''Suvarna Sundari'' () is a 1957 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

swashbuckler film Swashbuckler films are a subgenre of the action film genre, often characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, known as swashbucklers. Real historical events often feature prominently in the plot, morality is often clear-c ...

directed by

Vedantam Raghavayya Vedantam Raghavayya ( te, వేదాంతం రాఘవయ్య) (8 June 1919 – 1971) was an Indian film director, dance choreographer, Kuchipudi exponent, actor, producer, and musician known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theat ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

with music composed by

P. Adinarayana Rao Penupatruni Adinarayana Rao (21 August 1915 – 19 August 1991) was an Indian music director, film producer, lyricist and play writer. He co-founded "Aswini Pictures" with Akkineni Nageswara Rao and produced some movies in Telugu and Tamil langu ...

. The film was produced by Adinarayana Rao under the

Anjali Pictures Anjali Pictures ( te, అంజలీ పిక్చర్స్) is an Indian film production house owned by famous music director P. Adinarayana Rao and versatile film actress Anjali Devi Anjali Devi (; 24 August 1927 – 13 January ...

banner. The film was simultaneously shot 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 ''Manaalane Mangaiyin Baakkiyam'' (). Lata Mangeshkar suggested that ''Suvarna Sundari'' be remade 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 ...

instead of dubbing the film. It was then made in Hindi with the title same as the Telugu version. Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Anjali Devi did their roles in the Hindi version as well; it was the only Hindi film in Nageswara Rao's film career, while

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

played the male lead in the Tamil version. The shooting of the film was held at Venus Studios, Madras and the outdoor shooting was held at

Shimsha Shimsha is a river that flows in the state of Karnataka, India. It is one of the tributaries of the river Kaveri, which is one of the major rivers of South India. The river originates in the southern part of the Devarayanadurga hill in the Tum ...

falls, Mysore. The film was released through Chamria Talkie Distributors, headed by Sundar Lal Nahata, and it set a record at the box office by celebrating 50 days in 48 centres and completed 100 days in 18 centres.

Plot

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom Malwa, it's prince Jayanth is ready to leave, after accomplishing his education. Just before, Rajaguru's daughter Sarala denounces him for the refusal of her love and claims that he molested her. So, King Chandra Bhanu penalises him with the death penalty but Jayanth absconds somehow. On the way, he is acquainted with 3 sly thieves Kailasam, Ullasam, and Chadastam who confront Jayanth to resolve the mystery behind a Lord Siva’s temple. Therein, Jayanth relieves the curse of a ''Gandharva'' who bestows him with 3 marvel gifts. A ''Jug'' which supplies any amount of food, a ''Mat'' which travels anywhere, and a ''Wand'' which punishes a person irrespective of his strength. Meanwhile, the 3 crafty thieves backstab Jayanth and, steals the objects. They share the 3 objects among themselves and split. Before long, fortuitously, a glorious angel Surana Sundari lands from heaven and comes across Jayanth. The two fall in love. They marry and Sundari conceives. When Lord Indra knows about Sundari's affair with a mortal man, he curses Sundari to take a permanent human form and casts her to Earth. He also curses that Jayanth will lose all her memory and will turn into stone if she touches him. Jayanth wanders, and Sundari becomes a mortal on earth and gives birth to a baby boy. But the wheel of fortune makes them separate. Years roll by, and Jayanth as a wanderer regains 3 objects from the thieves who cheated him earlier. In between, he contracts a curse that he will turn into a female in the day and a male in the night. The curse will be lifted only if one gets ''Amrit'' the nectar from heaven. Thereafter, he goes into a kingdom and lands a job at the palace in the female form of Jayanthi, getting close to the princess Parthima Devi. In the meantime, Sundari uses a man's guide to search for his son and Jayanth. Sundari gets appointed as Chief Minister by the King. Simultaneously, their son Siva Kumara is raised by a cowherd, after his death, he sets foot in Siva temple where Lord Siva & Goddess

Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

rears him with her breast milk. By fate, one-night Parthima encounters Jayanth and falls for him. Sundari sees that and renounces Jayanth and feels it's better for him as there is also Indra's curse. Later, Jayanth comes across a demon, and through it, he gets relieved from his curse. When touches Sundari he starts to become a statue due to Indra's curse and remembers his past with Sundari. At that moment, their son Siva Kumara checks them to the Shiva's temple. Thereupon, Lord Siva reveals to them that the boy is their son and for lifting Jayanth's curse the boy should pick up ''Golden Lotus'' from heaven. After making an audacious journey, the boy secures the golden lotus and reverses the curse. At last, they reunite and Jayanth is proven innocent. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note.

