Star Profiles
Kala Thapasvi Dr. K. Viswanath
By Srinivas Chundi
Sep 12, 2002, 16:16
Kala Thapasvi Dr. K. Viswanath
-By SRINIVAS CHUNDI
vishwanath
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We at telugucinema.com thank Sri Srinivas Manohar chundi for giving the article - Sri.
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Swarna Kamalam
(2): Swarna Kamalam
Banner : Bhanu Art creations
Director: K.Viswanath
Producer: K.Benarji
Year of the Release: 1988
Box-Office Result: Average
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.
Banner : Bhanu Art creations
Director: K.Viswanath
Producer: K.Benarji
Year of the Release: 1988
Box-Office Result: Average
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.
Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam
Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam
Jun 6, 2006, 04:57
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.
swathimuthyam
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema.
- Sridhar
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Jun 6, 2006, 04:57
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.
swathimuthyam
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema.
- Sridhar
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam
Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam
Jun 6, 2006, 04:57
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.
swathimuthyam
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema.
- Sridhar
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Jun 6, 2006, 04:57
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.
swathimuthyam
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema.
- Sridhar
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam
Swathi Muthyam --- Oka Aaani Muthyam
Jun 6, 2006, 04:57
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.
swathimuthyam
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema.
- Sridhar
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Jun 6, 2006, 04:57
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.
swathimuthyam
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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
All in all, a great movie, worth storing for the connoisseurs of telugucinema.
- Sridhar
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Sirisirimuvva (1976)
Sirisirimuvva (1976)
Jan 18, 2006, 00:07
Sirisirimuvva (1976)
Technical:
35 MM
Eastman Color
Cast:
Chandramohan ... Sambayya
Jayaprada ... Hyma
Satyanarayana ... Hyma's father
Devadas ... Bhadram
J.V. Ramanamurthy ... Temple priest
'Sakshi' Rangarao ... Dance master
Allu Ramalingayya (Guest) ... Producer
Ramaprabha ... Hyma's step-mother
Niramalamma
Phanikumari
Baby Varalakshmi
N.D. Lakshmi
Kavita (debut) ... Savitri
Ankineedu Prasad
Rambabu
Jitmohan Mitra
Lakshminarasapuram Raja
Story, Screenplay: K. Viswanath
Dialogues: Veturi Sundararamamurthy, Jandhyala
Lyrics: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Music: K.V. Mahadevan
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela, Pattabhi
Concept Designer: Jayakrishna
Operative Cameraman: S. Gopal Reddy
Camera Assistants: Sarath, M.V. Raghu
Associate Director: Munjuluri Bheemeshwara Rao
Choreography: Pasumarthy
Art: Thota
Assistant: Thota Tharani
Production Executive: Edida Nageswara Rao
Camera: V.S.R. Swamy
Producers: Karri Lacchireddy, N. Bhaskar Reddy, N. Chinaveerraju
Direction: K. Viswanath
Songs:
oorEgina vaaDE... maavoori dEvuDammaa challanga mammElu raamuDammaa
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Pattabhi
Cast: Chandramohan
jhummandi naadam sayyandi paadam tanuvoogindi eevELa chelarEgindi oka raasaleela
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
andaaniki andam ee puttaDibomma andarikee andanidi poochina komma
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: Chandramohan
raa digiraa divi nunchi bhuviki digiraa
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: Chandramohan
evarikevaru ee lokamlO evariki eruka! yE daareTu pOtOndO evarinee aDagaka
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
neelamEgha sariraa
Playback: P. Susheela
Cast: Kavita
bhavabandhaalanu tenchi bahudooraMgaa visirESaaree vittanaanni
odigunna pilupu oka gontulone palikindi
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
gajje ghallumanTunTE gunDe jhallumanTundi gunDe jhallumanTunTE kavita velluvautundi
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
pilichaanu eduTa nilichaanu kOri kOri ninnE valachaanu
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
gOdaarallE venneTlO gOdaarallE
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
Story:
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.
About the film:
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).
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!).
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!
Chandramohan shares his experience with TC:
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.
