''Padandi Munduku: The Dandi March'' is a 1962

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

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The ...

film directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao, and produced by

Jaggayya Kongara Jaggayya (31 December 1928 – 5 March 2004) was an Indian actor, littérateur, journalist, lyricist, dubbing artist and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He was known as ''Kanchu Kantham J ...

. The film is touted to be the first Indian film based on the

Salt March The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

and India's independence movement as its core theme. The

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

film featured Kongara Jagayya, Jamuna, Gummadi,

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 ...

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 ...

, G. Varalakshmi, K. V. S. Sarma, Hemalatha, Master Suresh and

Krishna Ghattamaneni Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy (31 May 1943 – 15 November 2022), known mononymously as Krishna, was an Indian actor, director and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. In a film career spanning five decades, he ...

in his debut,

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. ...

S. V. Ranga Rao Samarla Venkata Ranga Rao (3 July 1918 – 18 July 1974), popularly known as SVR, was an Indian actor, producer, and director known for his works majorly in Telugu and Tamil films. He is regarded as one of the finest actors in the history of ...

C. S. R. Anjaneyulu Chilakalapudi Seeta Rama Anjaneyulu (11 July 1907 – 8 October 1963), popularly known as C. S. R., was an Indian method actor, and thespian best known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theater. He acted in many stage dramas and portray ...

, Balakrishna, Peketi, Kamala Kumari, Jayanthi, and Rajasulochana in pivotal roles, while Indian wrestlers Ajith Singh and Sethi were also featured in guest roles. The film received critical reception at the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

, the Tashkent Film Festival, and the

5th Moscow International Film Festival The 5th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 July 1967. The Grand Prix was shared between the Soviet film '' The Journalist'', directed by Sergei Gerasimov and the Hungarian film ''Father'', directed by István Szabó. The fe ...

, including special mention from Russian Jury member

Alexander Rou Alexander Arturovich Rou (also, Rowe, from his Irish father's name) (russian: Александр Артурович Роу, – 28 December 1973) was a Soviet film director, and People's Artist of the RSFSR (1968). He directed a number of chi ...

Plot

During 1920, the time of British Raj in

Madras State Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and c ...

a train accident separates freedom fighter couple Santhamma (G. Varalakshmi) and husband Dharmarao (K. V. S. Sarma). However, Santhamma survives and brings up her son Sathyadev (Jaggaiah) and adopts another son Arjun (Master Suresh), and inculcates in them Gandhiji's principles. Arjun participates in the 1930

Salt Satyagraha The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

, kills a British officer, and flies the Indian tricolor flag. On the other hand, DSP Sankara Rao (Gummadi), the brother of Santhamma, working under the British administration, summons Santhamma for the act, and her son Arjun is imprisoned. However, with the help of Sankara Rao's daughter Sarala (Jamuna) and her follower Vinayak (Ramana Reddy), Sathyadev rescues Arjun from a hospital where he is being treated. Dharmarao brings the grievously injured Sathyadev and Arjun home. However, his second wife's son Suresh (Kantharao) drives them to Sankara Rao's house instead of the doctor's home. Sarala manages to free them from the home. Having identified themselves as vigilantes to Rao's wife, Sathyadev and Arjun take shelter at Rao's house without his knowledge, Rao's wife Parvathi (

Hemalatha Hemalatha, often credited as Hema, is an Indian actress and dancer. She is acclaimed for her roles as Raghavi in the popular soap opera ''Kana Kaanum Kaalangal'' on STAR Vijay and as Deepa in the superhit Tamil drama serial on Sun TV ''Thend ...

) realizes that Arjun is their lost child. When an unnerved Rao and a British official tries to take them into custody, Sathyadev and Arjun kill the corrupt British officer and escape. In the ensuing chase and shootout, Santhamma, who comes in between, succumbs to bullet injuries and dies. A repentant Rao resigns his job opposing the British raj's atrocities towards Indians and protests, with India attaining independence, Sathyadev and Arjun are released from the prison.

Production

V. Madhusudhana Rao helmed the production design for the film. The soundtrack and background score was composed by

S. P. Kodandapani Sripathi Panditharadhyula Kodandapani ( 5 April 1974) was an Indian music composer and playback singer in Telugu cinema. He composed music for more than 100 films. He made his debut as an playback singer in the 1955 film ''Santhanam''. Later, ...

. The talkie part of the film was shot at Saradhi Studios, in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, and crucial scenes were shot in Tenali 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 ...

with few retrospective scenes showcasing Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru. The film was released during the republic day weekend of January 26, 1962, to positive reviews.

Soundtrack

* "Padandi Munduku Padandi Tosuku" (Lyrics: Sri Sri; Singers: Ghantasala,

Madhavapeddi Satyam Madhavapeddi Satyam (11 March 1922 – 18 December 2000) was an Indian playback singer and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. He entered films as a singer-actor in Y. V. Rao's Tamil-Hindi bilingual movie ''Ramadas'' in the year 194 ...

A. P. Komala Arkadu Parthasarathy Komala (born 28 August 1934), commonly known as A. P. Komala, is an Indian playback singer. She has sung songs in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada languages. Career life She was a much sought after playback singer from t ...

) * "Manasu Manchidi Vayasu Cheddadi" (Lyrics:

Aathreya Acharya Aatreya (born Kilambi Venkata Narasimhacharyulu ) (7 May 1921 – 13 September 1989) was an Indian poet, lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He received the state Nandi Award f ...

; Singers: Ghantasala,

P. Susheela Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...

) * "Meluko Saagipo Bandhanalu Tenchuko" (Lyrics: Dasarathi; Singers: Ghantasala, Madhavapeddi Satyam, A. P. Komala)

References

{{V. Madhusudhana Rao, state=collapsed 1960s Telugu-language films 1962 films Indian nonlinear narrative films Films about rebellions 1960s action thriller films Films set in the 1930s Indian political thriller films Indian films about revenge Indian buddy films Films set in Chennai Films about social issues in India Films about corruption in India Cultural depictions of Mahatma Gandhi Epic films based on actual events Films set in the Indian independence movement Indian vigilante films Films directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao Films scored by S. P. Kodandapani