''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

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 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 ...

, with a few differences in the cast. The story is an adaptation of the

folk tale Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...

'' Sasirekha Parinayam'', which is based on the characters of the epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. It revolves around the roles of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

( N. T. Rama Rao) and

Ghatotkacha Ghatotkacha (, ; ) is a character in the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. His name comes from the fact that he was bald (''utkacha'') and shaped like a ghatam, or a pot. He is the son of the Pandava Bhima and the demoness Hidimbi. As th ...

( S. V. Ranga Rao), as they try to reunite

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

son

Abhimanyu Abhimanyu (, ) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He was a young and valiant warrior of the Kuru lineage, born to Arjuna—the third Pandava brother—and Subhadra—a Yadava princess. He was also one of the few indivi ...

(Telugu:

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1924 – 22 January 2014), known as ANR, was an Indian actor and film producer in Telugu cinema. Over his seven decade career, he became a prominent figures in the industry, and is among most influential ac ...

, Tamil:

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred as Kaadhal Mannan (King of Romance) for his romantic roles in films. G ...

) with his love,

Balarama Balarama (, ) is a Hindu god, and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana. The fir ...

's daughter Sasirekha ( Savitri). The Telugu version features Gummadi, Mukkamala,

Ramana Reddy Ramana Reddy (1 October 1921 – 11 November 1974) was an Indian character actor, comedian and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. In a career spanning 24 years, he acted in more than 200 movies. Ramana Reddy and Relang ...

, and Relangi in supporting roles, with D. Balasubramaniam,

R. Balasubramaniam R. Balasubramaniam was an Indian actor whose career spanned from the late 1930s through late 1950s. He was well known for his role in mythological films and later switched to character roles. Filmography References

Male actors in Tamil ...

, V. M. Ezhumalai, and K. A. Thangavelu playing those parts in the Tamil version. The first

mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

film produced by their studio, ''Mayabazar'' marked a milestone for Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani. In addition to the technical crew, 400 studio workers – including light men, carpenters, and painters – participated in the development of the film. Director Reddy was meticulous with the

pre-production Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, video game, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the co ...

and

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or ...

phases, which took nearly a year to complete. Though Rama Rao was initially reluctant to play the lead role, his portrayal of Krishna received acclaim and yielded more offers to reprise the same role in several unrelated films. The soundtrack features twelve songs, with most of the musical score composed by Ghantasala. Telugu lyrics were written by Pingali Nagendrarao and Tamil lyrics were written by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass. One of those songs, ''Lahiri Lahiri'', was accompanied by the first illusion of moonlight in Indian cinema, shot by cinematographer

Marcus Bartley Marcus Bartley (22 April 1917 14 March 1993) was an Anglo-Indian cinematographer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil films. He was the cinematographer of all time classics like '' Shav ...

. ''Mayabazar''s Telugu version was released on 27 March 1957; the Tamil version was released two weeks later, on 12 April. Both were critically and commercially successful, with a theatrical run of 100 days in 24 theatres, and it became a silver-jubilee film. The Telugu version of ''Mayabazar'' was also dubbed into

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 ...

. The film is considered a landmark in both Telugu and Tamil cinema, with praise for its cast and technical aspects, despite the limitations of technology at the time. On the centenary of Indian cinema in 2013,

CNN-IBN CNN News18 is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides international coverage for the c ...

included ''Mayabazar'' in its list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time". In an online poll conducted by CNN-IBN among those 100 films, ''Mayabazar'' was voted by the public as the "greatest Indian film of all time." ''Mayabazar'' became the first Telugu film to be digitally remastered and colourised, at an estimated cost of 7.5

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 ...

(valued at about US$1.7 million in 2010), after Hyderabad-based company Goldstone Technologies acquired world negative rights to fourteen films including that of ''Mayabazar'' in late November 2007. The updated version was released on 30 January 2010 in 45 theatres in

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 ...

. It was a commercial success that generated mostly positive reviews, with one critic expressing a preference for the original.

Plot

Subhadra Subhadra (, ) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She is a princess from the Yadava clan and the sister of Krishna and Balarama. Subhadra married Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers and had a son named Abhimanyu. Sub ...

