''Lakshadhikari'' () is a 1963 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 Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

V. Madhusudhana Rao Veeramachineni Madhusudhana Rao (27 July 1917 – 11 January 2012) was an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is popularly known as ‘Victory’ Madhusudhana Rao. He directed ...

. The film 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 ...

and Krishna Kumari, with

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. ...

Gummadi Gummadi (Telugu: గుమ్మడి) is an Indian given name and surname. It may refer to: * Gummadi (actor) (1927–2010), Telugu film actor * Gummadi Vittal Rao (born 1949), revolutionary Telugu balladeer and vocal Naxalite * Jaya Krishna Gumm ...

, Relangi,

Ramana Reddy Ramana Reddy (1 October 1921 – 11 November 1974) was an Indian character actor, comedian and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. In a career spanning 24 years, he acted in more than 200 movies. Ramana Reddy and Relangi ...

, Mikkilineni, K. V. S. Sarma,

Suryakantham Suryakantam or Sooryakantam (pronounced sūryakāntam) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 17th ''melakarta'' rāgam (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. I ...

, Girija and

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 ...

in supporting roles. It is the debut production of

Tammareddy Krishna Murthy Tammareddy Krishna Murthy (1920 – 16 September 2013) was an Indian film producer who worked in Telugu cinema. He received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 2007. Krishna Murthy started his career in the fi ...

and D. Venkatapathi Reddy's company Ravindra Art Pictures. It was released on 27 September 1963, and became a commercial success.

Plot

Rangayya is a millionaire, whose loyal and trusted manager is Seethayya. Seethayya's wife Lakshmi takes care of Rangayya's motherless son. Rangayya's brother-in-law, the greedy Sivam, frames Rangayya for murder, has him sent to prison for 20 years, and kidnaps his son. But the boy is saved by a childless couple Pichayya and Achamma, who found him unconscious on the river bed and raise him as Prasad. Later, Achamma gives birth to a daughter, Leela. Seethayya's daughter Padma falls in love with Prasad. Seethayya offers Prasad a high-ranking position in his pharmaceutical company. Rangayya is released upon completing his prison term. Prasad learns the truth about his parentage. Strange things happen, which Prasad suspects are centered around Seethayya's house. With help from Padma and S. S. Rao (the servant Panakalu's son), he solves the mystery and exposes Seethayya as the real culprit for the wrong deeds.

Cast

as Prasad * Krishna Kumari as Padma *

as Rangayya *

as Seethayya * Relangi as S. S. Rao *

as Pichayya * Mikkilineni as Panakalu *K. V. S. Sarma as Sivam *

as Achamma * Girija as Leela *

as Lakshmi

Production

Development

After working as a production controller at

Sarathi Studios Sri Sarathi Studios is a film studio facility located in Hyderabad, India. It was established in 1956 and was the first film studio facility built in Hyderabad. It was built by the Raja of Challapalli, Yarlagadda Sivarama Prasad. The first film s ...

for years,

established his own production company Ravindra Art Pictures (named after the poet

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

) with his friend D. Venkatapathi Reddy as partner. For the company's debut production, which would eventually become ''Lakshadhikari'', Krishna Murthy signed

to direct and Narla Chiranjeevi as writer. The original story was simply a family drama, which did not fully satisfy Krishna Murthy. When Krishna Murthy met producer Parvathaneni Gangadhara Rao, the latter advised him to include an element of suspense in the story, and Krishna Murthy liked the idea. Heeding to Krishna Murthy's wishes, Narla Chiranjeevi rewrote the story to make it look more like a thriller. Cinematography was handled by C. Nageswara Rao, and the editing by Akkineni Sanjeeva Rao.

Casting and filming

was cast as the male lead Prasad; the fact that he and Krishna Murthy bonded during the making of ''

Palletooru ''Palletooru'' () is a 1952 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao in his directorial debut. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and Savitri, with music composed by Ghantasala. It was produced by P. Sivaramayya under People's Art Pro ...

'' (1952), which was Krishna Murthy's cinematic debut as production manager, helped him get Rama Rao's dates for ''Lakshadhikari''. Krishna Murthy initially chose Nagabhushanam to play the character Seethayya, but later replaced him with

as he felt he could "conceal villainy behind his soft demeanour and mislead the audience." One scene filmed at the swimming pool of the

College of Engineering, Guindy The College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) is a public engineering college in Chennai, India and is Asia's oldest technical institution, founded in 1794. It is also the oldest technical institution to be established outside Europe. History Due ...

had Padma ( Krishna Kumari) in a

swimsuit A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or List of water sports, water sports, such as swimming, Diving (sport), diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Di ...

, but it was edited out by the

Censor Board The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

who declared that "the heroine should not wear a swim suit". The exterior portions of Chandamama Buildings in

Vadapalani Vadapalani is a neighbourhood in the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for its film studios and the Vadapalani Andavar Temple, which is an important pilgrimage centre. Situated in the western part of Chennai, Vadapalani is an im ...

stood in for the college where Padma and Leela ( Girija) study. The end of the song "Mabbulo Yemundi" required that Rama Rao and Krishna Kumari walk holding each other's hands on the seashore. As they were walking, a giant wave swept them away. Krishna Kumari did not know swimming and almost drowned, but Rama Rao held her hand tightly and saved her. Peketi Sivaram created the film's revolver sound effects.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

T. Chalapathi Rao Tatineni Chalapathi Rao (22 December 1920 – 22 February 1994) was an Indian music composer who worked in Telugu cinema. His career spanned more than three decades from early 1950s, till 1980s. He was the cousin of T. Prakash Rao. Early life ...

Release and reception

''Lakshadhikari'' was released on 27 September 1963. The film performed well at the box office, and became a trendsetter for more suspense-filled films in Telugu.

Notes

References

External links

* {{V. Madhusudhana Rao 1960s Telugu-language films 1960s thriller films 1963 films Films directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao Films scored by T. Chalapathi Rao Indian black-and-white films Indian thriller films