''Prema Pusthakam'' () is a 1993 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

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

which was partly directed by Gollapudi Srinivas before his death on the set of the film; it was later finished by his father,

Gollapudi Maruthi 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 ...

. It stars newcomers

Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...

and Kanchan, with

Devendran Devendran also known as Ravi Devendran is an Indian music composer who is concentrating in Tamil-language films. He is known for the melodious composition of chartbuster ''Kannukkul Nooru Nilava...'' from the Bharathiraja directed film ''Vedha ...

was the music composer. This film is Ajith Kumar's first and only

Telugu film 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, Hy ...

to date (in the beginning of his career) and was temporarily put on hold after the director had passed away. The film won three

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

Plot

Sreekar (Ajith Kumar) and Charitra (Kanchan) are college students. They are expelled from their college. They find themselves homeless and unemployed. They decide to get married. On the eve of the marriage, a rich old man tries to disrobe Charitra with the intention of raping her. Charitra prevents him from disrobing and raping her. She stabs him to death with a thick piece of glass. The next day, she gets married to Sreekar. Seconds after the wedding, police personnel enters the marriage hall and arrest Charitra on the charges of murdering the old man. Even after this incident, Sreekar neither hates her nor does he abandon her. The courts finds Charitra guilty of murder and sentences her.

Cast

as Sreekar (credited as Sreekar) * Kanchan as Charitra *Thangana *Lakshmipriya *Sohini *Deepika *Swati *

P. L. Narayana P. Lakshmi Narayana (10 September 1935 – 3 November 1998) was an Indian actor, dialogue writer, and playwright, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil films. He has received one National Film Award and five state N ...

Maharshi Raghava Raghava Gogineni, better known as Maharshi Raghava, is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films and television. Raghava acted in more than 170 films in various roles. He shot into fame as a lead actor with his first film ''Maharshi'' (1987), w ...

Tanikella Bharani Tanikella Bharani (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, poet, playwright and director who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has worked as an actor in more than 750 films, including some in Tamil and Hindi; while he was ...

as priest *

*Balu * Misro *Kashi Viswanath * Kallu Chidambaram *Kumara Raja *Prasada Rao *Rajani Srinivas * GV Rama *Gauri Shankar *Vidyasagar * Murali Mohan *

Giri Babu Yerra Seshagiri Rao, popularly known as Giri Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who primarily woks in Telugu films. His son, Raghu Babu, is a notable actor-director. Career Giri Babu hails from a middle class agricultural famil ...

* Mallikarjuna Rao *

Suthivelu Kurumaddali Lakshmi Narasimha Rao (7 August 1947 – 16 September 2012), better known by his stage name Suthi Velu, was an Indian actor and comedian known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has acted in more than 200 films, and won four state ...

Production

The film was written by Gollapudi Srinivas, son of noted director

, in early 1992 and

was signed on to feature in the lead role after being introduced to the producer by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, whose son

Charan Charan ( IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Urdu: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces ...

studied with Ajith. However, during the ninth day of the shoot, the debutant director died after succumbing to injuries suffered during a water accident on sets in

Vizag , 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 museum, ...

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 death led to creation of the Gollapudi Srinivas Award, with the director's father Gollapudi Maruthi Rao giving the award to promising debutant directors to continue his son's legacy. The film was duly delayed and later completed by Srinivas's father and only released in 1993.

Soundtrack

The songs were composed by Devendran. * "Anukunnadhi" * "Geluchuko" * "Kaliki Seethammaku" * "Manugade Madhuramu" * "Modhalainadhi Mana" - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,

K. S. Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various In ...

* "Moodu Nelalaega" * "Poornamadham" - K. S. Chithra, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam * "Thiyagga Puttadhae" * "Visakha Beach Lo" - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra

Release

The film has been described by commentators as an "eminently forgettable" debut for

, due to the problems faced during production. It was later dubbed and released 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, nati ...

as ''Kadhal Puthagam'' in 1997. A reviewer of the dubbed version wrote "The screenplay could have been better as the story flow seems to be discontinuous at times. In spite of this, the director has shown some flashes of talent in some scenes, especially scenes involving Ajit and Kanchan".

Awards

;

(in

) * Best Screenplay Writer -

Best Costume Designer Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

- Manohar Reddy *

Special Jury Award Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

- Kanchan

References

External links

*
Full movie on Youtube
1993 films 1990s Telugu-language films Films shot in Visakhapatnam Indian romance films 1990s romance films {{1990s-Telugu-film-stub