Cast

as Jayanth *

as Suvarna Sundari *

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 ...

as Ullasam * Relangi as Kailasam * Gummadi as Tata * C.S.R as Maharaju *

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 Chadastham *

Peketi Sivaram Peketi Sivaram (Telugu: పేకేటి శివరాం) (8 October 1918 – 30 December 2006) was an Indian actor and director.http://www.cinegoer.com/archives/december2006/peketi.htm Life sketch He was born on 8 October 1918 in Pekeru ...

as Vasanthudu * K. V. S. Sharma as Rajaguru *

Rajasulochana Chittajallu Rajeevalochana (15 August 1935 – 5 March 2013), better known as Rajasulochana, was an Indian classical dancer and actress. She has acted in more than 300 Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi language films. Early life She w ...

as Jayanthi * Girija as Parthima Devi * Suryakala as Sarala *

E. V. Saroja E. V. Saroja (1935 - 2006) was an Indian actress and dancer. She was born on 3 November 1935 as Engan V. Saroja. She belonged to Engan village of Thiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu. Her debut film was '' En Thangai'' in 1952 starring M. G. Ramacha ...

Goddess Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

* Master Babji as Siva Kumarudu * Kanchana as Naaga Kanyaa (credited as Vasundhara)

Production

After '' Paradesi'' (1953), the inaugural production of

was an average success at the box office, its producers – husband and wife

and

– considered making their sophomore production based on folklore. The 1953 Hindi film ''

Anarkali Anarkali () was a legendary woman said to be loved by the 16th-century Mughal Prince Salim, who later became Emperor Jahangir. According to some accounts, Anarkali was the nickname of the courtesan Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nisa, though scho ...

'' was a success and caught their attention, prompting them to adapt the same story in Telugu with the same title, while putting their folklore film plans on hold; it would eventually be revived as ''Suvarna Sundari''.

Soundtrack

Telugu version Music composed by

. Music released on HMV Audio Company. Tamil version

Hindi Version

#"Kuhu Kuhu Bole Koyaliya" –

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

#"Mujhe Na Bula Chhup Chhup" – Lata Mangeshkar #"Ram Naam Japna Paraya Maal Apna" – Mohammed Rafi #"Girija Sang Hai Shish Pe Gang Hai" – Lata Mangeshkar #"Tarana (Shastriya Sangeet)" – Lata Mangeshkar,

Sudha Malhotra Sudha Malhotra is an Indian playback singer. She also acted in some Bollywood films and as a playback singer, worked in popular Bollywood movies in the 1950s and 1960s, like ''Arzoo'', ''Dhool Ka Phool'', ''Ab Dilli Door Nahin'', ''Girl Friend' ...

#"Hat Hat Hat Jaa Re Natkhat Piya" – Lata Mangeshkar, Sudha Malhotra #"Lakshmim Sheer Samudra Raj" – Ghantasala #"Chanda Se Pyare Ankhiyo Ke Taare Soja Re Maiya Ke Raaj Dular" –

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...

, Lata Mangeshkar #"Mausam Suhana Dil Hainz" – Lata Mangeshkar #"Sar Pe Matki Ankhiya Bhatki" –

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

#"Shambho Sun Lo Meri Pukar" – Lata Mangeshkar #"Lelo Ji Lelo Gudiya" – Lata Mangeshkar #"Maa Maa Karta Phire Laadla" – Mohammed Rafi #"Mai Hu Pari Rasiya Ras Ki Bhari" – Lata Mangeshkar

References

External links

* {{Vedantam Raghavayya 1950s Hindi-language films 1950s multilingual films 1950s Tamil-language films 1950s Telugu-language films 1957 films Films directed by Vedantam Raghavayya Films scored by P. Adinarayana Rao Indian multilingual films