''Maro Charitra'' () is a 1978 Indian
Telugu-language
romantic tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
film written and directed by
K. Balachander. It stars
Kamal Haasan and
Saritha
Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, ' ...
in the lead with
Madhavi appearing in prominent roles. The film deals with
cross-cultural Cross-cultural may refer to
*cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis
*cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate
*any of vari ...
romance between a
Tamil boy and a
Telugu girl. Upon release, it was commercially successful and remains a cult classic. Owing to its success in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, the film was released in the neighbouring states of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
and
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
without being dubbed into the respective languages. It held the record of being the longest-running Telugu film at theatres in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
and
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. Across theatres it had an uninterrupted theatrical run of two and half years in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
. The song ''Ye Theega Poovuno'' became popular.
Balachander won a
Best Director at the
Southern Filmfare Awards in 1979. Later in 1981, Balachander remade the film 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 ...
as ''
Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' with Kamal Haasan reprising his role. Saritha, the female lead, was, however, replaced by
Punjabi actress
Rati Agnihotri
Rati Agnihotri (born 10 December 1960) is an Indian actress, known for acting in Hindi, as well as in Telugu and Tamil language films. Her roles in the cult-tragedy film ''Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' (1981) and the drama film '' Tawaif'' (1985) earned ...
. The Hindi remake became a success as well. Both the films were listed among
CNN-IBN
CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internat ...
's 100 greatest Indian films of all time in 2013. This film was also remade 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 ...
as ''
Love Story'' (2005), in
Odia as ''Tu Mori Paeen'' (2009) and remade into a 2010 Telugu film
with the same title. Maro Charitra was dubbed in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
as ''Thirakal Ezhuthiya Kavitha'' (1980).
Plot
The story revolves around a Telugu girl and Tamil boy who fall in love. Their families interfere and ask them to stay away from each other for a whole year which results in a tragic end.
Cast
*
Kamal Haasan as Balu
*
Saritha
Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, ' ...
as Swapna
*
Madhavi as Sandhya
*
J. V. Ramana Murthi
*Kakinada Syamala
*
P. L. Narayana as K. Venkateswara Rao
* Jaya Vijaya as Kanakam
*
S. K. Misro as Pattabhi
Production
Development
''Maro Charitra'' was directed by
K. Balachander. Rama Arangannal, who produced Balachander's previous films agreed to produce the film.
Balachander approached his favourite screenwriter
Ganesh Patro to write the dialogues; Patro was credited for giving a native appeal to Balachander's successful Telugu films.
Casting
Balachander decided to launch Kamal as a lead actor 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, ...
upon the latter's request. Kamal had entered Telugu cinema through the director's ''
Anthuleni Katha
''Anthuleni Katha'' () is a 1976 Indian Telugu-language film directed by K. Balachander, starring Jaya Prada, with Fatafat Jayalaxmi, Rajinikanth and Sripriya in supporting roles. Kamal Haasan played a cameo. The film is a remake of the 1974 T ...
'' (1976), albeit playing a supporting role. That was followed by a dubbed version of the Tamil film ''
Manmadha Leelai'' released during the same period. As both the films had a 100-day run at the theatres, Kamal was approached by many Telugu film producers.
The actor had to refuse all the offers citing that he wanted to be launched as a lead actor through a film directed by Balachander, his mentor.
As Kamal is a Tamil, Balachander characterised his role as a Tamil man who falls in love with a Telugu girl and developed the screenplay.
Most of Kamal's dialogues were in Tamil.
The film was made by Balachander with the sole intention of introducing Kamal Haasan as a lead actor in Telugu cinema.
Having chosen the male lead, Balachander was on a lookout for a female counterpart. As the film deals with cross-cultural romance, he decided to cast a new actor to play the female lead. To choose the character, he auditioned a number of girls and finally ended up choosing a "dark-skinned girl with big eyes" named Abhilasha, who was in tenth grade.
Though the members of the production unit were unsatisfied with her dark complexion and fat physique,
Balachander went ahead in finalising her for the role as he felt she had a
homely look and was of the right age to fit in the role.
Later, she was rechristened
Saritha
Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, ' ...
by Balachander himself.
In a 2005 interview with ''The Hindu'', she said that she was the 162nd girl to be auditioned for the film, while also noting that she did not even look good in the photographs that was sent to Balachander. Besides the lead actors,
Madhavi who made an impact with ''
Thoorpu Padamara'' was signed up to play an important role in the film. The film was shot mostly in
Visakhapatnam
, image_alt =
, image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...
and
Bheemunipatnam in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. Contrary to most of the films that released during the period, ''Maro Charitra'' was shot in
black and white.
The final length of the film was .
Soundtrack
The music and background score was composed by
M. S. Viswanathan and lyrics were penned by
Aatreya.
Randor Guy wrote the English portions of a duet picturised on Kamal and Saritha. The 2015 film ''
Bhale Bhale Magadivoy
''Bhale Bhale Magadivoy'' () is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Maruthi. Produced by Bunny Vasu under the production companies GA2 Pictures and UV Creations, ''Bhale Bhale Magadivoy'' stars Nani and ...
'' was named after the song from ''Maro Charitra''.
Release and reception
The film was released on 19 May 1978.
Critical response
The performances of both the lead actors along with the director won critical acclaim. In 2010, ''
South Scope
''South Scope'' is an Indian based, monthly, English-language film magazine which focuses on South Indian films, film personalities and the industry.
History
''South Scope'' was established in 2009. Allu Sirish is the founder and advisor. Ma ...
'' noted "''Maro Charitra'' once again saw Kamal transform himself, but this time into an out and out urban male ... Kamal let none of them get left out of his wardrobe in the film." In 2013, while
Indian cinema
The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...
was celebrating its 100th anniversary,
CNN-IBN
CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internat ...
listed out "100 greatest Indian films of all time" where both ''Maro Charitra'' and its Hindi remake ''
Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' were mentioned.
In November 2015, Kamal noted, "Visual appeal has always gone hand-in-hand with content, since the days of ''
Chandralekha'' and
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_Bahubali_
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