''Bhookailas'' ( te, భూకైలాస్) is a 1940 Telugu film produced by A. V. Meiyappan and directed by

Sundar Rao Nadkarni Sundar Rao Nadkarni was an Indian film actor, editor, cinematographer, producer and director. He was the director of the first hit film for AVM productions Bhookails in Telugu in the year 1940, and later the record-creating Tamil film '' Haridas ...

. The film starred

Subbaiah Naidu Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiah Naidu (1896 – 21 July 1962) was an Indian stage artiste in the silent movies era. He was an actor and director, well known for the movies '' Sati Sulochana'' (1934) in Kannada, which was also the first Kannada talkie ...

R. Nagendra Rao Rattihalli Nagendra Rao (23 June 1896 – 9 February 1977) was an Indian theatre actor, film actor and director in South Indian cinema. Following his career in theatre, Rao turned to film a where he became an actor, director, producer, screenwr ...

, and Rayaprolu Subramanyam. It was the first hit film after the establishment of

AVM Productions AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...

. It was adapted from the famous

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

stage play ''Bhookailasa'' by Sri Sahitya Samrajya Nataka Mandali of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

Plot

Demon King

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...

(

) decides to invade

Amaravati Amaravati () is the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the river Krishna in Guntur district. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone at a ceremonial event in Uddandar ...

, the capital of the heavenly kingdom of

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

. Scared of Ravana's plans, Indra asks Narada (

) for help. Narada informs Indra that Ravana's strength comes from the worship performed by Kaikasi (Parvathi Bai), Ravana's mother. He suggests that Indra sabotage Ravana's mother's worship of Saikatha Lingam, a sand sculpture representation of Lord Siva (Rayaprolu Subramanyam). Ravana decides to perform penance and bring Lord Siva's Atma Lingam for his mother to worship. Hearing of Ravana's plans from Narada, Goddess Parvathi (Hymavathi), Lord Siva's consort, appeals to Lord Vishnu. When Lord Siva appears to Ravana to grant his wish, Lord Vishnu manipulates Ravana's mind and makes him wish for Goddess Parvathi. As Ravana proceeds home with Goddess Parvathi, Narada meets him midway and tells him that his companion is a fake Parvathi. Dejected by the subterfuge, Ravana returns Goddess Parvathi to Lord Siva. During his return journey, he meets Mandodari (Lakshmi Bai), the young princess of Pathala. Believing she is the real Goddess Parvathi, he marries her. Eventually, he realizes what happened and appeals to Lord Siva for forgiveness by presenting his severed head. Lord Siva presents Ravana with Atma Lingam and warns him that, if the Atma Lingam ever touches the earth, it can never be moved again. Narada instigates Lord Vinayaka to trick Ravana into grounding the Atma Lingam at what later became known as

Gokarna Gokarna may refer to: Places * Gokarna, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India * Gokarna, West Bengal, a village in West Bengal, India * Gokarnamatam, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India * Trincomalee, a city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka also known ...

Kshethram in Karnataka.

Cast

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

* Rayaprolu Subramanyam as

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

* Hymavathi as

Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

* Parvathi Bai as

Kaikasi ''Ramayana'' is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (''Itihasa''s) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important characters that appear in the epic. A Agastya Agastya was a son of sage Pulastya ...

, mother of Ravana * Kamalabai as Vishnu Maya * M. Satyanarayana as

Mayasura In Hindu scriptures, Maya ( sa, मय) or Mayāsura () was a great ancient king of the Asura, Daitya, Danava and Rākṣasa races. Maya was known for his brilliant architecture. In ''Mahabharata'', Mayasabha – the hall of illusions – was ...

* Lakshmi Bai as

Mandodari Mandodari ( sa, मंदोदरी, , lit. "soft-bellied";) was the queen consort of Ravana, the king of Lanka, according to the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. The ''Ramayana'' describes Mandodari as beautiful, pious, and righteous. She is extoll ...

, daughter of Mayasura *

Master Viswam 'Master Viswam was a child actor during the early era of Telugu Cinema during the British era of India. He shot to fame with the role of Balawardhiraju in 1942 Balanagamma movie produced by Gemini Studios. Birth and childhood Master Viswam was ...

as young

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

Soundtrack

There are about 18 songs and poems in the film.Bhookailas
/ref> Some of the songs are very popular. Lyrics are penned by

Balijepalli Lakshmikantham Balijepalli Lakshmikantha Kavi (23 December 1881 – 30 June 1953) was an Indian playwright, novelist, poet, screenwriter, actor and freedom fighter. He is remembered for the magnum opus ''Satya Harischandriyamu'', a play written in 1924, and ...

. The music score is provided by R. Sudarsanam.

Adaptations

References

External links

* 1940 films Indian black-and-white films 1940s Telugu-language films AVM Productions films Films based on the Ramayana Indian musical drama films 1940s musical drama films Films scored by R. Sudarsanam Films directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni 1940 drama films {{1940s-Telugu-film-stub