Edida Nageswara Rao speaks:
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.
by Sri sriatluri@yahoo.com
compiled and Edited by Nachaki
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Jan 18, 2006, 00:07
Sirisirimuvva (1976)
Technical:
35 MM
Eastman Color
Cast:
Chandramohan ... Sambayya
Jayaprada ... Hyma
Satyanarayana ... Hyma's father
Devadas ... Bhadram
J.V. Ramanamurthy ... Temple priest
'Sakshi' Rangarao ... Dance master
Allu Ramalingayya (Guest) ... Producer
Ramaprabha ... Hyma's step-mother
Niramalamma
Phanikumari
Baby Varalakshmi
N.D. Lakshmi
Kavita (debut) ... Savitri
Ankineedu Prasad
Rambabu
Jitmohan Mitra
Lakshminarasapuram Raja
Story, Screenplay: K. Viswanath
Dialogues: Veturi Sundararamamurthy, Jandhyala
Lyrics: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Music: K.V. Mahadevan
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela, Pattabhi
Concept Designer: Jayakrishna
Operative Cameraman: S. Gopal Reddy
Camera Assistants: Sarath, M.V. Raghu
Associate Director: Munjuluri Bheemeshwara Rao
Choreography: Pasumarthy
Art: Thota
Assistant: Thota Tharani
Production Executive: Edida Nageswara Rao
Camera: V.S.R. Swamy
Producers: Karri Lacchireddy, N. Bhaskar Reddy, N. Chinaveerraju
Direction: K. Viswanath
Songs:
oorEgina vaaDE... maavoori dEvuDammaa challanga mammElu raamuDammaa
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Pattabhi
Cast: Chandramohan
jhummandi naadam sayyandi paadam tanuvoogindi eevELa chelarEgindi oka raasaleela
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
andaaniki andam ee puttaDibomma andarikee andanidi poochina komma
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: Chandramohan
raa digiraa divi nunchi bhuviki digiraa
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: Chandramohan
evarikevaru ee lokamlO evariki eruka! yE daareTu pOtOndO evarinee aDagaka
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
neelamEgha sariraa
Playback: P. Susheela
Cast: Kavita
bhavabandhaalanu tenchi bahudooraMgaa visirESaaree vittanaanni
odigunna pilupu oka gontulone palikindi
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
gajje ghallumanTunTE gunDe jhallumanTundi gunDe jhallumanTunTE kavita velluvautundi
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
pilichaanu eduTa nilichaanu kOri kOri ninnE valachaanu
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
gOdaarallE venneTlO gOdaarallE
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chandramohan, Jayaprada
Story:
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.
About the film:
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).
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!).
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!
Chandramohan shares his experience with TC:
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.
Edida Nageswara Rao speaks:
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.
by Sri sriatluri@yahoo.com
compiled and Edited by Nachaki
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Retrospect: Subhalekha 1982
Retrospect: Subhalekha 1982
Feb 7, 2006, 06:00
Prashanti Creations
Subhalekha (1982)
Technical Details:
35 mm
Color
Reels: 15
Duration: 2 hrs 20 minutes
Censor Date: June 03, 1982
Release Date: June 11, 1982
Cast:
Chiranjeevi ... Narasimha Murthy
Sumalatha ... Sujatha
J.V. Ramana Murthy ... Jagannatham
K. Satyanarayana ... Ankela Adiseshayya
Tulasi ... Lakshmi
Girish ... Mohan
Hemasundar ... Bhattu
Jitmohan Mitra ... Keshava Rao
Ch. Krishnamurthy ... Srinivasa Rao
Nirmalamma ... Narasimha Murthy's grandmother
Potti Prasad ... Subba Rao
Pushpakumari ... Sujatha's mother
Rallapalli ... Gurnadham
Vankayala ... Challeshwara Rao
Subhalekha Sudhakar (debut) ... Murali
Arun (debut) ... Rao
Allu Ramalingayya (guest) ... Lawyer Chillara Bhavani Sankaram
Anupama, Baburao, Dham, Ganeshwara Rao, Krishna Chaitanya, Malini, Phani, Sakshi Rangarao, Srinivas
Dialogues: Gollapudi Maruthi Rao
Photography: Lok Singh
Operative Cameraman: Sharath
Editing: G.G. Krishna Rao
Art: Thota Tarani
Choreography (Dances): Parupalli V Seshu
Music: K.V. Mahadevan
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela, S.P. Sailaja, S. Janaki, Purnachadnra Rao
Lyrics: Tallapaka Annamacharya, Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Producer: Allu Aravind, V.V. Sastry
Story, Screenplay, Direction: K. Viswanath
Songs:
vinnapaalu vinavale vintavintalu
Lyric: Tallapaka Annamacharya
Playback: S. Janaki
Cast: None (Titles song)
OhO taddhimi takajhaNu
Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S. Janaki, Purnachadnra Rao
Cast: Chiranjeevi
neyyamulallO nErELLO, oyyana ooreDi uvviLLO
Lyric: Tallapaka Annamacharya
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: Chiranjeevi
raagaala pallakilO kOyilamma raalEdu eevELa endukammaa?
Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chiranjeevi, Sumalatha
sarvadaa Sreekaram dEvI (verse)
Playback: S. Janaki
Cast: Sumalatha
nee jaDa kucchulu naa meDakucchulu kanuka
Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, S.P. Sailaja
Cast: Subhalekha Sudhakar, Tulasi
marugElaraa O raaghavaa
Playback: S.P. Sailaja
Cast: Chiranjeevi, Sumalatha
aitE adi nijamaitE adE nijamaitE
Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, S.P.Sailaja
Cast: Chiranjeevi
Story:
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?
Subhalekha Sudhakar speaks:
Subhalekha Sudhakar
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.
About the film:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Acknowledgements : Sri Subhaleka Sudhakar
Editied and compiled by Nachaki
Comments: The film has Menu with Play movie, Songs and Chapters menu. Released through SV Entertainers. Available at www.southindiandvd.com
By Sri
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
Feb 7, 2006, 06:00
Prashanti Creations
Subhalekha (1982)
Technical Details:
35 mm
Color
Reels: 15
Duration: 2 hrs 20 minutes
Censor Date: June 03, 1982
Release Date: June 11, 1982
Cast:
Chiranjeevi ... Narasimha Murthy
Sumalatha ... Sujatha
J.V. Ramana Murthy ... Jagannatham
K. Satyanarayana ... Ankela Adiseshayya
Tulasi ... Lakshmi
Girish ... Mohan
Hemasundar ... Bhattu
Jitmohan Mitra ... Keshava Rao
Ch. Krishnamurthy ... Srinivasa Rao
Nirmalamma ... Narasimha Murthy's grandmother
Potti Prasad ... Subba Rao
Pushpakumari ... Sujatha's mother
Rallapalli ... Gurnadham
Vankayala ... Challeshwara Rao
Subhalekha Sudhakar (debut) ... Murali
Arun (debut) ... Rao
Allu Ramalingayya (guest) ... Lawyer Chillara Bhavani Sankaram
Anupama, Baburao, Dham, Ganeshwara Rao, Krishna Chaitanya, Malini, Phani, Sakshi Rangarao, Srinivas
Dialogues: Gollapudi Maruthi Rao
Photography: Lok Singh
Operative Cameraman: Sharath
Editing: G.G. Krishna Rao
Art: Thota Tarani
Choreography (Dances): Parupalli V Seshu
Music: K.V. Mahadevan
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela, S.P. Sailaja, S. Janaki, Purnachadnra Rao
Lyrics: Tallapaka Annamacharya, Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Producer: Allu Aravind, V.V. Sastry
Story, Screenplay, Direction: K. Viswanath
Songs:
vinnapaalu vinavale vintavintalu
Lyric: Tallapaka Annamacharya
Playback: S. Janaki
Cast: None (Titles song)
OhO taddhimi takajhaNu
Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S. Janaki, Purnachadnra Rao
Cast: Chiranjeevi
neyyamulallO nErELLO, oyyana ooreDi uvviLLO
Lyric: Tallapaka Annamacharya
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
Cast: Chiranjeevi
raagaala pallakilO kOyilamma raalEdu eevELa endukammaa?
Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
Cast: Chiranjeevi, Sumalatha
sarvadaa Sreekaram dEvI (verse)
Playback: S. Janaki
Cast: Sumalatha
nee jaDa kucchulu naa meDakucchulu kanuka
Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, S.P. Sailaja
Cast: Subhalekha Sudhakar, Tulasi
marugElaraa O raaghavaa
Playback: S.P. Sailaja
Cast: Chiranjeevi, Sumalatha
aitE adi nijamaitE adE nijamaitE
Lyric: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Playback: S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, S.P.Sailaja
Cast: Chiranjeevi
Story:
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?
Subhalekha Sudhakar speaks:
Subhalekha Sudhakar
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.
About the film:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Acknowledgements : Sri Subhaleka Sudhakar
Editied and compiled by Nachaki
Comments: The film has Menu with Play movie, Songs and Chapters menu. Released through SV Entertainers. Available at www.southindiandvd.com
By Sri
© Copyright by Telugucinema.com
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