''Brahmarshi Viswamitra'' is a 1991 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

-language

Hindu mythological film This is a list of genres of literature and entertainment ( film, television, music, and video games), excluding genres in the visual arts. ''Genre'' is the term for any category of creative work, which includes literature and other forms of a ...

based on the life of the sage

Visvamitra Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mant ...

, which is written, directed and produced by

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, filmmaker and politician who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. He starred ...

. It stars him in his comeback film after a 7-year hiatus from acting after leaving for politics completely- along with

Nandamuri Balakrishna Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960), simply known as Balakrishna or Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, producer and politician. He appeared in more than 100 Telugu films over forty years in a variety of roles and established himself as ...

, and

Meenakshi Seshadri Meenakshi Seshadri (; born 16 November 1963) is a former Indian actress, model and dancer who worked primarily in Hindi films, with a few films in Telugu and Tamil. She made her debut with the film '' Painter Babu'' (1983) produced by Manoj ...

, with music composed by

Ravindra Jain Ravindra Jain (28 February 1944 – 9 October 2015) was an Indian music composer, lyricist and playback singer. He started his career in the early 1970s by composing for several hit movies. His notable works include ''Chor Machaye Shor'' (1 ...

. This film marked the debut of Jr.NTR as a child artist.

Plot

The film begins with King Kaushika while hunting visiting

Vasishta Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha a ...

Maharshi's ashram where he notices a divine cow called ''Kamadhenuvu'' which can produce anything one wishes. Kaushika requests Vasishta to surrender it to him because the country will be prosperous if it is in the hands of a king. But Vasishta refuses when Kaushika tries to grab it forcibly it disappears. Kaushika feels it as an insult and realizes penance has more power than physical strength. So, he renounced his kingdom, becomes a saint performs a huge penance, and achieves the Brahmarshi title by facing many challenges from that day he is called Viswamitra. After that, King

Trisanku Trishanku (त्रिशंकु), born as Satyavrata, was a king who belonged to ''Ikshvaku dynasty''. Trishanku is commonly referred to through mention of "Trishanku's heaven" or "hanging like Trishanku". The word Trishanku has come to deno ...

belongs to Suryavamsam wishes to reach heaven with his mortal body and requests his Guru Vasishta to perform the needful rites to achieve the goal. But Vasishta refuses when Trishanku revolts on him and he curses him to form a horrific. Immediately, Trishanku reaches Viswamitra, he sends him to heaven where Lord Indra tosses him. Viswamitra stops him in between and creates a newly modernized heaven, especially for him. In this process, Viswamitra uses his entire penance power. Therefore, he starts his prayers and attains his power back. Once in the court of Indra, Viswamitra had a confrontation with Vasishta that a man with aim and determination is more powerful than the deities. Viswamitra challenges that he will prove it and selects

Harishchandra Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the '' Aitareya Brahmana'', '' Mahabharata'', the '' Markandeya Purana'', and the '' Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most famous of these s ...

, ruler of

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhy ...

. There onwards, he starts testing Harishchandra, in the beginning, he asks a huge amount, and without any hesitation, Harishchandra agrees. Then he creates two beautiful girls called Matanga Kanyalu, tries to lure him, and also threatens either to marry the girls or leave the kingdom. So, he gives away his kingdom when Viswamitra asks to repay his amount. Harishchandra asks him for some time, he gives a month and accompanies his assistant Nakshatraka. Thereafter, Harishchandra reaches Kaasi where he observes that people are sold in the market. Due to the shortage of time, on his wife Chandramathi's advice, he sells her along with his son Lohitha. Next Nakshatraka asks to pay his travel expenses for which he sells himself to Veerabahu, king of the graveyard. Now Harishchandra works as a watchman at the burial ground. One day, unfortunately, Lohitha dies due to a snakebite while Chandramathi is performing his funeral, Harishchandra stops her and asks her to pay the fee without knowing her identity. But she doesn't have anything when he indicates her golden wedding chain and she recognizes him as her husband because her wedding chain is invisible to others. In such pathetic situations also Harishchandra does not yield. Chandramathi rushes to get the money. At the same time, Viswamitra creates an illusion that Chadramathi has kidnapped and killed Kaasiraju's son. The King gives her the death sentence and sends her to Harishchandra to execute it. Even then he does not leave his true path and executes the punishment. Suddenly, Viswamitra appears, says that all this happened to spread the willpower of a man to the universe, and acknowledges him with his penance power. Eras roll by, once Viswamitra intents to perform a ''Yaga'' for which two demons Marichasubhahulu are creating obstructions. So, he moves to Ayodhya and asks Dasaratha to send Rama Lakshmana for the protection of his ''Yaga''. At that point, Viswamitra endorses the powerful weapons to Rama Lakshmana by which they destroy Tataki and Marichasubhahulu and complete the ''Yaga''. Parallelly,

Janaka Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hr ...

announces Swayamvara to Seeta, and Viswamitra reaches Mithila with Rama Lakshmana. The main challenging task of Swayamvara is to ace the world-renowned bow of Siva.

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

also arrives without an invitation but fails. Rama with the blessing of Viswamitra lifts the bow, breaks it, and marries Seeta. Viswamitra blesses the newly wedded couple and leaves to continue his penance. After many thousands of years, Indra attempts to foil his prayers, so, he sends an

Apsara An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, litera ...

Menaka Menaka () is an Apsara (heavenly nymph) in Hindu literature. Legends Menaka was born during the churning of the ocean by the devas and asuras. She is one of the most mesmerising apsaras (celestial nymphs) in the three worlds, with quick in ...

