''Vipra Narayana'' is a 1954

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 ...

directed, produced and edited by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao under Bharani Studios 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 ...

Bhanumathi Bhānumati or Bhanumathi is an Indian name. It may refer to: * Bhanumati (Yadava princess), a Yadava princess in the scripture, Harivamsha * Bhanumati (wife of Duryodhana), wife of Duryodhana, the antagonist of the Indian epic Mahabharata * P. Bh ...

, and Relangi with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. The film is based on the life of Tamil Vaishnava saint Vipranarayana. He led his life in devotion to

Lord Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the Kshira Sagara, celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is als ...

and worked for the Lord by dedicating him with garlands. He is one of the twelve Alvars. The film is also dubbed 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 ...

with the same title and released in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

Plot

Vipra Narayana ''Vipra Narayana'' is a 1954 Telugu-language biographical film directed, produced and edited by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao under Bharani Studios banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Bhanumathi, and Relangi with music composed by S. Rajeswa ...

, a staunch devotee 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 ( ...

, lives in a hermitage on the banks of the river

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a Rivers of India, major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari River, Godavari and Krishna River, Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin i ...

along with his disciple Rangaraju. He worships Vishnu in the form of

Ranganatha Ranganatha, also known as Ranganathar, Rangan, Aranganathar, Sri Ranga, and Thenarangathan, is a Hindu deity with his origin in South India, southern India, serving as the chief deity of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam. The deity is a re ...

, the presiding deity of the nearby Srirangam temple. Every day, Narayana makes garlands out of flowers from his garden and offers them to Ranganatha and sings hymns in praise of him. One day, Devadevi, a

devadasi In India, a devadasi is a female artist who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication takes place in a ceremony that is somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

, performs a dance recital at the court of the Chola King and is on her way back to home along with her sister Madhuravani. When Devadevi passes through the hermitage, Narayana does not notice her; this hurts Devadevi's vanity. She mistakes his devotion towards Ranganatha as arrogance and decides to teach him a lesson, ignoring Madhuravani's advice. Devadevi enters Narayana's hermitage as an orphan and narrates her woes, requesting for a stay to support herself. Narayana agrees despite Rangaraju's objection and Devadevi becomes the former's disciple. In a turn of events, Rangaraju is expelled from the hermitage when he tries to send Devadevi away after realising her intentions. As time passes, Narayana finds himself attracted to Devadevi and falls for her charms. Once her ego is satisfied, Devadevi begins to regret her act. Madhuravani asks her to return and Narayana follows them. Devadevi's mother Rangasani, upon knowing that Narayana is penniless, throws him away. To help Narayana win, Ranganatha visits Devadevi's house in the disguise of Rangaraju. He presents a golden vessel from the kitchen of Srirangam temple as a gift from Narayana to Devadevi. The next day, the priests at the temple complain that the golden vessel is missing and find it at Devadevi's house. Narayana is accused of stealing the vessel and is produced in the court. The King orders that Narayana's hands be amputated as a punishment for theft. Ranganatha appears at the scene and reveals the truth. Ranganatha adds that Narayana is an incarnation of Vyjayanthi, a garland that adorns him at his heavenly abode

Vaikuntha Vaikuntha (), also called Vishnuloka (), and Tirunatu (Tirunāṭu) in Tamil language, Tamil, is the abode of Vishnu, the Parabrahman , supreme deity in the Vaishnavism, Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism,Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' ( ...

and that Devadevi is a

gandharva A ''gandharva'' () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they ...

who took a human birth due to a curse. Narayana and Devadevi visit Srirangam temple and sing praises of the deity, before attaining salvation.

Cast

as Devadevi * Relangi as Rangaraju *

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 Mother of Devadevi *V. Sivaram as Maharaja *

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 ...

*Sandhya as Madhuravani

Soundtrack

Music was composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. Lyrics were written by

Samudrala Sr Samudrala Raghavacharya (19 July 1902 – 16 March 1968), also known as Samudrala Sr., was an Indian screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, director, and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. Samudrala Senior made his screen debut in ...

Legend

The story revolves around a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

who makes flower garlands. He devotes his life to Lord. He is seduced by a woman who is determined to make him break his vow.

1937 film

''Vipra Narayana'' was made in Telugu language for the first time in 1937 by Aurora Pictures. It stars Kasturi Narasimha Rao, Kanchanamala and

Tanguturi Suryakumari Tanguturi Suryakumari (13 November 1925 – 25 April 2005), also known by her married name Suryakumari Elvin, was an Indian singer, actress and dancer in Telugu cinema. She sang "Maa Telugu Thalliki", the official song of the States and union t ...

, and was directed by Ahindra Chaudhari. It was made in Tamil too with Rajamadam G. Sundara Bhagavathar featuring as Vipra Narayana. The film was produced by Sri Gopalakrishna Films at Madras Sound Studios and was directed by K. Ranga Rao. T. Suryakumari featured as Andal in the film.

1938 film

''Vipra Narayana'' was made in the Tamil language again in 1938 by Srinivas Cinetone. It stars Kothamangalam Cheenu and T. V. Rajasundari, the film was produced and directed by A. Narayanan. Meena Narayanan did the audiography.

1954 film

''Vipra Narayana'' was made in both Telugu and Tamil, directed and produced by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao and

P. Bhanumathi P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (7 September 1925 – 24 December 2005) was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist. She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema. She is also considered the ...

Bharani Pictures Bharani Pictures is a film production company in Chennai, India. It was established by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao and Bhanumathi Ramakrishna in 1947. They later established Bharani Studios in 1950. It is named after their son Bharani. Dr. Bharani Pal ...

. The title role was played by

A. 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 ...

. S. D. Sundharam wrote the dialogues and lyrics for the Tamil version.

Awards

* The film won

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu The National Film Award for Best Telugu Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kam ...

- Certificate of merit in 1954 at

2nd National Film Awards The 2nd National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1954. Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Telugu 1954 films Indian biographical films Best Telugu Feature Film National Film Award winners 1950s Telugu-language films 1950s Tamil-language films Films directed by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao 1950s biographical films Indian black-and-white films Supernatural films Paranormal films