Mayabazar to Andhra state: Why the 1950s were the golden age for Telugu cinema
Mythology and folklore flourish
Mythologicals and folklores continued their successful march in this decade. As the demand for films increased, film-makers realized they could remake the same films with improved cinematic techniques. Many mythologicals that were produced in the first two talkie decades, with actors from drama troupes and limited technical know-how, were remade in this decade using better technologies. Many socials and historicals (period films) were also produced.
With the war behind them, the film industry picked up steam and around 250 films were produced.
With the number of films increasing towards the end of the decade, 1960 closed with the release of 33 films. The films produced in the 1950s showed maturity in terms of storylines, direction, acting, music and choreography. Vijaya Productions, Vauhini Productions, Annapurna Pictures, Vinoda Pictures, Sarathi Studios and NAT Films produced some memorable movies.
The increased production of films in this decade also resulted in reliance on formulas. Bapu–Ramana, renowned director and writer duo, while writing a review of Anjali Pictures’ Suvarna Sundari (1957), called it a "box office sutrala peddabalasiksha", an encyclopedia of box-office principles.
Vijaya Productions’ Patala Bhairavi (1951) was the most successful folklore film in this decade. Vauhini’s Malleswari (1951) remains one of the few acclaimed historicals in Telugu cinema. Other notable mythological and folklore films produced in the 1950s include Vijaya Productions’ Mayabazar (1957), NAT’s Panduranga Mahatyam (1957), Anjali Pictures’ Suvarna Sundari (1957), AVM’s Bhookailas (1958), Sharada’s Jayabheri (1959), Padmasri Pictures’ Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam (1960) and Vauhini’s Rajamakutam (1960).
Patala Bhairavi, directed by KV Reddy, reinvented the beaten folklore genre. The film is about a gardener’s son falling in love with the princess of Ujjaini. He gets caught by the palace guards while attempting to make his way to the princess’s chambers in the middle of the night. The benevolent king releases him, consenting to give his daughter in marriage if he returns with riches. In his efforts, the hero gets trapped by a sorcerer who wants to attain great power.
The hero realises the sorcerer’s intentions, kills him and returns to the kingdom with riches. The sorcerer comes back to life and abducts the princess. In the end, the hero kills the sorcerer and saves the princess.
This film turned NTR into a star. The hero’s characterisation in this film was very novel for the time. Despite being a commoner, the hero displays amazing command over his own circumstances and in wooing the princess. This characterisation of the hero can be seen as the precursor of later hero-centric films. Pingali Nagendra Rao’s dialogues and songs for this film set a new trend. Dialogues like "Sahasam seyara dimbaka", "Naruda yemi ni korika", "Mosam guru" and gibberish like "Aye bulbul", "Aye dingiri" set new benchmarks in dialogue writing.
The film ran for 100 days and had several successful re-releases. The spectacular returns from this film are said to have helped in the expansion of Vauhini Studios.
Malleswari, directed by BN Reddy, is a semi-historical film set in the times of the Vijayanagara king, Krishnadevaraya. The film is about a young man and woman in love who cannot get married as the man is poor.
The protagonist goes in search of wealth and comes back a rich man to find out that his beloved has been moved to the king’s palace. The distraught protagonist takes to sculpting in the palace. There he meets his beloved secretly but gets caught by the soldiers. Krishnadevaraya gets to know about their love story and the film ends with him blessing the couple.
BN Reddy is said to have consulted Mallampalli Somashekara Sharma, a renowned historian and epigraphist, for accurate visual conceptualisation of those times. The art director for this film, AK Shekar, is said to have worked on the sketches of the sets for almost two years.
BN Reddy also persuaded well-known poet Devulapalli Krishna Sastry to work on this project. The film, starring NTR and Bhanumathi, was a box-office success, besides getting critical approval.
KV Reddy’s Mayabazar will undoubtedly rank among the favourite films of any Telugu film connoisseur. This film revolves around the antics of the Mahabharata character Ghatotkacha.
The rakshasa with his magical powers intervenes on behalf of the Pandavas to ensure that the marriage of Abhimanyu and Shashirekha proceeds smoothly. The film ends with Ghatotkacha punishing the Kauravas with the blessings of Krishna. Pingali Nagendra Rao’s pen created unforgettable lyrics and dialogues for this film.
