Aluru Venkata Subbarao (5 August 1908 – 24 September 1975), popularly known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Chakrapani, was an Indian screenwriter, film producer, studio owner, and director in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

. He received two

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

and was notable for his association with

Vijaya Vauhini Studios Vijaya Vauhini Studios is a film production company based in Chennai, India. It is the combination of Vijaya Productions and Vauhini Studios. B. Nagi Reddy (Bommireddy Nagi Reddy) was the founder of Vijaya Productions and Moola Narayana Sw ...

, one of Asia's largest studios at the time. Chakrapani was also a partner at Vijaya Productions alongside

B. Nagi Reddi Bommireddy Nagi Reddi (2 December 1912 – 25 February 2004) was an Indian film producer primarily associated with Telugu cinema, along with notable contributions to Tamil and Hindi films. He co-founded Vijaya Vauhini Studios in Madras, which ...

and co-founded

Chandamama ''Chandamama'' was a classic Indian monthly magazine for children, known for its illustrations and long-running mythological and magical stories. Originally launched in Telugu language, Telugu by Aluri Chakrapani, Chakrapani and Nagi Reddi, ...

, the children's magazine.

Early life

Chakrapani was born in Ithanagar village near

Tenali Tenali is a city in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality, and the headquarters of Tenali mandal and Tenali revenue division. The city is renowned for art, culture, drama, and hence, it is called "Andhra ...

Guntur Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...

in present-day

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, into a middle-class agricultural family. He initially studied

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

under the tutelage of the well-known author Vraj Nandan Sharma and later taught himself Tamil, Sanskrit, and English, mastering all three languages.

Literary career

Chandamama - Good Old Stories in English

In 1932, Chakrapani contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and was admitted to the

Madanapalle Madanapalle is a city in Annamayya district and Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a Selection Grade Municipality and largest City in Annamayya District. Madanapalle is headquarters of Madanapalle Man ...

sanatorium for treatment. During his stay, he reportedly learned to read and write

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

in just three months from a fellow patient. This skill led him to translate many Bengali literary works into Telugu, including Sarat Chandra Chatterji's ''

Devdas ''Devdas'' (, transliterated as ''Dēbôdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden childhood love ...

'', which he translated as ''Devadasu'' in 1933. His translations of Bengali novels became immensely popular among Telugu readers.

Film career

Chakrapani's film career took off when he became a close friend of

while working as a writer for Vauhini Productions' ''

Swarga Seema ''Swargaseema'' is a 1945 Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by B. N. Reddi and starring V. Nagayya, B. Jayamma and Bhanumathi. The film marked the debut of Ghantasala as a playback singer and Marcus Bartley as a cinematograph ...

'' (1945). Well-versed in both Hindi and Bengali, Chakrapani brought a unique literary perspective to Telugu cinema. After joining forces with Nagi Reddi, Chakrapani took on editorial roles for ''

Andhra Jyothi ''Andhra Jyothi'' (; ) is the third largest circulated Telugu language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by K. L. N. Prasad, an Industrialist on 1 July 1960. It is also one of t ...

'', ''Yuva'', and ''

'' under BNK Press. When Vijaya Productions was launched, their first film, ''

Shavukaru ''Shavukaru'' () is a 1950 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagireddy and Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner as their maiden production. It stars N. T. Rama Rao in his first l ...

'' (1950), was based on a story written by Chakrapani. From then on, all Vijaya Productions films credited Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani as producers, a practice that continued until Chakrapani's demise. Within this partnership, Chakrapani handled story, dialogue, and direction-related matters, while Nagi Reddi focused on production and logistics. Together, they made successful films like ''

Patala Bhairavi ''Pathala Bhairavi'' () is a 1951 Indian fantasy film directed by K. V. Reddy who co-wrote the film with Pingali and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, the film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakra ...

'', '' Maya Bazar'', ''

Gundamma Katha ''Gundamma Katha'' () is a 1962 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and co-produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner Vijaya Productions. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara ...

'', ''

Missamma ''Missamma'' () is a 1955 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani on Vijaya Productions banner. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, Akkineni Nageswara Rao an ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu ''Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed and co-written by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions; the latter co-wrote its script with Prasad ...

'' that are still popular with Telugu speaking people. Both made 35 films in

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 ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

, Odia and

languages.

Awards

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada The National Film Award for Best Kannada Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Ka ...

– ''Maduve Madinodu'' (1965) *

Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. E ...

