100 films mark eight years back. Another director called S Gopala Krishna was also famous for his frequent x-rated films. Later on, a director named Shankat Nair used to mix horror with sex and make his brand mark film. In 1990 onwards, with the advent of good directors like Joshi, Shazi Kailas and Madhu, the Malayalam film industry welcome action-oriented films. Vasudeva Nair and Adoori Gopala Krishnan did terrific art films and grabbed many awards. At this point of time, Malayalam film industry over took Bengali film industry for producing good art cinema.<br /><br />In the last year, the sex movie trend rocked Malayalam Industry and the resonance is felt in Telugu movie industry through the dubbed malayali sex films. Kameswari, having Shakela, is the film that opened the floodgates for the sex movies. The dubbing right for this film was below 1 lakh. By the time the first copy was ready, the producer has spent 5 lakhs. And he made a profit of 20 lakhs in that film. <br /><br />After seeing the Kameswari success, all the B grade producers grabbed the Telugu dubbing rights of all Shakeela films released in Kerala. Kerala films producers demanded 6 lakhs a film as the dubbing right for Telugu producers. The total cost of productions escalated to 10 lakhs per film. A couple films did well, but all the other Shakeela films bombed at box office. The audiences got fed up with these films that offered no variety.<br /><br />A few Telugu producers signed Shakeela for straight Telugu sex films. Shakeela charged a lakh a day for shooting. Other Telugu producers went for alternatives like Maria, Swetha, Reshma and Anuradha. All these films revolve around a single point. The wife goes for extramarital affair when the husband fails to satisfy her sexual needs. The theater owners also insert some independent sexually implicit scenes pictured on some other actors in the screening to spice it up. But in the present scenario, where they can see Mtv Grind and FTV on TV every night, there are no takers for this sex films anymore.<br /><br />The hottest sex super star turns in to damp squib in a span of a year, because of over exposure.EelveEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04343357520043384445noreply@blogger.com0