''Papam Pasivadu'' () is a 1972 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

adventure drama film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, anima ...

directed by V. Ramachandra Rao and written by

Gollapudi Maruti Rao Gollapudi Maruti Rao (14 April 1939 – 12 December 2019) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, dramatist, playwright, columnist and dialogue writer known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu Literature. Rao acted in over 250 ...

. A remake of the South African film '' Lost in the Desert'' (1969), it stars S. V. Ranga Rao,

Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 film ...

, Master Ramu and

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 ...

. The film revolves around a boy who gets lost in a desert, and his attempts to find his family. ''Papam Pasivadu'' released on 29 September 1972 and became a commercial success. The film was remade in Tamil as ''Pillai Selvam''.

Plot

Venugopal and Janaki are a married couple. They soon have a baby boy named Gopi. During Gopi's childhood, he contracts tuberculosis. His family consults their doctor to obtain the best possible treatment for him and they decide to send him to Switzerland with Gopi's uncle Pathy as their pilot. During the journey, Pathy suffers a sudden heart attack, and the plane crashes in

Thar Desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's Li ...

. Gopi, with only his dog Tommy accompanying him, has to face several obstacles and finally survives to reunite with his family.

Cast

* S. V. Ranga Rao as Venugopal *

as Pathy *Master Ramu as Gopi * M. Prabhakar Reddy as Chakrapani *

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. ...

as the doctor *

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 ...

as Narasimham *

as Janaki * Suryakantham as Durgamma *

Chhaya Devi Chhaya Devi ( bn, ছায়া দেবী; 3 June 1914 – 25 April 2001) was an Indian actress known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. She appeared in hundreds of films for over five decades. Her first lead role was in Debak ...

as Subbamma

Production

Development

After the success of '' Mosagallaku Mosagadu'' (1971), which was shot mostly in deserts, its producer Atluri Purnachandra Rao wanted his next venture to also be desert-based.

Jamie Uys Jacobus Johannes Uys (; 30 May 1921 – 29 January 1996), better known as Jamie Uys, was a South African film director, best known for directing the 1980 comedy film '' The Gods Must Be Crazy'' and its 1989 sequel '' The Gods Must Be Crazy II'' ...

' South African film '' Lost in The Desert'' (1969) had just been released 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 ...

, and caught Rao's attention; he commissioned

to write a story based on this film, which became ''Papam Pasivadu''. The film was produced by Rao's brother Atluri Seshagiri Rao under their home company Sri Lakshmi Productions, V. Ramachandra Rao was hired as director, M. Kannappa for cinematography, Balu for editing and S. Krishna Rao for direction.

Casting and filming

When Chukkala Veera Venkata Rambabu or "Ramu" first auditioned for the role of Gopi, he was rejected as the makers felt he was too young for the role. However, he was signed on after several negotiations. A Pomeranian named Tommy was cast as Ramu's dog of the same name. Principal photography took place in March 1972. The film was shot for 27 days at the

, during which Ramu and the dog playing Tommy were the only actors. The scenes involving Gopi's uncle Pathy (

), Gopi's father Venugopal ( S. V. Ranga Rao), Gopi's mother Janaki (

), the airport official Chakrapani ( M. Prabhakar Reddy) and Venugopal's brother Narasimham (

) were shot at studio sets matching the actual location, and on beaches near Madras. Due to difficulty in obtaining further dates for Nagesh, the makers chose

K. Chakravarthy K. Chakravarthi (born Kommineni Appa Rao; 8 September 1936 – 3 February 2002) was an Indian music director who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He made his debut with in 1971 with ''Mooga Prema'' and went on compose music for over 949 films ...

to dub his voice. The final length of the film was 139 minutes, longer than ''Lost in The Desert'' which was 90 minutes long.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Satyam.

Marketing

''Papam Pasivadu'' was publicised through publicity pamphlets of the film being thrown from helicopters in various towns, a first for Telugu cinema.

Release and reception

''Papam Pasivadu'' was released on 29 September 1972 and became a commercial success.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1970s Telugu-language films 1972 films Films directed by V. Ramachandra Rao Films scored by Satyam (composer) Films set in deserts Indian adventure drama films Indian remakes of foreign films Telugu films remade in other languages