(the sister of

and

) marries a

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

named

. Their son

falls in love with Balarama's daughter, Sasirekha. The families consent to their marrying when they reach adulthood. When Abhimanyu and Sasirekha have grown up, Krishna introduces them to each other. One day, the Pandavas are invited by

Duryodhana Duryodhana (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ̪ʊɾjoːd̪ʱən̪ᵊ ), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He is the eldest of the Kaurava, Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gan ...

, the eldest of the

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his ...

s to join in a game of dice. Duryodhana's uncle,

Shakuni Shakuni (, , ) is one of the antagonists of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the prince of the kingdom of Gandhara when introduced, later becoming its king after the death of his father, Subala. He was the brother of Gandhari (Mahabharata), ...

, manipulates the results of the game, thereby costing the Pandavas their wealth, their liberty, and their wife

Draupadi Draupadi (), also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is the central heroine of the Indian epic poetry, ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. In the epic, she is the princess of Panchala Kingdom, who later becomes the empress of K ...

. Duryodhana's brother, Dushasana, attempts to disrobe Draupadi. He is seen by Krishna, who, furious, comes to her rescue. On hearing what happened to the Pandavas, Balarama decides to teach the Kauravas a lesson and travels to their capital

Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'' is described as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas; it is also mentioned in ancient Jain ...

am. Shakuni and Duryodhana approach Balarama in an insincere respectful manner, then seek his approval of a marriage between Sasirekha and Duryodhana's son Lakshmana Kumara. Their true goal is to force Balarama and Krishna to support them if the Pandavas wage war. Unaware of their real intentions, Balarama agrees to the marriage. Because of the Pandavas' ruined financial state, Balarama's wife, Revati, refuses to honor her commitment to marry Sasirekha and Abhimanyu and expresses her support for the alliance with the Kauravas. Krishna, who is aware of Duryodhana and Shakuni's real intentions, orders his charioteer Daaruka to take Subhadra and Abhimanyu through the forests to

hermitage. Ghatotkacha, who happens to be Abhimanyu's cousin, at first thinks they are intruders in his forest and attacks them but later apologizes for the misunderstanding. When Subhadra explains the change in the marriage arrangements, Ghatotkacha decides to wage war against both the Kauravas and Balarama. At the urging of his mother, Hidimbi, and Subhadra, Ghatotkacha abandons his plans and is advised instead to try some trickery in Dvaraka. With the knowledge of Krishna and Sasirekha's servant, he carries the sleeping Sasirekha in her bed from Dwaraka and flies to his hermitage. Assuming Sasirekha's form, he returns to Dvaraka and, with the help of his assistants Chinnamaya, Lambu, and Jambu, wreaks havoc on her wedding to Lakshmana Kumara, preventing the marriage from being carried out. With the help of Chinnamaya, Lambu, and Jambu, Ghatotkacha creates a magical town consisting of an illusory marketplace and palace. He names the town ''Mayabazar'' and invites the Kauravas to stay there. Chinnamaya, Lambu, and Jambu introduce themselves to the Kauravas as servants appointed by Balarama to look after them. They manage to trick Sarma and Sastry, Shakuni's lackeys. Ghatotkacha (in Sasirekha's form) makes Duryodhana's wife rethink the marriage arrangement and teases Lakshmana Kumara. He plans the wedding of the real Sasirekha and Abhimanyu in his hermitage which is attended by Krishna. Using his divine powers, Krishna also attends as a guest for the marriage taking place in the ''Mayabazar''. On the wedding day, Ghatotkacha appears before Lakshmana Kumara as Sasirekha in disguise, and the fake Sasirekha keeps on scaring Lakshmana Kumara during the wedding. While, at the hermitage, the real Sasirekha marries Abhimanyu. When Shakuni discovers what has happened, he blames Krishna.

Satyaki Yuyudhana (, ), better known as Satyaki (, ), was a powerful Yadava chieftain of Narayani Sena, belonging to the Vrishni clan to which Krishna also belonged. According to the Puranas, he was the grandson of Shini of the Vrishni clan, and son of ...

