''Lava Kusa'' (also spelled as ''Lava Kusha'') is a 1963 Indian

Hindu mythological film This is a list of genres of literature and entertainment ( film, television, music, and video games), excluding genres in the visual arts. ''Genre'' is the term for any category of creative work, which includes literature and other forms of a ...

directed by

C. S. Rao Chittajallu Srinivasa Rao (1924 – 8 December 2004) was an Indian actor, writer and director. He was the son of film director Chittajallu Pullayya. He directed around 65 films in the Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Oriya languages. He garnered ...

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,

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 Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray- monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...

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 The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

from

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

. It revolves around the roles of

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

and

Kusa Kusa or KUSA may refer to: * Kusa, Russia, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia * Kusa, Latvia, a village in Madona District, Latvia * Kusa, Oklahoma, United States * Kusa, indigenous name of Beles River (in Gumuz language) * Kusa, Afghanistan * ...

, sons of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

(

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

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

(

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 Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao (16 November 1923 – 22 March 2009) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rao starred in more than four hundred feature ...

Sobhan Babu Sobhan Babu (born Uppu Sobhana Chalapathi Rao; 14 January 1937 – 20 March 2008) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema.Bangaru Panjaram in Venditera Paatalu, Krishnasastri Sahityam, third volume, Vishalandhra Publishing House ...

S. Varalakshmi Saridey Varalakshmi (13 August 1925 – 22 September 2009) was an Indian actress and singer who worked in Telugu and Tamil-language films. She was popular for her roles and songs in Telugu films like ''Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam'' (1960) and '' ...

Kaikala Satyanarayana Kaikala Satyanarayana (25 July 1935 – 23 December 2022) was an Indian actor, producer, director, and politician who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. He appeared in over 750 films and served as the Member of Parliament in the 11th Lok S ...

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 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 ...

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 and K. V. Mahadevan, 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 The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several ...

for that year. It was also dubbed in

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 ...

, and later in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

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 Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960), simply known as Balakrishna or Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, producer and politician. He appeared in more than 100 Telugu cinema, Telugu films over forty years in a variety of roles and establis ...

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

The film begins with

Lord Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

returning to

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...

after defeating Ravana along with

Goddess Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

and being crowned as the emperor, settling down to a harmonious lifestyle. At that point, his spies inform him that his reputation may be at stake as Sita had spent over a year in Ravana's Lanka. So, he dictates

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...

to ensure that Sita is sent to exile. A devastated, pregnant, and distraught Sita is rescued by Valmiki, who shelters her at his

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...

by renaming her Lokapavni, where she gives birth to twin sons

Kusha Kusha was a Suryavansha The Solar dynasty ( IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98 ...

. Valmiki trains them as jake of all trades including knowledge, warfare, and religion. Ten years later, the twins decide to visit a drought and famine-ravaged Ayodhya to get the blessings of Srirama & Sita also recite the Ramayan. Whereupon, they get the knowledge that Srirama has ostracized Sita. Later, they back with an aversion and refuses to invoke the Ramayan. Sita fails to endure, and fumes which indicate fright. However, she calms after Lava-Kusa re-chanting the Ramayana. After a while, Vashitha instructs Rama to conduct '' Aswamedha Yagam'' for the welfare of the country which is impracticable without a wife. Then, Vashista proclaims it can be feasible with the golden ideal of Sita. Plus, the gold required for it is bestowed by the civilians as an atonement for their sins. Now all the sages and saints are invited to the ritual and news spreads to Valmiki's ashram. At this, Sita is perturbed, suspects Srirama's spirit, and collapses. Accordingly, Valmiki relieves her soul to Ayodhya where she is startled to see golden Sita and Srirama's adoration on her. Soon after, Valmiki states that the meaning of ''Rama Avtar'' is standing on one word, one arrow and love is for only one wife. Herewith, Sita repents and performs a pooja as contrition as per the advice of Valmiki. Meanwhile, Srirama begins the ritual and leaves the horse which the twins obstruct, confronts Lakshman, and defeats the entire Ayodhya army along with him. Being cognizant of it, Srirama proceeds to recoup the horse and an altercation carry out between father & sons which leads to war. Spotting it,

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

hurriedly rushes to Sita and informs her of the catastrophe. Immediately, she impedes the battle and proclaims Lava-Kusha as the progeny of Srirama. Thus, the two embrace their father when everyone requests Sita to be back as queen which she denies and returns to her mother

Bhudevi Bhumi ( sa, भूमि, Bhūmi), also known as Bhudevi and Vasundhara, is a Hindu goddess who is the personification of the Earth. She is a consort of the god Vishnu. According to Vaishnava tradition, she is the second aspect of Vishnu's consor ...

