''Undamma Bottu Pedata'' () is a 1968 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 supernatural family drama film directed by

K. Viswanath Kasinadhuni Viswanath (19 February 1930 – 2 February 2023) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, lyricist and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. One of the greatest auteurs of Indian cinema, he received international recogn ...

and produced by

Adurthi Subba Rao Adurthi Subba Rao (16 December 1912 – 1 October 1975) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor, primarily recognized for his contributions to Telugu cinema, with a few works in Hindi and Tamil cinema. In an era dominate ...

. The film stars

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 ...

and Jamuna in the lead roles, 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''. ...

. Based on the Marathi film ''Thamb Laxmi Kunku Lavte'' directed by Datta Dharmadhikari, the screenplay was adapted by Adurthi Subba Rao, who incorporated significant changes to appeal to Telugu audiences.

Premise

The film centers on Dasaratharamayya, a patriarch with four sons, each with distinct flaws. The eldest son, Srinivasulu, is a gambler; the second, Venkateswarlu, is an alcoholic; and the third, Anjaneyulu, is idle. Their wives, Tulasamma, Seshu, and Sumathi, neglect their household responsibilities. The youngest son, Krishna, and his wife Lakshmi, a kind-hearted and devout woman, take care of the family. In contrast, the fourth son, Krishna, is devoted to his father and married to the kind-hearted Lakshmi. Lakshmi’s devotion to the goddess Lakshmi brings prosperity to their home, but the situation worsens when she goes to her parents' house for delivery. Upon learning that Lakshmi has left, the goddess plans to depart the house. Desperate to keep the goddess of wealth in their home, Lakshmi promises to return with ‘kumkuma’ (vermilion), an auspicious item, on a Friday. She sacrifices herself by jumping into a well to fulfill her vow, causing the goddess to remain in the home, moved by her selfless act.

Cast

Adapted from ''

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 ...

'': *

as Krishna * Jamuna as Lakshmi *

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 Dasaratharamayya *

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 Haridasu * Nagabhushanam as Srinivasulu * Chalam as Anjaneyulu *

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 the postmaster * Arja Janardhana Rao as Venkateswarlu *

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 Tulasamma *

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 ...

as the goddess

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

* Suryakantham as Papayamma * Suryakala as Seshu * Meenakumari as Sumathi

Production

Development

bought the Telugu remake rights of the Marathi film ''Thamb Laxmi Kunku Lavte'' (1967). While writing the screenplay of the remake, titled ''Undamma Bottu Pedata'', he retained the essence of the original's story with its climax, but made many other changes such as introducing new characters, mainly to suit the interests of Telugu-speaking audiences. Subba Rao also intended to direct the film and produce it under his banner Babu Movies, but the success of his

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 ...

directorial venture ''

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

'' (1967) led to him receiving more directorial offers from Hindi film producers; after accepting to direct ''Man Ka Meet'' (1969) for

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Raghunath Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi Cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was t ...

's Ajanta Arts, he entrusted his protégé

with directing ''Undamma Bottu Pedata''. The dialogues were written by N. R. Nandi, cinematography was handled by K. S. Ramakrishna and editing by Kotagiri Gopala Rao.

Filming

The rural scenes in the film were shot in Manikonda village, located approximately 20 kilometers from

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

, where later scenes for ''Paadipantalu'' (1976) were filmed. In an interview, Krishna revealed that Adurthi Subba Rao, at the request of director K. Viswanath, directed the iconic song sequence "Paathaala Gangamma Ra Ra Ra", which featured Krishna, Jamuna, and other lead actors.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

, with lyrics written by

Devulapalli Krishnasastri Devulapalli Krishnasastri (1 November 1897 – 24 February 1980) was a Telugu poet, playwright and translator known for his works in Telugu literature and Telugu cinema. He is known as ''Andhra Shelley''. In 1976, Krishnasastri was honoured wit ...

Release and reception

''Undamma Bottu Pedata'' was released on 28 September 1968, successfully completing 62-day run in

References

External links

* {{K. Viswanath, state=collapsed 1960s Telugu-language films 1960s Indian films 1968 drama films 1968 films Films directed by K. Viswanath Paranormal films Supernatural fiction Indian romantic drama films Indian family films Films shot in Andhra Pradesh Films set in Andhra Pradesh Films set in Konaseema Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films Telugu remakes of Marathi films Supernatural films