, Arjuna's disciple, asks Shakuni to speak while standing on a magical box. He proceeds to stand on the box, which makes him involuntarily explain the Kauravas' real intentions behind the marriage proposal. Ghatotkacha then reveals his identity. After humiliating the Kauravas, Ghatotkacha sends them back to Hastinapuram. Sasirekha's parents accept her marriage. They thank Ghatotkacha, who credits Krishna as the mastermind behind everything, including Abhimanyu and Sasirekha's marriage. Ghatotkacha sings in praises of Krishna and Krishna, pleased by his singing, comes to his real form of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

. Everyone folds their hands in prayer.

Cast

;Cast for both Telugu and Tamil versions * N. T. Rama Rao as

(Telugu) and

(Tamil) as

* S. V. Ranga Rao as

* Savitri as Sasirekha (Telugu), Vatsala (Tamil) * Relangi (Telugu) and K. A. Thangavelu (Tamil) as Lakshmana Kumara * Vangara as Shastri *

Allu Ramalingaiah Allu Ramalingaiah (1 October 1922 – 31 July 2004) was an Indian character actor, comedian, and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. In 1990, he was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema. In 1998, he rec ...

as Sharma * Valluri Balakrishna as Sarathi (Telugu) * Gummadi (Telugu) and D. Balasubramaniam (Tamil) as

* Mukkamala (Telugu) and

Male actors in Tamil ...

(Tamil) as

* C. S. R. Anjaneyulu (Telugu) and M. N. Nambiar (Tamil) as

Rushyendramani Rushyendramani (1 January 1917 – 17 August 2002) was an Indian film actress, playback singer, and dancer from Andhra Pradesh. She had more than 150 films in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films from 1935 to 1986. Her notable films ...

* Sandhya as

Rukmini Rukmini (, ) is a Devi, Hindu goddess and the first queen of Krishna. She is described as the chief of Krishna's wives in Dvārakā. Rukmini is revered as the avatar of Lakshmi and is venerated primarily in Warkari, and Haridasa tradition, and ...

* Nagabhushanam as

* Mikkilineni (Telugu) and V. K. Srinivasan (Tamil) as

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He is the son of Surya (the Sun deity) and princess Kunti (later ...

* Chhaya Devi (Telugu) and Lakshmi Prabha (Tamil) as Revati * R. Nageswara Rao (Telugu) and E. R. Sahadevan (Tamil) as Dushasana * Suryakantham (Telugu) and C. T. Rajakantham (Tamil) as Hidimbi *

(Telugu) and V. M. Ezhumalai (Tamil) as Chinnamaya * Chadalavada as Lambu * Nalla Ramamurthy as Jambu *

Madhavapeddi Satyam Madhavapeddi Satyam (11 March 1922 – 18 December 2000) was an Indian playback singer and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. He entered films as a singer-actor in Y. V. Rao's Tamil-Hindi bilingual movie ''Ramadas'' in the year 19 ...

as Daaruka * Kanchi Narasimha Rao as an old man (Krishna in disguise) * Boddapati as Sankuteerthulu * Baby Saraswati as young Sasirekha (Telugu)/Vatsala (Tamil) * Master Anand as young Abhimanyu * Rajani as Bhanumati * Master Babji as young Krishna in a play * Kakinada Rajaratnam as

Yashoda Yashoda (, ) is the foster-mother of Krishna and the wife of Nanda. She is described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the wife of Nanda, the chieftain of Gokul, and the sister of Rohini. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna was bo ...

in a play * Guru Gopinath as Bhasmasura in Mohini Bhasmasura dance drama * Mukku Raju as

in Mohini Bhasmasura dance drama

Production

Development

After the success of '' Pathala Bhairavi'' (1951), the production company, Vijaya Productions, selected the film's technical crew for an adaptation of ''Sasirekha Parinayam'' (1936), also known as ''

Mayabazar ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic film, epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani (filmmaker), Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Vauhini Studios, Vijaya Productions. The film w ...

''. The eighth adaptation of the folk tale '' Sasirekha Parinayam'', it was the studio's first mythological film. K. V. Reddy wrote and directed ''Mayabazar'', assisted by

Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (born 21 September 1931) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of India's most versatile and innovative filmmakers. He has directed around sixty films across ...

, and it was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions. Nearly a year was spent on pre-production and casting. Pingali Nagendrarao assisted with the story, script, and lyrics. Ghantasala composed the film's score, and

was the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

. ''Mayabazar'' was edited by C. P. Jambulingam and G. Kalyanasundaram; Madhavapeddi Gokhale and Kaladhar were the film's

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Casting

The film was produced in Telugu and

versions, with a slightly different cast for each.

appeared as

in the Tamil version, which was portrayed by Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Telugu. Savitri was retained as the female lead in Tamil also, where her character was named Vatsala instead of Sasirekha. Sachu played the younger version of the character in Tamil. N. T. Rama Rao, hesitant to play

after a negative response to his cameo appearance in '' Sonta Ooru'' (1956), agreed at K. V. Reddy's insistence and special care was taken with his costume and body language; ''Mayabazar'' was the first of Rama Rao's many appearances as Krishna. According to Rama Rao's widow

Lakshmi Parvathi Lakshmi Parvathi (born 14 September 1955) is an Indian politician from the state of Andhra Pradesh and widow of N. T. Rama Rao. She was previously married to a harikatha artist Veeragandham Venkata Subba Rao. Later, she was separated from him a ...

, Nagi Reddy and Chakrapani had initially rejected K. V. Reddy's proposal to cast Rama Rao as Krishna, but he persuaded them into believing that Rama Rao was good for the role. As Rama Rao had a broad chest, K. V. Reddy suggested a slight narrowing to look apt as Krishna. In addition to following other suggestions by K. V. Reddy, Rama Rao read the Mahabharata, the

Bhagavata The Bhagavata (; , IAST: ''Bhāgavata'' ) tradition, also called Bhagavatism (), is an ancient religious sect that traced its origin to the region of Mathura. After its syncretism with the Brahmanical tradition of Vishnu, Bhagavatism becam ...

and other

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

to understand Krishna's character and present it properly. S. V. Ranga Rao, described by Nageswara Rao as the film's male lead in interviews, played the character of Ghatotkacha. In the Telugu version, Gummadi and Mikkilineni were cast as

and

, respectively, whilst Sita had a supporting role as Sasirekha's maid. Relangi portrayed Lakshmana Kumara, Duryodhana's son; his popularity inspired a song with him and Savitri. Allu Rama Lingaiah and Vangara Venkata Subbaiah enacted the parts of Shakuni's lackeys, Sarma and Sastry. Kanchi Narasimha Rao played Krishna, disguised as an old man who stops Ghatotkacha when he enters Dwaraka. The playback singer

made a cameo appearance as Daaruka, singing "Bhali Bhali Bhali Deva".

portrayed Chinnamayya, a tantrik who teaches witchcraft at Ghatotkacha's

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Nagabhushanam played

. Valluri Balakrishna was cast as Sarathi, and appeared only in the Telugu version of the film.

Filming

During rehearsals, K. V. Reddy timed his actors with a stopwatch, calculating the length of each scene (including songs) to determine the film's length. D. S. Ambu Rao, Bartley's assistant, said that ''Mayabazar'' was shot according to the screenplay and Bartley's lighting. The song "Lahiri Lahiri" was shot at

Adyar River The Adyar River, which originates near the Chembarambakkam Lake in the Kanchipuram district, is one of the three rivers that winds through Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and joins the Bay of Bengal at the Adyar estuary. The long river contributes ...

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 ...

. Its outdoor filming lasted for 10 to 15 seconds. Bartley then created an illusion of moonlight, which according to Ambu Rao was a first for an Indian film. Nageswara Rao was injured on the film's set, and action sequences featuring himself and Ranga Rao were shot only after his recovery, causing a three-month delay in the release of the film. Ganesan volunteered to act as Nageswara Rao's

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes for another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

in a scene where Abhimanyu would jump from a second-floor balcony. In addition to the principal technicians and actors, a crew of 400, including light men, carpenters, and painters, worked on ''Mayabazar'' during production. For the Dvaraka set, 300 unique miniature houses were created in an approximately electrified space at Vauhini Studios under the supervision of Madhavapeddi Gokhale and Kaladhar. The desired effect in the " laddoo gobbling" shots of Ghatotkacha in the song "Vivaha Bhojanambu" took four days to film. The entire song was filmed using

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

animation. In the scene where Ghatotkacha (disguised as Sasirekha) stamps Lakshmana Kumara's foot with his own, the expression is Savitri's; the stamping foot belongs to choreographer Pasumarthy Krishnamurthy, who pasted false hair on his foot to make it appear demonic.