. Both of them get married and are blessed with a baby girl. But the couple leaves a newborn baby in the forest, and Kanva Maharshi raises her by the name

Shakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption be ...

. Once King

Dushyanta Dushyanta ( sa, दुष्यन्त, translit=Duṣyanta) is a king of the Chandravamsha (Lunar) dynasty featured in Hindu literature. He is the husband of Shakuntala and the father of Bharata. He appears in the Mahabharata and in Kalid ...

visits their ''Ashram'', he loves and marries Shakuntala secretly. Before returning he gives his royal ring to her as a token of love. One day, Saint

Durvasa In Hindu scriptures, Durvasa ( sa, दुर्वासा, ) also known as Durvasas (Sanskrit: दुर्वासस्), is a legendary rishi (sage). He is the son of Anasuya and Atri. According to some Puranas, Durvasa is a partial av ...

visits Ashram but Shakuntala lost her thoughts on her husband and failed to greet him when he curses her that the person she is dreaming of will forget her. Afterward, Durvasa modifies his curse saying that the person will recollect his memory when he sees the personal token. Time passes, Shakuntala becomes pregnant and she is sent to her husband's house. On the way, the ring slips off her finger and is swallowed by a fish. Arriving at Hastinapuram, Dushyanta not able to recognize her, humiliated, Shakuntala returns to the forest and takes shelter at Kashyapa Mahamuni's Ashram, where she gives birth to a baby boy Bharata. Meanwhile, fishermen find the ring in the belly of a fish and take it to Dushyanta, where he recollects the past. Immediately, he set out to find Shakuntala, in the forest, he is surprised to see a young boy playing with wild animals and amazed by his boldness and strength. Bharata takes him to his mother Shakuntala. Here Viswamitra appears, reunites the couple, blesses Bharata to be the greatest ruler of India, and also entrusts him with his entire penance power. At last, Viswamitra's penance power reaches to heights of the Himalayas where he utilizes it for the welfare of the universe by preaching great ''

Gayatri Mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra, also known as the Sāvitri Mantra, is a highly revered mantra from the '' Rig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. is the name of the Goddess of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed. ...

''. Finally, the movie ends with Viswamitra becoming one of the stars of the universe at ''

Saptarishi The Saptarishi () are the seven rishis of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas, and other Hindu literature. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, although later Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas and Upanisads do so. ...

Mandalam''.

Cast

as Visvaamitra &

(

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

) *

as Satya Harischandra &

(dual role) *

Deepika Chikhalia Dipika Chikhlia Topiwala is an Indian actress known for playing Devi Sita in Ramanand Sagar's television series Ramayan and for acting in other Indian TV serials. She was also known for her debut film ''Sun Meri Laila'' (1983), opposite Raj ...

Chandramathi Chandrika Balan (born 17 January 1954) is an Indian writer who has published books in English and Malayalam, under the pen name Chandramathi, ചന്ദ്രമതി in Malayalam. She is a writer of fiction, a translator, and critic in Eng ...

*Madhumita as

* Amjhad Khan as Veerabahu *

Gummadi Gummadi (Telugu: గుమ్మడి) is an Indian given name and surname. It may refer to: * Gummadi (actor) Gummadi Venkateswara Rao (9 July 1927 – 26 January 2010), known mononymously by his surname Gummadi, was an Indian actor and prod ...

Vashista Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha a ...

Suthi Velu Kurumaddali Lakshmi Narasimha Rao (7 August 1947 – 16 September 2012), better known by his stage name Suthi Velu, was an Indian actor and comedian known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has acted in more than 200 films, and won four state ...

as Nakshatraka *

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

as Indhra *KK Sarma as Kalakoushukudu *Jaya Bhaskar as

Aruna Irani Aruna Irani (born 3 May 1946) is an Indian actress, who has acted in over 500 films throughout Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati cinema, playing mostly supporting and character roles. She has won two Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting ...

as Kalakoushukudu's wife * Kanaka as Seetha *

Tara Tara may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tara'' (1992 film), an Indian film directed by Bijaya Jena * ''Tara'' (2001 film), an American film, also known as ''Hood Rat'', directed by Leslie Small * ''Tara'' (2010 film), a ...

as Shakuntala's friend *Gayatri as Shakuntala's friend *

Disco Shanti Santha Kumari (born 28 August 1965), famously known as Disco Shanti, is an Indian actress who was particularly famous in South India for her appearances in item numbers. She has appeared in more than 900 films in different languages of India, ...

as Matanga Kanya *Kuali as Matanga Kanya *Master Amith as Lohitha *

N. T. Rama Rao Jr. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr. (born 20 May 1983), also known as Jr. N.T.R. or Tarak, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Telugu cinema. One of the highest paid Telugu film actors, Rama Rao Jr. has won several accolades, including two Fil ...

as Bharata (child role) * Mikkilineni as

Production

''Brahmarshi Viswamitra'' marks the first screen appearance of

, who played Bharata.

Soundtrack

Music composed by

. Lyrics written by

C. Narayana Reddy Cingireddi Narayana Reddy (29 July 1931 – 12 June 2017), popularly known as CiNaRe, was an Indian Telugu-language poet and writer. Reddy had produced over eighty literary works including poems, prose-plays, lyrical plays, translations, a ...

. Music released on

Lahari Music Lahari Recording Company is an Indian music company based in Bangalore. It owns a music label called "Lahari Music" also a film production company called "Lahari Films LLP". They later ventured into construction under the name of HomEquity Indi ...

Company.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0259225 1990s Telugu-language films 1991 films Films based on the Mahabharata Films based on the Ramayana Films directed by N. T. Rama Rao Films scored by Ravindra Jain Hindu mythological films