''Lava Kusa'' (also spelled as ''Lava Kusha'') is a 1963 Indian Hindu mythological film directed by C. S. Rao and his father

C. Pullayya Chittajallu Pullayya (Telugu language, Telugu: చిత్తజల్లు పుల్లయ్య; 1898 – 6 October 1967) was an Indian film director and screenwriter. He is one of the earliest film personalities in Telugu cinema being ...

. The film was scripted by

Sadasivabrahmam Vempati Sadasivabrahmam shortly Sadasivabrahmam () (b: 1905 – d: 1968) was a writer of film stories, dialogues and lyrics in the early period of Telugu cinema.Sadasivabrahmam Vempati, Luminaries of 20th Century, Part II, Potti Sriramulu Telugu U ...

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 ...

along with C. S. Rao and C. Pullayya. The film was produced by Sankara Reddy under Lalita Sivajyothi Films. ''Lava Kusa'' is the first full-length colour film of Telugu cinema. The film was a remake of 1934 film of same name which was also directed by C. Pullayya. The story is an adaptation of the Uttara Kanda from Ramayana. It revolves around the roles of Lava and Kusa, sons of Rama ( N. T. Rama Rao) and Sita (

Anjali Devi Anjali Devi (; 24 August 1927 – 13 January 2014) was an Indian actress, model and producer in Telugu and Tamil films. She was well known for her role as the Devi Sita in ''Lava Kusa'' as well as for the titular roles in movies like Chenchu ...

). Chittoor Nagayya, Kantha Rao, Sobhan Babu, S. Varalakshmi, Kaikala Satyanarayana play supporting roles. The film was shot in both

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 ...

and Tamil languages with the same title, but with slight differences in the cast. Production began in 1958 but was stopped due to financial constraints. When it restarted,

's health was deteriorating, so his son C. S. Rao took over. The soundtrack features 27 songs, with the musical score primarily composed by

Ghantasala Ghantasala may refer to: People * Ghantasala (musician) (Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao, 1922-1974), Telugu singer and composer * Ghantasala Balaramayya (1906 - after 1952), Telugu film producer and director * Ghantasala Sai Srinivas, professionally ...

and

K. V. Mahadevan Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician known for his works in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, and Kann ...

, and the lyrics by Sadasivabrahmam and Samudrala Sr. (Telugu) and Maruthakasi (Tamil). The Telugu version of ''Lava Kusa'' was released on 29 March 1963, while the Tamil version was released the following month, on 19 April. The former won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that year. It was also dubbed in Kannada, and later in Hindi in 1974. In 2011 the film was rebooted with the title ''

Sri Rama Rajyam ''Sri Rama Rajyam'' () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Bapu who co-wrote the film with Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, and produced by Yalamanchali Saibabu. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nayanthara, Akkine ...

'' starring Nandamuri Balakrishna and

Nayanthara Diana Mariam Kurian, known professionally as Nayanthara, is an Indian actress and film producer who is known for her work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She was in the ''Forbes India'' "Celebrity 100" 2018 list, with her total annual ...

in the lead.

Plot

This movie is based on Uttara Kanda which is the later part of Ramayana written by Valmiki Maharshi. It depicts the lives of Lava and Kusa, the sons of Sita and Rama. The story depicts Sri Rama Pattabhishekam and the brief period of Rama Rajyam, Rama sending Seeta exile on hearing the accusations of a washerman, Birth of Lava and Kusa, their visit to Ayodhya, Ashwamedha Yagna and conflict between Rama and his sons and Pattabhishekam of Lava and Kusa and Rama finally ending his Avatar.

Cast

Production

Development

A. Sankara Reddy wished to produce a film based on the Hindu epic '' Ramayana'' starring N. T. Rama Rao and

after watching them play the roles of Rama and Sita in the song "Murisenu Lokamu" from ''Charanadasi'', the Telugu version of the 1956 Tamil language film ''

Mathar Kula Manickam ''Mathar Kula Manikkam'' () is a 1956 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao. The film stars Gemini Ganesan, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Anjali Devi and Savitri, with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. It is based on Rabindra ...

''.

, who was planning to remake his 1934 Telugu language directorial ''Lava Kusa'', agreed to direct it for Sankara Reddy's Lalitha Sivajyothi films. The remake, also titled ''Lava Kusa'', is the first full-length colour film of Telugu cinema. Writer Vempati Sadasivabrahmam, who worked with Pullayya for ''Charanadasi'', was chosen to write the remake's script. During the process, Sadasivabrahmam stayed faithful to the screenplay and the dialogue written for the original by Vallabhajosyula Ramanamurthy and

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 f ...

respectively. The production costs escalated because of Sankara Reddy's decision to make the film in colour. The film's production commenced in 1958 and got stuck due to lack of funds after completion of one-third of the planned portions. After five years, Sundarlal Nahata offered to provide funds in lieu of the film's distribution rights and B. Nagi Reddy provided studio facilities. By then, Pullayya's health deteriorated and Sankara Reddy approached

B. N. Reddy Bommireddy Narasimha Reddy (16 November 1908 – 8 November 1977), professionally known as B. N. Reddy, was an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was an early figure in the Telugu cinema. Many of his earlier films like ''Vand ...

to complete the film. Narasimha Reddy advised him to consider Pullayya's son C. S. Rao. Rao was reluctant, opining that nothing dramatic was left for him to film. Pullayya convinced Rao to take up the task, stating that the emotional scenes in Rama's palace were of equal importance to the story.