Music

After writing the music for four songs – "Srikarulu Devathalu", "Lahiri Lahiri", "Choopulu Kalasina Subhavela" and "Neekosame" – S. Rajeswara Rao left the project. Following his departure, Ghantasala orchestrated and recorded Rajeswara Rao's compositions with N. C. Sen Gupta and A. Krishnamurthy, and composed the rest of the film's score. The soundtrack album has 12 songs with lyrics by Pingali Nagendrarao and Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass for the Telugu and Tamil versions, respectively, and was mixed by A. Krishnan and Siva Ram. The album was engineered by N. C. Sen Gupta and orchestrated by A. Krishnamurthy. P. Leela said in an interview that one of her songs took 28 takes to record, and her fifth song was finished by Ghantasala. "Lahiri Lahiri" ("Aaga Inba Nilavinile" in Tamil) was based on the

Mohanam Mohanam is a raga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāga (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is usually described as a ''janya'' rāga of Harikamboji (28th Melakartha Raga). ...

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

. "Vivaha Bhojanambu" ("Kalyana Samayal Saadham" in Tamil) was heavily based on lyrics from Surabhi Nataka Samajam's 1950s plays, which were influenced by 1940s ''Janaki Sapadham'' harikatha records by B. Nagarajakumari. Nagarajakumari was inspired by a song composed by Gali Penchala Narasimha Rao for ''Sasirekha Parinayam'' (1936), directed by P. V. Das. That song's melody was inspired by Charles Penrose's 1922 song " The Laughing Policeman", written by Penrose under the pseudonym of Charles Jolly. According to M. L. Narasimham of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', music "flowed at its mellifluous best" in ''Mayabazar''. He added that Ghantasala "gave a new lease of life" to the song "Vivaha Bhojanambu", despite it being a borrowed tune.

Release

The Telugu version of ''Mayabazar'' was released on 27 March 1957, and the Tamil version two weeks later on 12 April. Both versions have a film-reel length of . A commercial success, ''Mayabazar'' had a theatrical run of 100 days in 24 theatres and went on to become a

silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

film. After the film's release, 40,000 colour calendars of Rama Rao as Krishna were distributed to the public. The Telugu version of ''Mayabazar'' was dubbed into

with the same name in 1965; it remained the last Indian film to be dubbed into Kannada until the announcement of a dubbed version of ''

Kochadaiiyaan ''Kochadaiiyaan: The Legend'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language animated period action film written by K. S. Ravikumar and directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth. It is India's first photorealistic motion capture film, featuring characters wh ...

'' (2014) after 50 years.

Dasari Narayana Rao Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1942 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, lyricist, and politician, primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema. Over his four decade career, he directed more than 150 feature ...

remade the film later with the same title. ''Mayabazar'' was shown at the Public Gardens in Hyderabad on 7 April 2007 for the film's 50th anniversary, at a celebration organised by the

Department of Culture, the Film, TV and Theatre Development Corporation and Kinnera Art Theatres. Nageswara Rao and C. Narayana Reddy, who were associated with the film, were honoured on the occasion. The former released a book written by Raavi Kondala Rao at Lalitha Kala Thoranam located in the Public Gardens. Kondala Rao novelised the film's script based on K. V. Reddy's screenplay.

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews from critics, particularly for the work of its technical crew. In 2006, W. Chandrakanth of ''The Hindu'' wrote:

The greatness of the director lies here – he successfully reduces all characters to ordinary mortals displaying all the follies of human beings except Ghatothkacha or Krishna. And then he injects into the Yadava household a Telugu atmosphere, full with its simile, imagery, adage, sarcasm and wit. The result – a feast for the eyes and soul. That is ''Mayabazar'' for you.

