''Panduranga Mahatyam'' () is a 1957 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

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

, based on the life of Pundarika, produced by N. Trivikrama Rao under the National Art Theatres banner and directed by

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 ...

. It 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 ...

Anjali Devi Anjali Devi (; 24 August 1927 – 13 January 2014) was an Indian actress, model and producer in Telugu and Tamil films. She was well known for her role as the Devi Sita in '' Lava Kusa'' as well as for the title roles in movies like Chenchu ...

and

B. Saroja Devi Bangalore Saroja Devi (born 7 January 1938) is an Indian actress who has acted in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films over seven decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abhinaya Saraswathi''" ( Saraswathi of ...

(in her Telugu debut) with music composed by T. V. Raju. The film was dubbed into

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 ...

as ''Annaiyum Pithavum Munnari Dheivam'' (1959) and it was again remade as the Telugu film ''

Pandurangadu ''Pandurangadu'' is 2008 Telugu language, Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of Pundalik, Pundarika, produced by K. Krishna Mohana Rao on R. K. Film Associates banner, directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Starring Nandamuri Balakris ...

'' (2008).

Plot

The film begins with

Vritra Vritra (, , ) is a danava in Hinduism. He serves as the personification of drought, and is an adversary of the king of the devas, Indra. As a danava, he belongs to the race of the asuras. Vritra is also known in the Vedas as Ahi ( ). He appe ...

Rakshasa Rākshasa (, , ; ; "preservers") are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as ...

conducting a tremendous penance for Siva and frightened

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

, creating several obstacles but in vain. So, he is slain by Indra when enraged Vritra curses him to turn into a stone. Ergo, Siva appears and proclaims that when

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 ( ...

launches at Chandrabhaga river, he will be emancipated. Now, the tail shifts to Pundarika, a tomcat that perturbs his parents, Jahnavi Sastry & Lakshmi, who create havoc in town. Plus, he entices a prostitute, Kalavathi. Pundari is knitted in childhood. Jahnavi Sastry invites his shrew daughter-in-law, Rama, to divert his path. Rama looks down on her soft in-laws' and keeps Pundari in her grip. Consequently, he stops his visit to Kalavathi, which begrudges her. So, she ploys and summons him to announce her birthday, which Pundari is embarrassed about as he cannot bestow her. Thus, he attempts to steal Rama's jewelry but is caught when Lakshmi is accused. Accordingly, the couple quit. Today, Pundari completely surrenders to Kalavathi and spends time frolic-necking out Rama. Following that, Kalavathi confiscates his property in an alcoholic state and throws him away. Next, Pundari reaches the Ashram of Sage Kukkuta. Since there is no modification in his attitude, he lusts for 3 river goddesses

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

Yamuna The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...

, &

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

who are passing removing their impurities of sinners. Pundari attempts to catch them, and they abscond. Therein, he views Kukkuta serving his parents, whom Pundari kicks off. As a result, he loses his limbs, and Kukkuta proclaims that the only remedy is the forgiveness of his parents. Here, Pundari grounds at his parents by crawling and pleads pardon after soul-searching when he recoups his legs. From there, he is actively involved in serving them and feels blissful in it. Parallelly, remorseful Rama, whom the parents rebuke, also lands at her husband's feet after crossing many hurdles, and she too starts serving in-laws'. Pundari currently molds as an advert devotee 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 ...

who appears and gives him a call but does not rotate as he is immersed in praying to his parents asking him to wait. Then Indra's curse is relieved. At last, the Lord urges Pundari for a boon, and he requests to give salvation along with his parents, which he does. Finally, the movie ends happily, with the statement ''Serving parents cannot exceed any infinite spirit'' and the place adorning at ''

Pandharpur Pandharpur City (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a popular pilgrimage town, on the banks of Chandrabhaga River, Chandrabhagā River, near Solapur, Solapur city in Solapur district, Solapur District, Maharashtra, Ind ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

till today.

Cast

as Pundarika *

as Rama *

as Kalavati *

V. Nagayya Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma (28 March 1904 – 30 December 1973), popularly known as Chittoor Nagayya, was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. Nagayya wa ...

as Jahnavi * Padmanabham as Hari *

Govindarajula Subba Rao Dr. Govindarajula Venkata Subba Rao (1895 – 29 October 1959) was a famous Telugu drama and film actor.Nata Ratnalu, Dr. Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy, Second edition, Seetharatnam Grandhamala, Vijayawada, 2002, pp:56-59 Life sketch He play ...

as Rama's father * Vangara as Panthulu *K. V. S. Sarma as Vritrasura and Sage Kukkuta (dual role) *

Kasturi Siva Rao Kasturi Siva Rao (6 March 1913 – 24 February 1966) was an Indian actor, comedian, playback singer, producer and director known for his works in Telugu cinema. He was one of the first star comedians of Telugu cinema. Career Kasturi Siva Rao st ...

as Rangadasu *

Balakrishna Bala Krishna (). Present day Krishna worship is an amalgam of various elements. According to historical testimonies Krishna-Vasudeva worship already flourished in and around Mathura several centuries before Christ. A second important element is ...

as Ramadasu *

Peketi Sivaram Peketi Sivaram (8 October 1918 – 30 December 2006) was an Indian actor and film director. Career Peketi Sivaram acted in many Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films, receiving recognition for the character Bhagavan in '' Devadasu'' (1953). He dir ...

as Kalavati's paramour *

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 ...

as Lakshmi *Chhaya Devi as Suramma *Ammaji as Champa *

Sowcar Janaki Sankaramanchi Janaki (born 12 December 1931), widely known as Sowcar Janaki, is an Indian actress known for her works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. In a career spanning over seven decades, Janaki has appeared in nearly 390 fil ...

as Rama's sister *

Vijaya Nirmala Vijaya Nirmala (born Nidudavolu Nirmala; 20 February 1946 – 27 June 2019) was an Indian actress, director, and producer known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning over si ...

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

Soundtrack

Music was composed by T. V. Raju. Lyrics were written by

Samudrala Jr Samudrala is a Telugu surname and may refer to: * Samudrala Sr. (1902–1968), writer, producer, and director * Samudrala Jr. (1923–1985), film writer and son of Samudrala Sr. * Samudrala Venugopal Chary (fl. 1985–2009), Indian politician ...

. The songs ''Jaya Krishna Mukunda Murari'', ''Amma Ani Pilichina'' are evergreen blockbusters. Lyrics for the Tamil dubbed version were penned by Kuyilan.

Release

It had a 100-day run in 9 centers and celebrated a silver jubilee in Vijayawada and Guntur centers.

Awards

* Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao won the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) (fourth in succession) for his portrayal of Pundarika.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panduranga Mahatyam 1957 films 1950s Telugu-language films 1950s Indian films Indian black-and-white films Hindu mythological films Films directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao Films scored by T. V. Raju