Maya Bazaar ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, with a fe ...

(1957) * Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) -

(1962)

Selected filmography

Dharmapatni ''Dharma Patni'' or ''Dharmapatni'' ( Wife) is a 1941 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by P. Pullayya under the Famous Films banner. It stars Santha Kumari, Bhanumathi, Uppuluri Hanumantha Rao and C. Hemalatha. The film ...

(Telugu, 1941) (dialogue) (debut) *

(Tamil, 1941) (dialogue) *

Swargaseema ''Swargaseema'' is a 1945 Telugu language, Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by B.N. Reddi, B. N. Reddi and starring V. Nagayya, B. Jayamma and Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, Bhanumathi. The film marked the debut of Ghantasala (musician), ...

(1945) (dialogue) (story) *

(1950) (writer) *

Pelli Chesi Choodu ''Pelli Chesi Choodu'' () is a 1952 Indian satirical comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad and produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their company Vijaya Productions. The film was made simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, the latter ti ...

(1952) (writer) *

Chandraharam ''Chandraharam'' is a 1954 Indian swashbuckler film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao in his debut. It was produced by Nagi Reddy- Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner. The film, a Telugu-Tamil bilingual, stars N. T. Rama Rao, ...

(1954) (writer) *

Guna Sundari ''Guna Sundari'' or ''Gunasundari'' is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language film starring Gemini Ganesan and Savitri. The film was a remake of the 1949 Telugu film ''Gunasundari Katha''. It was not successful at the box office. Plot Ugra Senan is th ...

(1955) (Producer) *

(1955) (writer) *

Missiamma ''Missiamma'' () is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. Produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani Vijaya Vauhini Studios, the script was adapted by Chakrapani from the Bengali play ''Manmoyee Girls ...

(1955) (writer) *

(1958) (adaptation) *

Rechukka Pagatichukka ''Rechukka Pagatichukka'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film, produced by N. Trivikrama Rao and directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Sowcar Janaki and S. V. Ranga Rao, with music composed by T. V. Ra ...

(1959) (screen adaptation) *

(1962) (story) *

Manithan Maravillai ''Manithan Maravillai'' () is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written, co-produced and directed by Chakrapani and produced by Nagi Reddi under Vijaya Productions. It is a remake of the Telugu film '' Gundamma Katha'', which i ...

(1962) (screen adaptation) * Julie (1975) (screen adaptation) * Sri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club (1976) (writer) * Swayamvar (1980) (story)

Producer

* Sri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club (1976) * Julie (1975) (Nagi Reddi-Chakrapani) * Ganga Manga (1973) *

Ram Aur Shyam ''Ram Aur Shyam'' ( English: ''Ram And Shyam'') is a 1967 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Tapi Chanakya. The film is a remake of Chanakya's 1964 Telugu film '' Ramudu Bheemudu''. It stars Dilip Kumar in a Double Role as ...

(1967) *

Maduve Madi Nodu ''Maduve Madi Nodu'' () is a 1965 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Hunsur Krishnamurthy and produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani. The film stars Rajkumar, R. Nagendra Rao, Udaykumar and Narasimharaju. The film has a musical score c ...

(Kannada) (1965)(Nagi Reddi-Chakrapani) *

(1962) *

(1958) *

(1957) *

(1955) *

(1954) *

(1952) *

(1951) *

(1950)

Director

* Sri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club (1976) * Manithan Maravillai (1962)

Chandamama

Both Nagireddy and Aluri came up with the idea of a story book for kids and children, and thus ''

'' was born. The first edition of

was released in July, 1947. They made

popular not only in

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...

but in ten other Indian languages. He started in 1934 the monthly publication of Yuva magazine from

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

which was later shifted to

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Well-known writer

Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao (28 October 1909 – 17 August 1980), also known as Ko Ku, was an exponent of the Telugu literature in the 20th century. He believed that literature which criticises and enriches human life and ultimately reforms the ...

was a partner in this venture. Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao, a very close friend of aluri and a literary colossus in Telugu Literature, edited it for 28 years, till his death in August 1980.

Notes

External links

* http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/the-story-in-a-road-name/article404360.ece {{DEFAULTSORT:Chakrapani, Aluri People from Tenali Film people from Guntur district 1908 births 1975 deaths Telugu film producers Tamil film producers Tamil film directors Telugu screenwriters 20th-century Indian screenwriters