KV Reddy’s remarkable skill in storytelling and characterisation was demonstrated once again through this film.
KV Reddy is said to have insisted that NTR play the role of Krishna in this film. NTR himself was not keen because two earlier films in which he had acted as Krishna had failed at the box office.
But KV Reddy had taken special care in visualising Krishna and the role elevated NTR to demigod status. The costumes used for Krishna in this film have become the industry standard. From then on, Telugu audiences would not accept anyone other than NTR in the role of Krishna. The industry’s best names were involved in all stages and at all levels of Mayabazar, making it an all-time favourite of Telugu film audiences.
The success of NAT Films’ Panduranga Mahatyam established both the banner, owned by NTR, and the director Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam, directed by P Pullaiah, is still remembered for the song "Seshasaila vasa srivenkatesa".
This song, written by Athreya, composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao and sung by Ghantasala, continues to be played from the loudspeakers in temples even today.
"Socials" make their mark
While mythologicals and folklores were flourishing in this decade, socials too were finding a place in the sun. Many socials produced in this decade were adaptations of stage plays and novels. Vijaya Productions’ Pelli Chesi Choodu (1952) and Missamma (1955), Vinoda Pictures’ Devadasu (1953), Raja Productions’ Puttillu (1953), Vauhini Productions’ Peddamanushulu (1954), Sarathi’s Rojulu Marayi (1955), Ragini’s Ardhangi (1955), Annapurna Pictures’ Donga Ramudu (1955) and Todi Kodallu (1957) were notable socials in this decade with most of them performing well at the box office.
Vedantam Raghavaiah’s Devadasu for Vinoda Pictures emerged as the dark horse. For the first time in Telugu cinema, a dance director had turned film director, and many were sceptical about this move. Belying all such doubts, the film emerged a clear winner. The film is a screen adaptation of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novel Devdas, with some modifications to meet Telugu tastes.
This film launched ANR, known as a folk hero till then, as a hero of social films. The music director of this film, CR Subbaraman, died midway through the film’s production; the remaining work was completed by Subbaraman’s assistant MS Vishwanathan.
Missamma, directed by LV Prasad, is one of the all-time hits of Telugu cinema. In the film, a zamindar’s elder daughter gets lost in the tumult of a festival. She gets raised as Mary by a Christian couple. The zamindar, who is running a school in the name of his lost daughter, advertises the requirement of a teacher couple. Mary and Rao agree to act as a married couple to get these jobs. This lands them in trouble.
After many interesting twists, the zamindar and his family realise that Mary is their lost daughter and get her married to Rao. Pingali wrote the dialogues and songs for the movie, another feather in his cap after Patala Bhairavi and Mayabazar.
SV Ranga Rao, NTR, Savitri and ANR competed for attention with splendid performances. This film stands as testimony to the directorial abilities of LV Prasad. Savitri emerged as the leading heroine after this film. It was remade successfully in Tamil by Vijaya Productions as Missiamma and in Hindi as Miss Mary by AVM Studios.
Formation of Andhra state
The Andhra State Bill was passed in the Madras Legislative Assembly, paving the way for the formation of Andhra state on 1 November 1953 with Kurnool as capital. After three years, on the basis of the States Reorganisation Act 1956, the new state was formed by including the Telangana districts. On November 1, 1956, Andhra Pradesh state came into existence with Hyderabad as the new capital.
The Telugu film industry, which was firmly established in Madras by the 1950s, showed little interest in these developments. The Telugus built studios in Madras, and all actors and technicians had settled down in Madras by then. So, neither the formation of Andhra state nor that of Andhra Pradesh state excited them enough to shift their base.
Calls by a few for shifting the base to Hyderabad went largely unheeded. However, the formation of Andhra Pradesh opened up a new market for Telugu films in the Telangana region. This helped in the expansion of the industry in future decades.
The new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, gave a call for relocating the Telugu film industry to Hyderabad. Sarathi Studio was set up in 1959 in response to this call. The studio did not do well as there were no takers for their facilities. All film shootings continued in Madras till the middle of the 1960s, when some interventions were made by the government to attract the industry to Hyderabad.
Adaptations continue
Telugu film-makers continued to be inspired by literature and world cinema in this decade as well. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) began in 1952 in Bombay. This festival subsequently travelled to Madras, Calcutta and Delhi.
For the first time the Indian film industry was exposed to a vast range in world cinema. The festival had entries from 23 countries, and it exposed the industry to postwar films like Bicycle Thieves (1948), Miracle in Milan (1951) and Rome, Open City (1945). Technicians and personnel at all levels of film-making became aware of exceptional films from Italy, the US, Russia, Japan and the UK. This left a deep impact on them.
The influence of Bengali novels and films was also high in this decade. Many Telugu writers translated works from Bengali literature, especially those of Saratchandra and Rabindranath Tagore, between the years 1930 and 1970. Film writer Vempati Sadasivabramham was known for drawing his stories from Bengali literature.
Bapu–Ramana wrote a satirical piece titled "Chether–Chederer (Picking Scrap) on Madrasi producers" love for Bengali stories in the film magazine Jyothi. The cartoon for this write-up, titled "Pather Dhooli", is a pun on concepts like "padha dhooli" (sacred dust from the feet) and meli musugu (head scarf/ghoongat) adopted by Telugu film-makers from Bengali literature.
Patala Bhairavi is said to be inspired by the Arabian Nights stories but it was given a local flavour by Pingali Nagendra Rao who fashioned it on the lines of stories in Kasi Majili Kathalu, a series of short stories, apparently told during breaks on a journey to Kashi, known for their wit and humour.
Pasher Bari (1952), a successful Bengali film, was remade in Telugu by East India Films, Calcutta, as Pakkinti Ammayi (1953). C Pullaiah, who was associated with East India films for a long time, directed this movie starring Relangi. Amarasandesam (1954) was inspired by the Hindi film Baiju Bawra (1952). Missamma was based on two Bengali novels, Monmoy Girls School and Detective, both translated by Chakrapani into Telugu. Ghantasala Balaramaiah’s Rechukka (1954) was inspired by the film The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951).
Kanyasulkam (1955) was based on the popular play by Gurajada Apparao.
BN Reddy’s award-winning film Bangaru Papa (1955) is a loose adaptation of George Eliot’s Silas Marner. The award-winning short-story writer Palagummi Padmaraju worked on the story and screenplay of this film. Ardhangi (1955) is based on Manik Bandopadhyaya’s Bengali story "Swayamsiddha".
Todi Kodallu (1957) is based on Saratchandra’s Bengali novel Nishkriti and Mangalyabalam (1959) on Ashapurna Devi’s Bengali novel Agni Pareeksha. Palagummi Padmaraju’s stage play Shantinivasam was made into a film by the same name in 1960.
The men behind Vijaya productions
Under the able guidance of B Nagi Reddy and Chakrapani, Vijaya Productions was the most successful of all film production companies in this decade.
Their creative team, comprising Pingali Nagendra Rao as writer, Marcus Bartley as cinematographer, Madhavapeddi Gokhale as art director, Ghantasala as music director and Pasumarthi Krishnamurthy as dance director, represented the best of Telugu cinema.
Their organisational structure was developed on the lines of Hollywood studios. All these people were hired on a monthly salary basis. They came to the studio in the morning like employees of any other organisation and signed the entry register.
Vijaya Productions also hired key people on a contract basis. They hired NTR on contract for four films when he was cast in Patala Bhairavi; Ghantasala was hired for five films. Vauhini Studios, where the Vijaya Productions’ movies were mostly shot, used to have a complete orchestra and a conductor.
Master Venu headed the orchestra in Vauhini Studios for a long time before he became a music director. The studio system provided some stability to the business of film-making by allowing the enterprise to take risks with a portfolio of films. Chakrapani was the pen name of Aluru Venkata Subba Rao.
He became a close friend of B Nagi Reddy while working as writer for Vauhini Productions’ Swargaseema. Chakrapani was well versed in Hindi and Bengali. There is an interesting anecdote about how he learned Bengali. He was suffering from tuberculosis, so he was admitted to the TB sanatorium in Madanapalle.
There he learned to read and write in Bengali from a fellow patient in three months. Later, he translated many Bengali literary works into Telugu, including Saratchandra’s Devdas. After joining B Nagi Reddy, Chakrapani edited Andhra Jyothi, Yuva and Chandamama for BNK Press. When Vijaya Productions was launched, their first film Shavukaru was based on a story written by Chakrapani.
