''Adavi Ramudu'' () is a 1977 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

-language

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. The film stars

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister o ...

, Jayaprada and

Jayasudha Jayasudha Kapoor (born Sujatha Nidudavolu), known mononyomusly as Jayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She has also worked in few Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Known ...

, with supporting roles played by Nagabhushanam, Satyanarayana, Gummadi and

Jaggayya Kongara Jaggayya (31 December 1926 – 5 March 2004) was an Indian actor, littérateur, journalist, lyricist, dubbing artist and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He was known as ''Kanchu Kantam Ja ...

. The film was edited by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan and cinematography by A. Vincent. Released on 28 April 1977, ''Adavi Ramudu'' received positive reviews and became an ''Industry'' ''Hit'', running for 366 days in theatres. It won the

Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu The Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The award was first given in 1964 for films released around 1963. Here is a list of the award winners an ...

and re-established N. T. Rama Rao as a leading star in Telugu cinema. The film was a major breakthrough for director K. Raghavendra Rao, helping him gain prominence in the industry. It was the highest-grossing Telugu film of the 1970s until the record was surpassed by '' Premabhisekham'' in 1981.

Plot

Dharma Raju and his son Nagaraju run a smuggling and illegal transport racket of forest produce. Ramu opposes and raises the villagers to fight against him. Padma who is the daughter of forest officer loves him. One tribal lady Chilakamma also loves Ramu as a brother. Dharma Raju takes the help of one Jaggu to send Ramu away from the forest. The second half of the film reveals that Ramu is, in fact, a forest officer in a secret mission to investigate the case of forest affairs. The story finally leads to the arrest of all criminals.

Cast

as Ramu * Jayaprada as Padma *

as Chilakamma * Nagabhushanam as Dharmaraju * Satyanarayana as Nagaraju * Gummadi as Raja Shekaram *

* Raja Babu as Bheemanna *

Sridhar Sridhar is a given name that is also sometimes used as a surname. Notable people with this name include: *Sridhar (actor), Indian actor in the Kannada film industry *Anup Sridhar, badminton player *C. V. Sridhar, screenwriter and film director *Sri ...

as Jaggu * Mallikarjuna Rao * Mada *

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (18 September 1928 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted ...

Rama Prabha Rama Prabha is an Indian actress who performs in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. She has acted in more than 1,400 films and is credited as a character artist who shared screen space with superstars across most generations of South Indian Cin ...

* Kavitha *Baby Rohini as Gowri *Shivanandakumar as Venkata Reddy

Soundtrack

The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan. Lyrics were written by

Veturi Veturi Sundararama Murthy (29 January 1936 – 22 May 2010), known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet and lyricist who is known for his works in Telugu literature and cinema. Veturi is a recipient of the National Film Award, ...

. The song "Aaresukoboyi" was recreated for the 2004 Telugu film also called '' Adavi Ramudu''.

Production

Development

The success of Rajkumar's '' Gandhada Gudi'' (1972), which had a forest backdrop, inspired

to pursue a similar theme for his next project. After the failure of ''Prema Bandham'' (1976), producers Nekkanti Veera Venkata Satyanarayana and Arumilli Suryanarayana of Satya Chitra banner approached Rama Rao to collaborate on ''Adavi Ramudu''. They chose K. Raghavendra Rao, who had just started his directorial career and was familiar to Rama Rao from assisting

Kamalakara Kameswara Rao Kamalakara Kameswara Rao (4 October 1911 – 29 June 1998) was an Indian film director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, and a few Tamil and Hindi films. Widely known as ''Pauranika Chitra Brahma'' (), Kameswara Rao directed f ...

on '' Pandava Vanavasam'' (1965). Rama Rao agreed to the project, and

Jandhyala Jandhyala Subrahmanya Sastry (14 January 1951 – 19 June 2001), known mononymously as Jandhyala, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright known for his work in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre, theatre. Popularly referred to a ...

was brought in to write the script and dialogues.

Casting

, who had worked with Raghavendra Rao on ''Raja'' (1976), was cast in a significant role, while Jayaprada, a rising star following the success of '' Siri Siri Muvva'' (1976), was chosen as the heroine. Sridhar was selected for another important role opposite Jayasudha. Jayasudha was unaware of playing a secondary role until the last minute, but since she had already agreed to do the film, she just went ahead keeping faith in Raghavendra Rao. Despite receiving positive feedback for her performance, she received letters from fans advising her to avoid second-lead roles in future films. Although Rama Rao had committed to ''Adavi Ramudu'', he was also filming '' Daana Veera Soora Karna'' (1977) simultaneously and assured the producers that he would provide bulk dates after completing the latter project. The team proceeded with filming, confident in their cast and crew.

Filming

The majority of the film was shot in the dense Madumalai forest, except for the opening scene, which was filmed in a

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

studio on 9 January 1977. ''Adavi Ramudu'' was the first film for which Rama Rao had given dates for more than a month (35 days) outside Madras. It also marked Rama Rao's first colour film shot in

Cinemascope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

, using a special lens imported from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Cinematographer A. Vincent, who had previously worked with Rama Rao on ''Sontha Vooru'' (1956), returned to collaborate on this film after a long break. Due to the remote location, the production team faced logistical challenges. With only three government guesthouses available, they built new accommodations for the 300-member cast and crew, working for 50 days to set up temporary facilities. Supplies had to be transported daily from

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, 250 km away. Jayasudha recalled two accidents during filming. In one instance, both she and Jayaprada were thrown from elephants during a scene when the animals were startled by noise from junior artists. They escaped with minor injuries. In another incident, during a chase sequence, a horse cart axle broke, resulting in injuries for both actresses, requiring them to rest for a few days.

Release

The film was released on 28 April 1977 to positive reviews.

Reception

''Adavi Ramudu'' was a significant box office success, setting multiple records upon its release. It became the first film to collect more than ₹80

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

in its first 50 days and the first to reach ₹1

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

within 67 days (10 weeks). The film completed a 100-day run in 32 centers, a 175-day run in 16 centers, and a 200-day run in 8 centers. It ran for 302 days at Apsara Theatre in Vijayawada and achieved a full-year (365-day) run in four centers, including Hyderabad, Vizag, Tirupati, and Vijayawada. ''Adavi Ramudu'' was the first Indian film to run for a full year in four centres within a single state, breaking the previous record held by ''

Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian epic action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired ...

'' (1975), which ran for a year in three centers in Maharashtra. As of 2008, it still held the record for the longest run in

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

, with 161 days of continuous screenings.

Legacy

The film re-brought N. T. Rama Rao into the league of top heroes of the Telugu Film Industry. The success of the film made K. Raghavendra Rao an established director in Telugu Cinema. The title of the film was used for a 2004 film.

Awards

* Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu - N. V. V. Satyanarayana (1977) * Nandi Award for Best Cinematographer - A. Vincent (1977)(in

)

References

External links

* {{K. Raghavendra Rao 1977 films 1977 action films Films directed by K. Raghavendra Rao Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Films set in forests 1970s Telugu-language films 1970s Indian films