''Niluvu Dopidi'' () is a 1968 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

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

film, produced by U. Visweswara Rao and 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 ...

. It 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 ...

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Devika Devika Devadoss (born Prameela Devi) (25 April 1943 – 2 May 2002) was an Indian actress who worked in Tamil, Telugu with few Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi film industry. She was a popular lead actress in the 1960s. Devika is the grand daughter ...

and

Jayalalita Jayalalita is an Indian character actor, who acted in about 650 films in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. Early life Jayalalita was born in Gudivada, a town in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. She complete ...

, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film was released on 25 January 1968 and became a commercial success.

Plot

Jagapathi Rayalu, the ''

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

'' of the village Rangapuram, has two sons – Ramu and Krishna. Before dying, he entrusts their responsibility to his sisters Chukamma and Sheshamma. The avaricious Chukkamma ploys with her distant relative Bhushanam to kill the heirs for the property. However, the boys are rescued by Chukkamma's wise husband Venkataramaiah and they land at an orphanage. Years roll by, and Ramu turns into a mechanic whereas Krishna is a college student. They fall in love with the daughters of Sheshamma and Chukkamma: Janaki and Radha respectively. At Rangapuram, Chukkamma reaps her benefits. Parallelly, Bhushanam becomes the president of the village who aspires to arrange his son Raju's marriage with Radha. Bhushanam learns of Radha and Krishna's love affair. So, he beats Krishna when enraged Ramu revolts on Bhushanam, but stops upon seeing the picture of the orphanage founder i.e. Jagapathi Rayalu. Soon after, their guardian Swamiji reveals the truth. Ramu and Krishna reach Rangapuram in disguise, brings Bhushanam to justice, and teach a lesson to Chukkamma. The film ends with the marriages of Ramu with Janaki, and Krishna with Radha.

Cast

Production

After the success of the folklore film ''

Kanchu Kota ''Kanchu Kota'' () is a 1967 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film, produced by U. Visweswara Rao under the Viswashanti Productions banner and directed by C. S. Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Kanta Rao, Savitri and Devika, with music compos ...

'' (1967), its producer U. Visweswara Rao and director

decided to make their next venture a contemporary film under the same banner Manjula Cine Syndicate. ''Kanchu Kota''s lead actors

and

were retained for the new film, titled ''Niluvu Dopidi''. Visweswara Rao wrote the story which

Tripuraneni Maharadhi Tripuraneni Maharadhi (20 April 1930 – 23 December 2011) was an Indian Telugu film, screenplay, dialogue and script writer. He is remembered for his political forays, as well as for the film '' Alluri Seetharama Raju''. He was the de facto d ...

, the film's screenwriter, read and noticed was strongly influenced by ''

Gundamma Katha ''Gundamma Katha'' () is a 1962 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and co-produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner Vijaya Productions. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, S ...

'' (1962). Maharadhi felt Visweswara Rao's story was outdated, so he reworked it to its final form. Visweswara Rao's initial choice for the second male lead was

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 ...

, but later chose

at the insistence of Maharadhi, who felt he would match Rama Rao's "jubilance". J. Jayalalithaa was cast as the second female lead, paired alongside Krishna.

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 ...

, who appeared in ''Kanchu Kota'', was dismayed upon realising there was no role for him in ''Niluvu Dopidi'' and insisted on an appearance; he was offered to act as a minister and willingly accepted. The cinematography was handled by G. K. Ramu and the art direction by S. Krishna Rao, while editing was handled by R. Hanumantha Rao. The song "Aadapillalante Hoi Hoi", choreographed by Thangappa, was shot at the Madras-based Golden Studios in September 1967.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by K. V. Mahadevan.

Release and reception

''Niluvu Dopidi'' was released on 25 January 1968 and became a commercial success.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0261859, Niluvu Dopidi 1960s Telugu-language films 1968 films Films directed by C. S. Rao Indian comedy-drama films Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan