''Donga Ramudu'' () is a 1955 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

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

co-written and directed by

K. V. Reddy Kadiri Venkata Reddy (1 July 1912 – 15 September 1972) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest directors in the history of Telugu cinema. He d ...

. It stars

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...

, Savitri, Jamuna, and

Jaggayya Kongara Jaggayya (31 December 1928 – 5 March 2004) was an Indian actor, littérateur, journalist, lyricist, dubbing artist and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He was known as ''Kanchu Kantham J ...

with music composed by Pendyala. The film was produced by

D. Madhusudhana Rao Dukkipati Madhusudhana Rao (27 July 1917 – 26 March 2006) was an Indian film producer and screenwriter, known for his works in Telugu cinema. He owned the film production houses named Annapurna Pictures Limited based in Chennai. As a pr ...

under the

Annapurna Pictures Annapurna Pictures is an independent American media company founded by Megan Ellison in 2011, that specializes in film production, live theatre production, television through its Annapurna Television division, and video game publishing through i ...

banner. ''Donga Ramudu'' is the debut production of ''Annapurna Pictures.'' Released on October 1, 1955, the film became a super hit. ''Donga Ramudu'' established Annapurna Pictures as a top banner. The film was archived in the curriculum of the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...

. ''Donga Ramudu'' was dubbed in

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 ...

as ''Thiruttu Raman'' (1956) and was commercially successful. It was later remade in Hindi as ''

Man-Mauji ''Man Mauji'' () is a 1962 Indian Hindi-language film starring Kishore Kumar and Sadhana in lead roles and directed by Krishnan–Panju. It was Jayalalitha's first Hindi film, in which she played Lord Krishna in a 3-minutes dance sequence with ...

'' (1962) and again in Tamil as '' Vasanthi'' (1988).

Plot

A young boy Ramudu frequently gets into trouble with his mischievous behavior. He dotes upon his sister Lakshmi. One day when his destitute mother Subbamma is ailing and needs expensive medications, he steals the medicine and lands at a

reformatory A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concern ...

. After the death of Subbamma (

Hemalatha Hemalatha, often credited as Hema, is an Indian actress and dancer. She is acclaimed for her roles as Raghavi in the popular soap opera '' Kana Kaanum Kaalangal'' on STAR Vijay and as Deepa in the superhit Tamil drama serial on Sun TV ''The ...

), Lakshmi is sent to an orphanage. Years later, a grown-up Ramudu (

) is released and goes in search of his sister. He rescues a child, the son of a rich

miser A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities, in order to hoard money or other possessions. Although the word is sometimes used loosely to characterise anyone who ...

Veerabhadrayya ( Relangi) from a local thug Babulu ( R. Nageswara Rao) and gets the job of a servant in his house. Here, Ramudu gets acquainted with a vegetable vendor Seeta ( Savitri) and they fall in love. After some time, he learns the whereabouts of Lakshmi ( Jamuna). He pretends to be a wealthy businessman and promises to pay her college fees. To raise the amount, he tries to rob Veerabhadrayya but is caught and sentenced. Lakshmi is ashamed of her brother and leaves the orphanage. She falls into the clutches of Babulu but Seeta rescues her. Lakshmi is hospitalized where she meets a benevolent doctor Mohan (

) who helps the poor. Lakshmi finds shelter in his house. Impressed by her good nature, Mohan decides to marry her. After serving his sentence, Ramudu meets Seeta who is angry with him but forgives him after he explains his predicament. By chance, Ramudu is hired as a driver at Mohan's house where he encounters Lakshmi. He is very pleased with her marriage and warns her not to let anyone know that he is her brother. Fearing that his past might jeopardize her happiness, he decides to leave. Ramudu is charged with theft at Mohan's home. As a result, he is insulted and kicked out. Lakshmi remains silent due to the promise. Veerabhadrayya is displeased about Mohan's marriage to Lakshmi as he had wished to get his daughter married to Mohan. When he recognizes Lakshmi as Ramudu's sister, he decides to reveal her identity. Learning of his plan, Ramudu threatens him and silently attends his sister's wedding. Taking advantage of the situation, Babulu robs and murders Veerabhadrayya. Ramudu is indicted for the crime. Lakshmi comes forward, to tell the truth, that Ramudu is her brother and was present at the wedding during the time of the murder. Meanwhile, Seeta brings forward evidence that Babulu is the real murderer. The movie ends on a happy note with the marriage of Ramudu and Seeta.

Cast

as Ramudu * Savitri as Seeta * Jamuna as Lakshmi *

as Dr. Mohan * Relangi as Veerabhadrayya * Suryakantham * R. Nageswara Rao as Babulu *

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 r ...

* Vangara as School teacher * Mikkilineni * Dr. Sivaramakrishnayya *

as Subbamma * Vinnakota Ramanna Panthulu *

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 ...

as Driver * Chalam *

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 ...

as Cook * Kuchala Kumari as Dancer (Song ''Levoyi Chinnavada'')

Production

After

became a major

movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...

, his friend and mentor, Dukkipati Madhusudana Rao felt it was the right time to launch their own

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

. They established Annapurna Pictures (P) Ltd, named after Madhusudana Rao’s stepmother. Besides Madhusudana Rao and Nageswara Rao, the company had other partners.

P. S. Ramakrishna Rao P. S. Ramakrishna Rao (12 October 1918 – 7 September 1986) was a veteran Telugu film director and producer. He married Bhanumathi, a multi-talented film artist from South India, on 8 August 1943. Filmography *'' Gruhalakshmi'' (1967) (Prod ...

and

P. Pullayya P. Pullayya (also spelled P. Pullaiah; 1911–1985) was an Indian film director and producer known for his work in Telugu films. He was the recipient of Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for his contributions to Telugu cinema. Personal life Pullayya m ...

who gave memorable hits with Nageswara Rao were approached to direct Annapurna's debut venture but could not commit due to various reasons. Nageswara Rao had a wish to work with K. V. Reddy and when they met him, K. V. Reddy obliged on condition that they have to wait till he completed '' Pedda Manushulu'' (1954). D. V. Narasaraju, the writer of ''Pedda Manushulu'' was chosen to pen the story and dialogues. Since he was directing Nageswara Rao for the first time, K. V. Reddy thought it should be different from the actor's earlier films. He suggested that he pen a story on a brother-sister sentiment with the brother going to any extent, even giving up his life for the sake of his sister. Madhusudana Rao recollected a short story, ''Loving Brothers'' that he had read in an anthology of American short stories. In the story, the elder brother commits robberies to educate his younger brother. Taking that point replacing the younger brother with a sister, Narasaraju, Madhusudana Rao and K. V. Reddy wrote the story of ''Donga Ramudu''. Akkineni Nageswara Rao and R. Nageswara Rao took special coaching from stunt director Raghavulu for the wrestling scene in the film. K. V. Reddy’s children were featured in the song "Bhale Thatha Mana Bapuji".

Soundtrack

Music was composed by Pendyala. 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 ...

in a month. ;Tamil songs Lyrics were by Kanaga Surabhi and

Kannadasan Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq ...

. All the tunes for all the songs and singers for both languages are the same.

Release and Reception

The film released on October 1, 1955 and became a super hit. ''Donga Ramudu'' was dubbed in

as ''Thiruttu Raman'' (1956).

Legacy

''Donga Ramudu'' established Annapurna Pictures as a top banner in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

. It was later remade in Hindi as ''

'' (1962) and again in Tamil as '' Vasanthi'' (1988). Narasaraju created catchy words such as ‘gas’ for telling a lie which remains popular to this day. R. Nageswara Rao’s famous dialogue, ''Babulu gaadi debba ante Golconda abba anali'', also became popular. The film was archived in the curriculum of the

for its excellence in filmmaking.

References

External links

* {{K. V. Reddy 1950s Telugu-language films 1955 drama films 1955 films Films directed by K. V. Reddy Films scored by Pendyala Nageswara Rao Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films Telugu films remade in other languages