Balijepalli Lakshmikantha Kavi (23 December 1881 – 30 June 1953) was an Indian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, novelist, poet,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, actor and freedom fighter. He is remembered for the

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

''Satya Harischandriyamu'', a play written in 1924, and for his works 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 ...

Brief life

He was born in Itikampadu village of

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the List of urban agglom ...

near

Bapatla Bapatla is a town and district headquarters of Bapatla district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Bapatla mandal of Bapatla revenue division. The nearest towns and cities to Bapatla are ...

in 1881 to Narasimha Sastry and Adilakshmamma. After

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...

, he worked for some in the Sub-registrar office as Gumasta. He worked as teacher in

Hindu College Hindu College may refers to several colleges around the world, including: India * Dharmamurthi Rao Bhahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty's Hindu College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu * Gobardanga Hindu College, West Bengal *Hindu College, Delhi, founded in 1899 ...

. He used to tour different Zamindaris to perform

Avadhanam Avadhānaṃ (literally meaning "concentration") is a genre of performance in India, where a performer (called the ''avadhāni'') answers challenging questions from several questioners in parallel. The most popular variety, called ''sāhitya'' (l ...

s.Luminaries of 20th Century, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005 He established Chandrika Printing press in Guntur with the help of Challapalli Raja in 1922. He had participated in

Salt Satyagraha The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of non violent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

and was jailed. While in prison, he wrote ''Satya Harischandriyam'' drama. He established First Drama Company in 1926 and played Satya Harischandra and Uttara Raghavam many times. He used to play critical roles in these plays. The most prominent role he used to play was Nakshatraka. He entered the film industry with encouragement by Chittajallu Pullayya and wrote dialogues and songs and acted in some Telugu films. His debut film as an actor was '' Vara Vikrayam'' in 1939. He portrayed the character Lingaraju. He died in

Sri Kalahasti Srikalahasti is a town in Tirupati district located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the revenue division of Srikalahasti mandal and Srikalahasti revenue division. It is a part of the Tirupati Urban Development Auth ...

in 1953.

Literary works

* '' Sivanandalahari Satakam'' (Telugu translation of

Adi Sankara Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and his true impact lies in hi ...

's work; 1916) * ''Swarajya Samasya'' (Poetic work) * ''

Brahmaratham Brahma Ratham is a 1947 Telugu drama film directed by Chitrapu Narayana Rao. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Balijepalli Lakshmikantam. Cast * K. Raghuramaiah * Addanki Srirama Murthy * C. Krishnaveni * B. Jayamma * Par ...

'' (Novel) * ''Mani Manjusha'' (Novel) * ''Buddhimati Vilasamu'' (Play) * ''Satya Harishchandriyamu'' (Play) * ''Uttara Raghavamu'' (Telugu translation of

Bhavabhuti Bhavabhūti (born Śrīkaṇṭha Nīlakaṇṭha; Devanagari: भवभूति; -) was a classical Sanskrit scholar, poet, and playwright of eighth-century India. He is considered a key successor to Kalidasa and is often regarded as matching ...

's work)

Filmography

* ''Anasuya'' (1936) (writer) * ''

Jarasandha Jarasandha () is a king featured in the Hindu Mythology. He is the powerful monarch of Magadha, and a minor antagonist in Mahabharata. He is the son of the king Brihadratha, the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to popu ...

'' (1938) (lyricist) * ''Malli Pelli''(1939) (dialogue writer and actor) * '' Vara Vikrayam'' (1939) (dialogue writer and actor) * '' Bhukailasa'' (1940) (dialogue) * ''

Viswa Mohini ''Viswa Mohini'' () is a 1940 Telugu-language romantic thriller film in the backdrop of Indian motion picture world, directed by Y. V. Rao. The ensemble cast starring V. Nagayya was written by Balijepalli Lakshmikanta Kavi, and was screened at ...

'' (1940) (dialogue) * ''

Jeevana Mukthi ''Jeevan Mukthi'' is a 1942 Indian Telugu-language film produced by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Plot summary Jeevudu, an untouchable cobbler, leads a saintly life with his wife Seva and son Bhavudu. Because of his devotion, Lord Vishnu appe ...

'' (1942) * '' Bala Nagamma'' (1942) (writer and actor) * ''Tahsildar'' (1944) (dialogue writer and actor) * ''

Brahma Ratham Brahma Ratham is a 1947 Telugu drama film directed by Chitrapu Narayana Rao. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Balijepalli Lakshmikantam. Cast * K. Raghuramaiah * Addanki Srirama Murthy * C. Krishnaveni * B. Jayamma * Par ...

'' (1947) (writer) * ''Raksharekha'' (1949) (dialogues, story writer and actor)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakshmikantam, Balijepalli Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Indian male film actors 1881 births 1953 deaths 20th-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian translators 20th-century Indian poets Telugu-language lyricists 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights People from Guntur district Poets from Andhra Pradesh Telugu screenwriters 20th-century Indian screenwriters Male actors in Telugu cinema Sanskrit–Telugu translators Screenwriters from British India Poets from British India Dramatists and playwrights from British India Male actors from British India