Casting

''Lava Kusa'' was filmed as a bilingual in

and Tamil languages with differences in casting. Anaparthi Nagaraju and Viyyuri Subrahmanyam were cast as Lava and Kusa respectively in Telugu. For the Tamil version, they were replaced by Baby Uma and Master Murali. Subrahmanyam was cast after the makers saw him perform the same character in a play staged in Kakinada. He was a nine year old when the filming began and was 14 when the film released. Unlike Subrahmanyam, Nagaraju acted in a few films before ''Lava Kusa''; Pullayya offered him the role after observing his work. Nagaraju was eight years old when the filming began. Kanta Rao was cast for the role of Lakshmana. When the actor was being diagnosed for

eosinophilia Eosinophilia is a condition in which the eosinophil count in the peripheral blood exceeds . Hypereosinophilia is an elevation in an individual's circulating blood eosinophil count above 1.5 x 109/ L (i.e. 1,500/μL). The hypereosinophilic syndro ...

and became obese, he was offered the role of Shatrughna. Rama Rao insisted Sankara Reddy to let Kanta Rao play Lakshmana, and Sobhan Babu was signed to play Shatrughna. Kaikala Satyanarayana,

Chittor 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 ...

, and Sando Krishna were chosen to play the roles of Bharata, Valmiki, and Anjaneya respectively.

Filming

Pullayya made Nagaraju and Subrahmanyam undergo training for an hour every day and memorise the dialogues and lyrics of the songs. Filming used to begin by 7:00 AM and would go on till 9:00 PM. However, the duo was relieved an hour before to ensure that they could sleep properly. According to them, Rama Rao and Anjali Devi were "committed to the core". When none of the crowns designed for him were suitable, Rama Rao used the one he used in ''Charanadasi'' which costed 140. In a particular scene, Nagaraju was supposed to cry and glycerine was used. When it turned out to be ineffective, Anjali Devi slapped him and the scene was filmed. After its completion, she had to console him for almost fifteen minutes. The climax sequences were filmed first, and because of delay in the film's production, the child artistes looked much aged in the earlier portions. When the scene of Rama embracing his sons was filmed, Pullayya arranged two small tables and asked Rama Rao to hug Nagaraju and Subrahmanyam, who were standing on them. The duo stated that this incident was an example of Pullayya's respect towards the lead character and the state of technology in use. Pullayya's associate G. V. R. Seshagiri Rao pointed to him that a pregnant Sita running towards Valmiki would look awkward, and the scene was reshot.

Music

Telugu version

Soundtrack was composed by

and lyrics by Vempati Sadasivabrahmam,

and Kosaraju. All the tunes for all the songs for both languages are the same. The film has 37 songs and poems (padyams), many are very popular and memorable.

Tamil version

Soundtrack was composed by

and

and lyrics by A. Maruthakasi.

Reception

Box office

The film ran for 75 weeks uninterruptedly which is an unbroken record in Telugu cinema. It was released in 26 centres and had a 100-day run in all the centers, which was a record and ran 150 days in all those centers and 175-day run in 18 centres. Due to the huge demand for the film from other centres in Andhra Pradesh, most prints had to be shifted to other centres. It had run for 100 days in 62 centres and 175-day run in 18 centres, grossing more than 1 crore. It ran over 1111 days

Accolades

* National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu

Legacy

''Lava Kusa'' is considered a classic of Telugu cinema. In January 2007, M. L. Narasimham of ''The Hindu'' listed ''Lava Kusa'' with '' Mala Pilla'' (1938), '' Raithu Bidda'' (1939), ''

Vara Vikrayam ''Vara Vikrayam'' ( te, వర విక్రయం) is a famous novel and play with same name by Kallakoori Narayana Rao. It is based on a reformist social theme about the Dowry system prevalent in India. Main characters * Purushotham Rao, Re ...

'' (1939), '' Bhakta Potana'' (1942), '' Shavukaru'' (1950), '' Malliswari'' (1951), '' Peddamanushulu'' (1954), and '' Mayabazar'' (1955) as films impacting society and Telugu cinema. Rama Rao reprised the role of Rama in a number of films over a two-decade career. During a programme ''Telugu Cinema Prasthanam'' organised by the film society of Visakhapatnam, writer include actor Ravi Kondala Rao placed ''Lava Kusa'' among other cult films like '' Raja Harishchandra'' (1913), '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1932), ''Mala Pilla (1938)'', '' Devadasu'' (1953), and '' Pathala Bhairavi'' during a speech on the role of Telugu cinema in the hundred years of Indian cinema. Bapu used ''Lava Kusa'' storyline in his 2011 film, ''

''. Debutant Jaya Sreesivan named his 2015 comedy film as ''Lava Kusa'' which had no similarity with the film.

Notes

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Telugu 1960s multilingual films 1960s Tamil-language films 1960s Telugu-language films 1963 films Best Telugu Feature Film National Film Award winners Films based on the Ramayana Films directed by C. Pullayya Films directed by C. S. Rao Films scored by Ghantasala (musician) Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Hindu mythological films Indian epic films Indian multilingual films