. At last, Rama and his brothers renounce the throne by crowning Lava-Kusha. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with Rama & Sita merging into their original forms of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

Vaikuntha Vaikuntha ( sa, वैकुण्ठ, lit=without anxiety, translit=Vaikuṇṭha), also called Vishnuloka (), and Tirunatu (Tirunāṭu) in Tamil, is the abode of Vishnu, the supreme deity in the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism,Gavin Flood, An ...

Cast

Production

Development

A. Sankara Reddy wished to produce a film based on the

Hindu epic Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, ev ...

'' starring

and

after watching them play the roles of

and

in the song "Murisenu Lokamu" from ''Charanadasi'', the Telugu version of the 1956 Tamil language film '' Mathar Kula Manickam''.

, 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 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 ...

, 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 ...

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 Bommireddy Nagi Reddi (2 December 1912 – 25 February 2004) was an Indian film producer and director mainly in Telugu cinema. He set up Vijaya Vauhini Studios in Chennai, which was then Asia's biggest film studio. As his elder brother (who w ...

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

. 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

languages with differences in casting. Anaparthi Nagaraju and Viyyuri Subrahmanyam were cast as

and

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 Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao (16 November 1923 – 22 March 2009) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rao starred in more than four hundred feature ...

was cast for the role of

. When the actor was being diagnosed for eosinophilia and became obese, he was offered the role of

Shatrughna ''Shatrughna'' ( sa, text=शत्रुघ्न, translit=śatrughna, lit=killer of enemies) is a prince of Ayodhya, King of Madhupura and Vidisha, and a brother of Prince Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is also known as ''Ripudaman' ...

. Rama Rao insisted Sankara Reddy to let Kanta Rao play Lakshmana, and

was signed to play Shatrughna.

, Chittor V. Nagayya, and Sando Krishna were chosen to play the roles of Bharata,

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ...

, and

Anjaneya Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine ''vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and one ...

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 Ghantasala and lyrics by

and

Kosaraju Kosaraju Raghavayya (23 June 1905 – 27 October 1987), known mononumously by his surname Kosaraju, was an Indian lyricist and poet known for his works in Telugu cinema. He wrote about 3,000 songs in 350 films. His lyrics are steeped in Telu ...

. 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 K. V. Mahadevan and Ghantasala and lyrics by

A. Maruthakasi A. Maruthakasi (13 February 1920 – 29 November 1989) was an Indian poet and film lyricist who wrote mainly in the Tamil language. He penned more than 4000 lyrics in more than 250 Tamil films. Early life Born in Melakudikadu in Tiruchirappal ...

Reception

Box office

The film ran for 75 weeks uninterruptedly which is an unbroken record 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 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

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 ''Mala Pilla'' or ''Malapilla'' (''English: ''Girl from Mala caste) is a 1938 Indian Telugu-language social problem film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam and written by Tapi Dharma Rao.S. V. Rama Rao (2006) ''Naati 101 Chitralu''. Kinnera Publ ...

'' (1938), ''

Raithu Bidda ''Raithu Bidda'' (''English:'' Farmer of Common Origins) ( ''Telugu'': రైతు బిడ్డ, lit. Farmer-Son of the Soil) is a 1939 Telugu social problem film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam. It is a social reformist film during the p ...

'' (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 ''Bhakta Potana'' is a 1943 Telugu-language biographical film directed by K. V. Reddy in his directorial debut. Based on the life of poet-saint Potana who translated Bhagavatham into Telugu language, the film was scripted by Samudrala Sr. The fil ...

'' (1942), ''

Shavukaru ''Shavukaru'' () is a 1950 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagireddy and Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner as their maiden production. It stars N. T. Rama Rao in his first leadin ...

'' (1950), '' Malliswari'' (1951), '' Peddamanushulu'' (1954), and ''

Mayabazar ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, with ...

'' (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 ''Raja Harishchandra'' () is a 1913 Indian silent film directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke. It is often considered the first full-length Indian feature film. ''Raja Harishchandra'' features Dattatraya Damodar Dabke, Anna Salunke, Bhalc ...

'' (1913), '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1932), ''Mala Pilla (1938)'', '' Devadasu'' (1953), and ''

Pathala Bhairavi ''Pathala Bhairavi'' () is a 1951 Indian fantasy film directed by K. V. Reddy who co-wrote the film with Pingali and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, the film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrap ...

'' 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