Vijaysree Venkatraman wrote for ''The Hindu'' in 2008 that the "special effects in this summer's Hollywood superhero movies were spectacular, but, for me, the mythological hasn't lost any of its magic", adding, "If watching the genial half-demon polish off a wedding feast single-handedly remains a treat, seeing the greedy duo from the groom's side get whacked alternately by the furniture and the wilful carpet has me in splits". ''The Hindu'' film critic M. L. Narasimham wrote: "Though there were several movie versions in various Indian languages, the 1957 Vijaya Productions' ''Mayabazar'' is still considered the best for its all round excellence". According to ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'', "With a powerful cast and a strong script, this movie is a stealer. Savitri, NTR . T. Rama Rao ANR kkineni Nageswara Rao SV Rangarao and not to mention Suryakantam add layers to their characters. Of course, the language and the dialogues, simply unbeatable. Some of the scenes are simply hilarious." In his 2013 book ''Bollywood Nation: India through Its Cinema'', Vamsee Juluri wrote, "''Maya Bazar'' appeal is of course as much in its story as in its stars. But the performances and the beautiful songs and sets aside, the film also reveals an interesting feature of the Telugu mythological in its Golden Ageit is a story about something not very important from a doctrinal view of religion at all". Juluri also termed Ranga Rao's performance as "mighty and majestic". In April 2013,

News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, ( d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief ...

referred to ''Mayabazar'' as a "pioneer in every sense". They praised its cinematography and music, adding that Rama Rao "proved his calibre as a method actor". In their 2015 book, ''Transcultural Negotiations of Gender: Studies in (Be)longing'', Saugata Bhaduri and Indrani Mukherjee opined that ''Mayabazar'' "both breaks and perpetuates the stereotypes for masculine and feminine ''bhavas'' by making a single female actor Savitri perform both the set of emotions".

Colourisation

''Mayabazar'' was the first colourised Telugu film, with its audio remastered from monaural to a DTS 5.1-channel system. In late November 2007 a Hyderabad company, Goldstone Technologies, acquired world negative rights to 14 Telugu films produced by Vijaya Vauhini Studios, including that of Mayabazar, to digitally remaster them in colour. C. Jagan Mohan of Goldstone Technologies' experience at

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

gave him the idea of converting the film's audio to DTS. The audio was restored, sound effects remastered, distortion eliminated, and the volume of the vocals increased, and musicians re-recorded the film's background music on seven tracks instead of one. A team of 165 people worked for eight months; Mohan used 180,000 shades of colour to create a tone similar to human skin, and employed 16.7-million-shade colour technology. Apart from colouring clothing and jewellery, Mohan said that the song "Vivaha Bhojanambu" and the wedding scene in the climax were the most challenging sequences, and that the food should look more realistic after colourisation. In the wedding scene, Mohan explained: "Each and every rose petal strewn on the pathway had to be coloured. Further, each frame in the climax has many actors. In technical parlance, we refer to a set of colours used for skin tone, clothes, jewelry and so on as different masks. If five or six masks were used on one character, the presence of many actors in a frame called for that much more work." Three songs ("Bhali Bhali Deva", "Vinnavamma Yashodha" and "Choopulu Kalisina Subha Vela") and many poems were cut from the remastered colour version to maintain print quality.

Re-release

With an estimated digitalisation budget of 7.5 crore (valued at about US$1.7 million in 2010), ''Mayabazar'' was released in colour on 30 January 2010 in 45 Andhra Pradesh theatres. The colourised version was distributed by R. B. Choudary under his production banner, Super Good Films. Nageswara Rao, Gummadi Venkateswara Rao, Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy and Sita were the only cast members still alive for the release of the digitally remastered version. The colour version received positive reviews and was commercially successful. M. L. Narasimham of ''The Hindu'' called the new version "laudable, but the soul was missing", adding, "Get a DVD of the original (Black & White) movie, watch it and you will agree with ANR kkineni Nageswara Raowho while talking about ''Mayabazar'' once exclaimed, 'What a picture it was!'". According to a 29 January 2010 government order, the remastered version was exempted from entertainment tax, although theatre owners charged full price because they and other film producers were uncertain of the order's validity. Despite ''Mayabazar'' success, Mohan decided not to remaster the remaining 14 films; according to him, most producers who sold negative rights to TV channels lost control of them, and he cited legal and copyright issues. The Film Heritage Foundation announced in March 2015 that they would be restoring ''Mayabazar'', along with a few other Indian films from 1931 to 1965, as a part of their restoration projects carried out in India and abroad in accordance with international parameters. The foundation opposed digital colourisation, stating that they "believe in the original repair as the way the master or the creator had seen it".

