Vedantam Raghavayya
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Vedantam Raghavayya (8 June 1919 –19,October 1971) was an Indian film director, dance choreographer, and actor known for his work in Telugu and
Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...
. An accomplished
Kuchipudi ''Kuchipudi'' ( ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit ...
dancer, he was honoured with the title "Bharata Kala Prapurna" by the Andhra Pradesh government in recognition of his expertise. Raghavayya began his career as a dance choreographer, working on films such as '' Raithu Bidda'' (1939) and '' Swarga Seema'' (1945). He made his directorial and production debut with ''Stree Sahasamu'' (1951). He went on to direct many notable films, including '' Devadasu'' (1953), '' Annadata'' (1954), '' Anarkali'' (1955), '' Prema Pasam'' (1956), '' Bhale Ramudu'' (1956), '' Chiranjeevulu'' (1956), ''
Suvarna Sundari ''Suvarna Sundari'' () is a 1957 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language swashbuckler film directed by Vedantam Raghavayya. It stars Anjali Devi and Akkineni Nageswara Rao (credited as Nageswara Rao) with music composed by P. Adinarayana Rao. Th ...
'' (1957), and '' Rahasyam'' (1967). In addition to his work behind the camera, Raghavayya appeared as an actor in films such as ''Mohini Rukmanigada'' (1937), ''Garuda Garvabhangam'' (1943) and ''Raksharekha'' (1949). He was also a co-owner of the film production house Vinodha Pictures. Raghavayya's influence extended beyond cinema. He served on the committee of the First General Council of the Andhra Pradesh Sangeetha Nataka Academy, representing dance, and was nominated as the President of the National Dance Festival in 1964. He also mentored notable dancers, including Bhagavathula Yagna Narayana Sarma, a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee, under his fellowship.


Film craft and Devadasu

His directorial film '' Devadasu'' (1953), which was the first Telugu adaptation of
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (anglicised as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee; 15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and socie ...
's novel, and ''Devadas'' was the second Tamil adaptation of the same, following the 1937 ''Devadas'' directed by and starring P. V. Rao. During pre-production
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 ...
, who portrayed the titular character, later recalled that Raghavayya, being a
Kuchipudi ''Kuchipudi'' ( ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit ...
dance exponent and an experienced stage actor, used to enact the scenes before the actors, thereby making their job easy. He recalled that the director shot him only at night so that he could give the character a "drunken, droopy" look. Those night-time shots were filmed over 50 days. The final length of both versions was . ''Devadasu'' and ''Devadas'' are regarded as among the most successful films in Telugu and Tamil cinema respectively. Both versions were critically and commercially successful. It has since achieved cult status, with terms and phrases from the film being widely cited. 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 ...
included the film in its list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time".


Theater and dance

*Usha in ''Ushaparinayam'' *Sita in ''Ramanataka Yakshaganam'' *Leelavathi in ''Prahallada Yakshaganam'' *Chandramathi in ''Hrischandra nataka Yakshaganam'' *Sasirekha in ''Sasirekhaparinaya Yakshaganam'' *Mohini in ''Mohini Rukmangada Yakshaganam'' *Satyabhama in ''Bhamakalapa Yakshaganam'' *''Bala Gopala Tarangam''


Personal life

Raghavayya was born in
Kuchipudi, Krishna district Kuchipudi is a village in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also known as Kuchelapuram or Kuchilapuri. It is the origin of the eponymous dance form Kuchipudi, one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It is ...
of
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 ...
on 8 June 1919 to Vedantam Ramayya and Annapurnamma. He had six daughters and a son, including renowned Kuchipudi guru Vedantam Ramu, and actress Shubha. He was married to actress Suryaprabha, the sister of actress
Pushpavalli Kandala Venkata Pushpavalli Tayaramma (3 January 1926 – 28 April 1991), known mononymously as Pushpavalli, was an Indian actress who predominantly worked in Telugu and Tamil films. She entered the film industry as a child actress with a sma ...
who was married to
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 ...
, and their daughter
Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (; born 10 October 1954), better known by her mononymous stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in mo ...
is a Hindi actress.