The film’s credit for producer was given as Nagi Reddy–Chakrapani, a practice that continued for all Vijaya Productions till Chakrapani’s demise. Story, dialogue and direction-related matters were handled by Chakrapani while Nagi Reddy handled production and logistical issues.
KV Reddy aka Kadiri Venkata Reddy hailed from Tadipatri in Anantapur district. He did his BSc from Presidency College, Madras. A friend of Moola Narayanaswamy, one of the main financiers of Vauhini Productions, he was invited by Narayanaswamy to join Vauhini Productions as a production executive. With that experience, he directed Bhakta Pothana for Vauhini in 1942. The film was a big hit and he never looked back. His films for Vijaya Productions – Patala Bhairavi, Mayabazar and Jagadeka Veeruni Katha (1961) – are all-time hits in the film industry and brought fame to the banner.
Pingali Nagendra Rao literally scripted the glory of Vijaya Productions. He created many new characters and coined new words, which became part of the Telugu lexicon. Some of his dialogues and songs have become proverbs in the Telugu language. The man who wrote the lyrics "Avunante kadanile, kadante avunanile/adavari matalaku arthale verule arthale verule" (Yes means no, no means yes, women’s words always mean something else)" was an avowed bachelor.
Marcus Bartley started working for Telugu films with Vauhini’s Swargaseema. He joined Vijaya Productions and was director of cinematography for their films from Shavukaru to Gundamma Katha (1962).
His camerawork in Swargaseema received critical acclaim; the picturisation for the song "Oho ho Pavurama" was spectacular. His work in Mayabazar, especially in filming the songs "Lahiri lahiri lahiri lo" and "Vivaha bojanambu", is legendary.
Madhavapeddi Gokhale and Kaladhar were with Vijaya from the very beginning. Gokhale, who was working with Chandamama Publications as an artist, joined Vijaya Productions when it was launched in 1949. Kaladhar was introduced to Vijaya by LV Prasad when he directed Shavukaru. They worked together for Vijaya Productions for 20 years.
Pasumarthi Krishnamurthy came from a traditional Kuchipudi family from Kuchipudi village in Krishna district. He worked as the dance director for almost all Vijaya Productions’ films starting from Shavukaru to Sri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club (1976).
Andhra Prajanatya Mandali,
Abhyudaya Rachaithala Sangham
The Progressive Writers’ Association was formed at an all India level in 1936 to propagate socialist ideas. The first annual conference of the association in Andhra Pradesh, Abhyudaya Rachaithala Sangham, was held in Tenali in 1943 under the leadership of Tapi Dharma Rao. Andhra Prajanatya Mandali (People’s Theatre), a cultural wing of the Andhra Communist Party, was also formed in 1943 on the lines of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). The Andhra unit of IPTA used many folk forms to successfully propagate their ideology.
The activities of the Prajanatya Mandali peaked during the Telangana People’s Armed Struggle, 1946–51. Post-Independence, the central government was worried about the growing popularity of communists in Andhra and cracked down on them. In 1948, the government banned the Communist Party and all its front organisations; large-scale repression was unleashed.
Writers and artists who had strong party affiliations went underground and some of them were killed. The army entered Hyderabad to integrate the nizam’s dominion with the union of India but stayed back to tackle the communists. The most popular play of the Prajanatya Mandali, Ma Bhoomi, written by Sunkara and Vasireddi was banned by the government.
The increased surveillance on the Communist Party and its sister organisations is said to have forced some of their members to take refuge in the film industry located in Madras.
Many members of the Prajanatya Mandali and Abhyudaya Rachaithala Sangham moved to the film industry in a big way in this decade, especially in the years 1949 and 1950. Sri Sri, Arudra, Sunkara, Vasireddy, Athreya and Anisetty are some of the notable writers and lyricists associated with the Progressive Writers’ Association in some capacity.
Chadalavada Kutumba Rao and Vallam Narasimha Rao from the Andhra Prajanatya Mandali were hired by LV Prasad for the film Shavukaru. Dr Garikapati Raja Rao, DV Narasaraju, Mikkilineni Radhakrishnamurthy, Koduri Achayya, Perumallu, B Gopalam, Allu Ramalingaiah and a few others associated with the Prajyanatya Mandali entered the film industry. While C Mohandas and T Chalapathi Rao settled as music directors, Pratyagatma became a director.