Legacy

''Mayabazar'' is considered a classic of Telugu cinema, particularly in its use of technology. The film is memorable for Nagendra Rao's dialogue: "Evaru puttinchakunte maatalela pudathayi" ("How would words emerge if no one invented them?") and "Subhadra, aagadalu, aghaaityalu naaku paniki raavu" ("Subhadra, these atrocities mean nothing to me."). Various words and phrases, such as "antha alamalame kada" ("Is everything fine?"), "Asamadiyulu" ("Friends"), "Tasamadiyulu" ("Enemies"), "Gilpam" and "Gimbali" ("bed-" and "room-mat"), later became part of Telugu vernacular. The success of '' Donga Ramudu'' (1955) and ''Mayabazar'' prompted K. V. Reddy to produce the 1958 Telugu film '' Pellinaati Pramanalu'' (''Vazhkai Oppantham'' in Tamil). It recovered its investment and won the silver medal at the annual

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

. A 1987 Telugu film directed by

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 ...

and a 2011 Telugu film directed by Veerabhadram Chowdary were named after the song "Aha Naa Pellanta" from the film; both were successful. Jandhyala named his 1988 Telugu films '' Vivaha Bhojanambu'' and '' Choopulu Kalasina Subhavela'' after the songs of the same name. Telugu comedian Mallikarjuna Rao considered ''Mayabazar'' to be the "greatest comedy film ever", adding that it represents "one of the most transcendental and joyful experiences any movie-lover can hope for". Telugu director

Mohan Krishna Indraganti Mohana Krishna Indraganti is an Indian director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. His debut directorial venture '' Grahanam'' (2005) fetched him eleven awards including the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director ...

named his second film ''Mayabazar'' (2006, also a fantasy film). Regarding his title, Indraganti said he was a fan of ''Mayabazar'' and named his film (produced by B. Satyanarayana) at the insistence of writer D. V. Narasaraju. In January 2007, M. L. Narasimham of ''The Hindu'' listed ''Mayabazar'' with '' Mala Pilla'' (1938), '' Raithu Bidda'' (1939), '' Vara Vikrayam'' (1939), '' Bhakta Potana'' (1942), '' Shavukaru'' (1950), '' Malliswari'' (1951) '' Peddamanushulu'' (1954) and '' Lava Kusa'' (1963) as films that have influenced society and Telugu cinema. Rama Rao reprised the role of Krishna in several films over a two-decade career. Singeetam Srinivasa Rao used ''Mayabazar'' storyline in his 2008 multilingual animation film '' Ghatothkach''. Director

Krishna Vamsi Pasupuleti Venkata Bangarraju (born 28 July 1962), known professionally as Krishna Vamsi, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. Over a career spanning three decades, he has received three Na ...

called ''Mayabazar'' more an "epic, than a mere classic" and said that the film's tagline, "Sasirekha Parinayam", inspired the title of his 2009 Telugu film. In February 2010, acting coach and director L. Satyanand compared ''Mayabazar'' to films such as '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956), ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' (1959), ''

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) and ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

'' (2009), saying that they "are evergreen and never fade away from the mind", with continued appeal. Satyanand praised Bartley's cinematography, saying that the film

... was definitely ahead of its time. It is still a mystery how Marcus Bartley could morph Sasirekha through the ripples in the pond. It was an absolute masterpiece, considering the equipment in use, those days. In the absence of hi-def cameras, computer generated visual effects and high-end computers, the direction, cinematography and visual effects were efforts of sheer human genius.

In the period drama '' Rajanna'' (2011), the central character Mallamma (played by Baby Annie) listens to ''Mayabazar'' songs. Although this was criticised as

anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common typ ...

, director V. Vijayendra Prasad said that ''Rajanna'' was set in 1958, a year after ''Mayabazar'' release. In

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...

'' Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam Appalaraju'' (2011), its protagonist Appalaraju (played by Sunil), an aspiring director, is shown enjoying a sequence from the song "Lahiri Lahiri" in the song "Mayabazaaru". In her article "The making of Tollywood", commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Indian Telugu film industry, Sunita Raghu of ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...

