''Prema Nagar'' () is a 1971 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

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by K. S. Prakash Rao and produced by D. Ramanaidu under the

Suresh Productions Suresh Productions (also known as Suresh Movies, Vijaya Suresh Combines) is an Cinema of India, Indian film production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 19 ...

banner. It stars

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 ...

and

Vanisri Vanisri (born Rathna Kumari) is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has received three Filmfare Awards South, the Nandi Awards and the Tamil Nadu St ...

with music composed by

K. V. Mahadevan Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician who won the inaugural National Film Award for Best Music Direction in (1967) for '' Kandan Karunai''. ...

. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Koduri Kausalya Devi. ''Prema Nagar'' was a Blockbuster, grossing ₹1.45 crores at the box office. D. Ramanaidu whose earlier films had failed and was in financial troubles had a dramatic turnaround in his career with the stupendous success of ''Prema Nagar''. The film had a theatrical run of over 750 days. It was remade in

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 '' Vasantha Maligai'' (1972) and in

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 ...

as '' Prem Nagar'' (1974) by K. S. Prakash Rao himself.

Plot

The film revolves around a Zamindari tycoon clan. Kalyan, the second heir is an alcoholic playboy and spends his life frolicking. Once on board a flight, he is acquainted with an air hostess, Latha, and she senses his lifestyle. Latha is the only breadwinner of an extended family. Since the occasion warrants, she must resign and walk to Kalyan for the post of secretarial assistant. He stipulates to act according to his temperament, which she agrees with until it affects her self-esteem. The next day, they proceed to their estate palace, where Kalyan introduces Latha to his vainglorious mother Ranigaru, vicious brother Kesava Varma and termagant sister-in-law Indrani. Following this, Kesava Varma splits the property, pretending to do so for Kalyan's welfare. Hence, he entrusts his totality in Latha's direction, which she leads perfectly. Though Latha misinterprets Kalyan's eccentricity, she gradually comprehends his divine integrity. Meanwhile, Rani perturbs Kalyan's disrepute as debauchery when Latha assures him to reform him. Ergo, she forcibly seeks to hinder his alcoholism and gets badly hurt in that scuffle. Kalyan collapses, spotting her blood, and shares his tragic pain. From birth, his mother entirely disregards him, who is doted on by a lady of adoration, Aaya. Green-eyed Rani slaughtered her because Kalyan idolized her. The incident made a profound impact on him, and he molded into an inebriate for letting off grief. Currently, Kalyan swears on Latha to relinquish vices forever and become a man of the mark. Now, Kalyan surprises Latha by bestowing a palace, ''Prem Nagar,'' to Latha as an eternal of his heavenly love. Consequently, Rani & Keshava Varma conspire to detach the two, so they incriminate Latha in a theft, which makes Kalyan too suspicious, and Latha quits. Later, Kalyan breaks out of the plot and exits, ostracizing his family. Forthwith, he rushed for Latha and apologized, which she rejected as her self-reverence was offended. Thus, Kalyan loses his composure, leading to health deterioration. Here, the doctors advise him to get a drink, which he cannot do as per his oath. Knowing it, Latha arrives and appeals to do so. Then, he asks her to state that she does not love him. So, Latha accepts the alliance fixed by her elders. Knowing it, Kalyan visits the wedding and covertly meets & blesses Latha. Discerning it, the bridal party calls off the nuptial, denouncing Latha. Suddenly, Rani enters the room, pleads pardon, and declares Latha as her daughter-in-law, who moves to Kalyan. Till then, lovesick Kalyan lands at ''Prem Nagar'' and consumes poison. At last, after hospitalization, Kalyan survives. Finally, the movie ends happily with the union of the turtle doves.

Cast

as Kalyan *

as Lata * S. V. Ranga Rao as Kalyan's father * Gummadi as Latha's father * Satyanarayana as Kesava Varma * Raja Babu as Dasu *

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 Doctor *

Dhulipala Dhulipala Sitarama Sastry (24 September 1921 – 13 April 2007), known mononymously by the surname Dhulipala, was an Indian actor and thespian, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He was noted for playing mythological roles, p ...

as Diwanji *

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 ...

*K. V. Chalam as Cook *

Raavi Kondala Rao Raavi Kondala Rao (11 February 1932 – 28 July 2020) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, playwright, and journalist who worked in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He acted in over 400 films. He won Nandi Award for Best Story Writer for '' Pel ...

as School Teacher *

Sakshi Ranga Rao Sakshi Ranga Rao (born Rangavajhula Ranga Rao; – 27 June 2005) was an Indian character actor who worked in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre, theatre. He appeared in about 450 films over a career spanning four decades, majority of which w ...

as Priest *Kakarala as Latha's brother *

Santha Kumari Santha Kumari (born Vellaala Subbamma; 17 May 1920 – 16 January 2006) was an Indian musical artist and actress. She was married to the Telugu film director and producer P. Pullayya. Early years Vellaala Subbamma was born in Proddatur tow ...

as Kalyan's mother *

Hemalatha Hemalatha, often credited as Hema, is an Indian actress and dancer who works in Tamil cinema. She is acclaimed for her roles in the popular soap opera '' Kana Kaanum Kaalangal'' on STAR Vijay and in the drama serial on Sun TV '' Thendral''. ...

as Latha's mother * Suryakantham *

S. Varalakshmi Saridey Varalakshmi (13 August 1925 – 22 September 2009) was an Indian actress and singer who worked in Telugu and Tamil-language films. She was popular for her roles and songs in Telugu films like '' Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam'' (1960) and ...

as Indrani *

Rama Prabha Rama Prabha is an Indian actress who performs in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. She has acted in more than 1,400 films and is credited as a character artist who shared screen space with superstars across most generations of South Indian Cin ...

as Hamsa *

Jyothi Lakshmi Jyothi Lakshmi (2 November 1948 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian actress who appeared in more than 130 movies. In the early 1970s, she was well noted for her leading roles and songs in movies. She also acted in female-oriented movies and was a ...

item number In Indian cinema, an item number or special song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films ( Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu c ...

Chalapathi Rao Tammareddy Chalapathi Rao (8 May 1944 – 24 December 2022) was an Indian actor and producer known for comedy and villainous roles in Telugu cinema. He acted in different roles in more than 600 films. Personal life and death Rao hailed from B ...

as doctor *

Pushpalatha Pushpalatha (1937 or 1938 – 4 February 2025) was an Indian actress, who worked predominantly in Tamil-, Telugu-, Kannada- and Malayalam-language films. She acted in heroine and character roles in more than 100 films. Her debut film was '' Se ...

as Ayya *Pushpa Kumari as Gowri *Meena Kumari as Kamala * Master Venkatesh as Young Kesava Varma

Production

The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Koduri Kausalya Devi. K. S. Prakash Rao scripted the film with dialogue given by

Acharya Aatreya Acharya Aatreya (born Kilambi Venkata Narasimhacharyulu ; 7 May 1921 – 13 September 1989) was an Indian poet, lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He received the state Nandi Award fo ...

. K. A. Marthand performed the editing while S. Venkataratnam handled the cinematography. S. Krishna Rao is the Art Director.

Soundtrack

Music composed by

. Lyrics were written by

. The song "Le Le Naa Raja" was remixed in the film '' Xtra'' (2004).

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0067607, title=Prema Nagar 1971 films Telugu films remade in other languages Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Films based on Indian novels 1970s Telugu-language films 1970s Indian films Films directed by K. S. Prakash Rao Suresh Productions films