''Ardharathiri'' (''Midnight'') is a 1969 Indian
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
-language
thriller film written by
Aarudhra and directed by P. Sambasiva Rao in his debut. Inspired by the
Charlotte Brontë novel ''
Jane Eyre'', the film stars
Jaggayya and
Bharathi. It was released on 12 April 1969 and became a commercial success.
Plot
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 began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'':
*
Jaggayya as Sridhar
*
Bharathi as Sarala
*
V. Nagayya
V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1978) also 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. I ...
as Dharmarao
*
Mannava Balayya as Prasad
*
Ramana Reddy as Panakala Rao
*
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 '' Pe ...
as Keshav
* Radhika as Panakala Rao's daughter
* Kalpana as Rani
Production
P. Sambasiva Rao's desire to direct a thriller film arose after he read the
Charlotte Brontë novel ''
Jane Eyre''. He,
Aarudhra and Polavarapu Srihari Rao then created the story of the film ''Ardharathiri'', taking inspiration from the novel while new characters and situations were created to suit the tastes of Telugu-speaking audience. As Sambasiva Rao put it, "In evolving the characters of Prasad and Keshav, traces of influence can be found in
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, ''Wuthering Heights'', now considered a classic of English literature. She also published a book of poet ...
's ''
Wuthering Heights''". The film marked his directorial debut and was produced by P. Gangadara Rao under Hyderabad Movies. Cinematography was handled by J. Sathyanarayana and editing by S. P. S. Veerappa.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by
Master Venu. The song "Ee Pilupu Nee Kosame" is based on "Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil" from the 1962
Hindi film ''
Bees Saal Baad'' (1962).
*"Ee Pilupu Ni Kosame" - P. Susheela (lyrics: Aarudra)
*"Ee Oori Dhanni" - B.R. Latha (lyrics: Kosaraju)
*"Egiri Poyina Chilu" - L.R. Eswari , Apparao Nagabhyru (lyrics: Aarudra)
*"Kaipekkinche Kammani Reyi" - S. Janaki (lyrics: Dasaradhi)
*"Oho Andamantha" - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, B. R. Latha (lyrics: Aarudra)
Release and reception
''Ardharathiri'' was released on 12 April 1969,
and became a commercial success.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0256609
1960s Telugu-language films
1969 directorial debut films
1969 films
1969 thriller films
Indian thriller films
Films scored by Master Venu