'' called ''Mayabazar'' the "tour de force" of Telugu cinema. In November 2012, ''

'' listed ''Mayabazar'' along with other unrelated films such as '' Missamma'' (1955), '' Gundamma Katha'' (1962), '' Nartanasala'' (1963), and '' Bommarillu'' (2006) in the list "Telugu classics to watch along with family this Deepavali". On the centenary of Indian cinema in 2013, ''

'' included ''Mayabazar'' in its list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time". In an online poll conducted among the aforementioned 100 films, ''Mayabazar'' was voted by the public as the "greatest Indian film ever." In commemoration of the centennial of Indian cinema, ''The Hindu'' listed ''Mayabazar'' along with '' Pathala Bhairavi'' (1951), ''Missamma'', ''Gundamma Katha'', '' Maduve Madi Nodu'' (1965), '' Ram Aur Shyam'' (1967), '' Julie'' (1975), and '' Shriman Shrimati'' (1982) as the iconic films produced by Nagi Reddy. News18 included ''Mayabazar'' on its February 2014 list of "12 Indian films that would make great books", and in May 2014 Rediff included the film on its list of "The Best Mythological Films of Tamil Cinema". The Tamil film '' Kalyana Samayal Saadham'' (2013) was named after the song of the same name. The Andhra Pradesh state government planned to introduce the film as part of the tenth standard English syllabus in 2014. The fourth unit of the English textbook, "Films and Theatres", mentions ''Mayabazar'' and its actors and has two stills from the film. In March 2012, film historian

Mohan Raman Mohan Raman, also known as Mohan V. Ram (born 3 April 1956), is an Indian actor and writer. In 2017 and 2019, he was a Jury member for the National Film Award for Best Writing on Cinema. Raman is a film historian and writes for ''The Hindu''. H ...

stated in an interview with ''The Times of India'' that ''Mayabazar'', which "perfected the art of trick photography", was "among the significant black and white films of yore", along with '' Andha Naal'' (1954) and '' Uthama Puthiran'' (1940). The scene in which Krishna reveals his identity to Ghatotkacha at Dvaraka was used in '' Gopala Gopala'' (2015), with

Pawan Kalyan Konidela Pawan Kalyan (born Konidela Kalyan Kumar; 2 September 1971) is an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and martial artist serving as the List of deputy chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, 11th Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Prade ...

as Krishna. References were made to Shakuni's character in the film '' Pataas'' (2015) starring Rama Rao's grandson

Nandamuri Kalyan Ram Nandamuri Kalyan Ram (born 5 July 1978) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Telugu cinema. He is the son of actor-politician Nandamuri Harikrishna. Ram is best known for his roles in action films such as ''Athanokkade'', ''Hare Ram ...

. Director S. S. Rajamouli told film critic Subhash K. Jha that K. V. Reddy's work in ''Mayabazar'' was a "huge inspiration" for him to make '' Baahubali: The Beginning'' (2015) and '' Baahubali: The Conclusion''. Writing for DailyO, an online opinion platform from the

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...

Group, actor

Rana Daggubati Ramanaidu Daggubati, (; born 14 December 1984) known professionally as Rana Daggubati, is an Indian actor, film producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil and Hindi cinema, Hindi films. H ...

opined that films like ''Mayabazar'' were "truly cutting edge" and added, "Considering the technological limitations technicians were working with back then, these were phenomenally commendable instances of the Indian cinema". In an interview with ''The Hindu'' in November 2015, actor

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

noted, "Visual appeal has always gone hand-in-hand with content, since the days of '' Chandralekha'' and , not just after ''Baahubali''." A 90-minute theatrical adaptation of the film was staged in December 2016 by Bangalore Little Theatre.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{Kadiri Venkata Reddy 1950s fantasy films 1950s Indian films 1950s multilingual films 1950s supernatural films 1950s Tamil-language films 1950s Telugu-language films 1957 films Films based on Indian folklore Films based on the Mahabharata Films directed by K. V. Reddy Films scored by Ghantasala (musician) Films scored by S. Rajeswara Rao Hindu mythological films Indian fantasy films Indian multilingual films Indian supernatural films Paranormal films Tamil-language Indian films