This influx of Left-leaning talent brought in some progressive ideas into films. But their presence did not radically alter the course of film production or the film industry. They were eventually absorbed by the film industry – on industry terms – and they too became cogs in commercial enterprises. Artistic efforts like Dr Garikapati Raja Rao’s Puttillu (1953) also incurred huge financial losses, forcing the others to play safe.
The film song matures
After two decades of experimentation, the Telugu film song picked up steam and displayed its versatility. Everything fell into place – lyricists wrote good lyrics with literary value, composers did a splendid job with orchestration, playback singers rendered soulful songs and the technological developments supported all this. The result – the golden era of Telugu film songs began. This decade defined and set standards for the film song. Melodies from the 1950s and ’60s are being repackaged and sold in multiple ways even today.
Lyricists Malladi Ramakrishna Sastry, Pingali Nagendra Rao, Devulapalli Krishna Sastry and Kosaraju Raghavaiah Chowdary enriched Telugu film songs. Arudra, Sri Sri and Athreya made decent debuts. Many of them were already poets, playwrights and writers with established credentials; they were also products of an active public life.
Pingali participated in the freedom struggle and had the experience of working in publishing and with theatre before entering films. Devulapalli was in the vanguard of the new literary movement in Telugu, Kosaraju was associated with the Non-Brahmin Movement and peasant struggles and Sri Sri was part of the Progressive Writers’ Association.
With such diverse backgrounds, skills and abilities they penned glorious songs. There are numerous good songs from this decade and recounting a few for the sake of getting a flavour may be a worthwhile exercise.
Krishna Sastry’s "Manasuna mallela malaloogene" for Malleswari became a superhit. As did Pingali’s songs for Patala Bhairavi, Missamma and Mayabazar – "Kalavaramaye madilo", "Premakosami valalopadina papam pasivadu" (Patala Bhairavi), "Ravoi chandamama e vintha gatha vinuma", "Avunante kadanile", "Kadante avunanile" (Missamma), "Lahiri lahiri lahiri lo", "Vivaha bojanambu", "Neevena nanu thalachinadi" (Mayabazar).
His songs "Vinave bala na prema gola" in Patala Bhairavi and "Aha na pelliyanta" in Mayabazar have a humorous touch, while "Sitaram sitaram" in Missamma satirises trends in contemporary society.
Samudrala Raghavacharya’s songs for Devadasu – "Jagame maya", "Antha branthiyena", "Kudi yedamaithe" and "Palleku podam parunu chooddam" – became a rage and remain popular even today. Some suspect that these songs were written by Malladi Ramakrishna Sastry but were passed off as the senior Samudrala’s.
Malladi’s "Raagamayi rave" in Jayabheri and "Kanupapa karuvaina kanulendu ko" in Chiranjjeevulu (1956) attest to his writing abilities. Kosaraju Raghavaiah Chowdary’s "Yeruvaka sagero ranno chinnanna" for Rojulu Marayi was such a big hit that it gave life to the film itself.
Waheeda Rehman who was cast as a dancer in this song became popular and was spotted by Guru Dutt. In fact, legendary music composer SD Burman used the song as a template for the superhit Asha Bhosle number, "Dekhne mein bhola hai, dil ka salona" in Bambai Ka Babu (1960).
Other standouts include Samudrala Junior’s "Jayakrishna mukunda murari" in Panduranga Mahatyam, Sri Sri’s "Aakasa veedhilo andala jabili" in Mangalyabalam and Athreya’s "Sheshasailavasa srivenkatesa" for Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam.
The leading composers of the decade include Saluri Rajeswara Rao, Ghantasala, TV Raju, Pendyala Nageswara Rao, CR Subbaraman and Master Venu. Ghantasala, Rao Bala Saraswathi, P Leela and Jikki were popular playback singers. Ghantasala and Leela emerged as the most sought-after pair for duets. PB Srinivas and Suseela joined them towards the end of the decade.
Dance choreography picked up steam with the entry of newcomers like Pasumarthi Krishnamurthy and Vempati Peda Satyam. A choreographer became part of the core production team in this decade. Pasumarthi’s choreography for Malleswari, Missamma and Mayabazar received appreciation.
Vempati Peda Satyam’s choreography for Panduranga Mahatyam and Jayabheri is notable. Vedantam Jagannadha Sharma, Gopinath and Gopalakrishnan were other notable choreographers in this decade.
(Excerpted with permission from HarperCollins Publishers India.)