Selected filmography

;As actor and choreographer *''Mohini Rukmanigada'' (1937) (actor in the Balagopala Tarangam) *'' Raithu Bidda'' (1939) (dancer and choreographer) *''Panthulamma'' (1943) (choreographer) *''Garuda Garvabhangam'' (1943) (actor and choreographer) * ''Sri'' ''Seeta Rama Jananam'' (1944) (choreographer) *''
Swargaseema ''Swargaseema'' is a 1945 Telugu language, Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by B.N. Reddi, B. N. Reddi and starring V. Nagayya, B. Jayamma and Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, Bhanumathi. The film marked the debut of Ghantasala (musician), ...
'' (1945) (choreographer) * ''Tyagayya'' (1946) (choreographer) *'' Palnati Yudham'' (1947) (choreographer) *'' Yogi Vemana'' (1947) (choreographer) *''
Vande Mataram Vande Mātaram (Bengali language, Original Bengali: বন্দে মাতরম্‌ ''Bônde Mātôrôm'' Devanagari script: वंदे मातरम्; , Transcreation: I Bow to Thee, Mother) is a poem that was adopted as the nati ...
'' (1948) (choreographer) *''Laila Majnu'' (1949) (choreographer) *''Raksharekha'' (1949) (actor and choreographer) ;As director *''Stree Sahasamu'' (1951) (producer and director) *''Santhi'' (1952) (producer and director) * ''Devadasu'' (Telugu and Tamil) (1953) (producer and director) * ''Annadata'' (1954) (director) * ''Anarkali'' (1955) (director) * ''Chiranjeevulu'' (1956) (director) *'' Bhale Ramudu'' (Telugu, 1956) (director) *'' Prema Pasam'' (Tamil, 1956) (director) *''
Suvarna Sundari ''Suvarna Sundari'' () is a 1957 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language swashbuckler film directed by Vedantam Raghavayya. It stars Anjali Devi and Akkineni Nageswara Rao (credited as Nageswara Rao) with music composed by P. Adinarayana Rao. Th ...
'' (1957) (screenplay writer and director) *''Bhale Ammayilu'' (Telugu, 1957) (director) *'' Iru Sagodharigal'' (Tamil, 1957) (director); also credited for screenplay writer *''Manalane Mangayin Bhagyam'' (1957) (director) *'' Raja Nandini'' (1958) (director) * ''Inti Guttu'' (1958) (director) * ''Bala Nagamma'' (1959) (director) *''Jai Bhawana'' (1959) (director) *''Adutha Veetu Penn'' (1960) (director) *''Mamaku Tagga Alludu'' (1960) (director) *'' Runanubandham'' (1960) (director) *'' Swarna Manjari'' (1962) (director) *'' Mangaiyar Ullam Mangatha Selvam'' (1962) (director) *'' Aada Brathuku'' (1965) (director) *''Nanna Kartavya'' (1965) (director) *''Badukuva Daari'' (1966) (director) *''Sati Sakkubai'' (1965) (director) * ''Rahasyam'' (1967) (director) *''Sati Sumathi'' (1967) (director) *''Kumkumabharina'' (1968) (director) *'' Sapta Swaralu'' (1969) (director) *''Ulagam Ivvalavuthan'' (1969) (director) *''Bhale Ethu Chivaraku Chittu'' (1970) (director)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raghavaiah, Vedantam Telugu film directors Film producers from Andhra Pradesh 1971 deaths Indian film choreographers 1919 births Kuchipudi exponents Indian male film actors Film people from Krishna district Telugu film producers Indian classical choreographers Dancers from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian educators Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Teachers of Indian classical dance Film directors from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian male actors