''Chandraharam'' is a 1954

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 ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

bilingual swashbuckler film directed by

Kamalakara Kameswara Rao Kamalakara Kameswara Rao (14 October 1911 – 29 June 1998) was an Indian film director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, and a few Tamil and Hindi films. Widely known as ''Pauranika Chitra Brahma'' (), Kameswara Rao directed fi ...

in his debut. It was produced by Nagi Reddy-

Chakrapani Chakrapani may refer to: People with the surname * Aluri Chakrapani (1908–1975), Indian film multilingual writer, producer and director * Chuck Chakrapani, Indian research methodologist, educator, and author * M. G. Chakrapani (1911–1986), I ...

under the

Vijaya Productions Vijaya Vauhini Studios was one of the premier motion picture movie studios in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the combination of Vijaya Productions and Vauhini Studios. B. Nagi Reddy (Bommireddy Nagi Reddy) was the founder of Vijaya Produ ...

banner. It stars

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

, Savitri and Sriranjani Jr., with music composed by Ghantasala. The film was not commercially successful.

Plot

The film begins in the kingdom of Chandana Desam. Its king was blessed with a baby boy with the boon of Lord Chandra which he named Chandanraju. Chadan was born with a necklace called Chandraharam and his life is preserved in it. At the age of five, Chandan was sent to Maali for education and was raised in his care of him. Chandan is obligated to get married lest his life is in danger, hence his parents procure portraits of neighboring princesses. All the while, Chandan has a dream girl and wants to marry her. The king asks Maali to search for such a girl and sends Chandan to tour the country. Chandan's brother-in-law Dhoomekatu is greedy for the kingdom and wants to break his marriage. He sends Niksheparayudu behind him. Niksheparayudu detects Chandan's dream girl Gauri in a village. Niksheparayudu cleverly manages Gauri's stepmother and hides Gauri there. Gauri's father disapproves of this proposal and sends away Gauri secretly. Chanchala, an angel, is infatuated with Chandan but he refuses. She snatches his Chadraharam and says he will be alive only in the night. Chanchala's sister Achala notices Gauri in an unconscious state and takes her to Chandan. Maali performs their marriage. Dhoomketu threatens the king to get him crowned, to which the helpless king agrees. During this time, Niksheparayudu notices Gauri at Maali's house. Maali takes Gauri and hides her inside a temple. Meanwhile, Chanchala gets angry at Chandan as he has left for the palace, so she kills him. Dhoomketu orders to keep Gauri also on the funeral pyre. Finally, Gauri's devotion and willpower bring Chandan back to life. Chanchala is cursed by

Lord 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> Ind ...

by stripping her supernatural powers. Dhoomekatu and Niksheparayudu also realize their mistake. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the crowning ceremony of Chadanraju.

Cast

* N.T. Rama Rao as Prince Chandan * Savitri as Chanchala * Sriranjani Jr. as Gauri * S. V. Ranga Rao as Mali * Relangi as Dhumaketu * R. Nageswara Rao *

Padmanabham Padmanabham mandal is one of the 46 mandals in Visakhapatnam District in India. It is under the administration of Visakhapatnam revenue division and the headquarters is located at Padmanabham. The Mandal is bounded by Bheemunipatnam, Anandapur ...

Balakrishna Bala Krishna ( sa, बाल कृष्ण, lit=child Krishna/divine child Krishna, translit=Bālakṛṣṇa). Present day Krishna worship is an amalgam of various elements. According to historical testimonies Krishna-Vasudeva worship alread ...

*K. V. S. Sarma *Joga Rao * Suryakantham *

Rushyendramani Rushyendramani (1 January 1917 – 17 August 2002) was an Indian actress, singer, dancer, and playback singer from South India. She had more than 150 movies to her credit and acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films from the 193 ...

as Maridamma

Music

Music was composed by Ghantasala. Lyrics were written by

Pingali Nagendra Rao Pingali Nagendra Rao (29 December 1901 – 6 May 1971), known mononymously by his surname Pingali, was an Indian screenwriter, lyricist, and playwright who worked in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. Famous for his witty and romantic lyrics, he a ...

. Music released on Audio Company.

Tamil songs

Lyrics by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass. ''Arud Jyothi Daivam'' is a Thiruvarutpa by Vallalar

Ramalinga Swamigal Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalār Chidambaram Ramalingam (5 October 1823 – 30 January 1874), commonly known in India and across the world as Vallalār, Ramalinga Swamigal and Ramalinga Adigal, was one of the most famous Tamil Saints and also one of t ...

. Playback singers are Ghantasala, N. Lalitha, K. Rani,

P. Leela Porayathu Leela (19 May 1934 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, ...

, M. Sathyam and A. P. Komala.

Production

The film was produced by Nagi Reddy and

under the banner

Vijaya Pictures Vijaya Vauhini Studios was one of the premier motion picture movie studios in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the combination of Vijaya Productions and Vauhini Studios. B. Nagi Reddy (Bommireddy Nagi Reddy) was the founder of Vijaya Pro ...

simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. This is the directorial debut for

. The cinematography was by Marcus Bartley.

wrote the story while

wrote the dialogues and lyrics for the Telugu version. Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass wrote the dialogues and lyrics for the Tamil version.

References

External links

*
Chandraharam songs at Raaga.com
{{Kamalakara Kameswara Rao 1950s Telugu-language films 1954 films Films directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao Films scored by Ghantasala (musician) 1954 directorial debut films Indian black-and-white films 1950s Tamil-language films Indian multilingual films