''Rakta Sambandham'' () is a 1962 Indian
Telugu-language
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
V. Madhusudhana Rao and produced by Sundarlal Nahata and
Doondi. The film 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Savitri 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 daughte ...
, with
Relangi,
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 ...
,
M. Prabhakar Reddy and
Suryakantham in supporting roles. A remake of
A. Bhimsingh
A. Bhimsingh or Bhim Singh (1924–1978) was an Indian filmmaker who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Apart from Tamil, he made films in other languages that include 18 films in Hindi, 8 films in Telugu, 5 films in Malayalam and 1 film 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, nativ ...
-language film ''
Pasamalar
''Pasamalar'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri Ganesan, with K. A. Thangavelu M. N. Nambiar and M. N. Rajam in supporting roles. It revolves ar ...
'' (1961), it narrates the story of bonding between Rajasekhar "Raju" and his sister Radha, who lose their parents at an early age. Radha falls in love with Raju's friend Anand and they marry. The rest of the film focuses on the impact made by Anand's aunt Kanthamma on their lives post marriage.
Produced on a restricted budget and filmed majorly in sets erected at Golden Film Studios and
Vijaya Vauhini Studios
Vijaya Vauhini Studios was one of the premier motion picture movie studios in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the combination of Vijaya Productions and Vauhini Studios. B. Nagi Reddy (Bommireddy Nagi Reddy) was the founder of Vijaya Produ ...
, ''Rakta Sambandham''s screenplay was written by
Mullapudi Venkata Ramana
Mullapudi Venkata Ramana (28 June 1931 – 24 February 2011) was an Indian writer known for his work in Telugu language. Noted for his humorous and metaphorical style of writing, Mullapudi received Raghupathi Venkaiah Award from the Government ...
.
Ghantasala composed the soundtrack and background score. C. Nageswara Rao and N. S. Prakasham served as the director of photography and editor respectively. Krishna Rao was the art director.
''Rakta Sambandham'' was released on 1 November 1962 and received positive reviews from the critics, who praised the performances of the cast, Ramana's screenplay and Madhusudhan Rao's direction in particular. The film was commercially successful, completing a 100-day run in 11 centers and over 25 weeks in
Vijayawada
Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises N ...
, making it a
silver jubilee film. It was re-released in 1988 and was well received.
Plot
Rajasekhar "Raju" becomes the guardian of his younger sister Radha after their parents' death. The brother-sister duo love, care and adore each other and are inseparable. He works at a local mill run for daily wages. One day, Radha is injured in an accident, and Anand, Raju's co-worker at the mill, tends to her injuries. Raju is happy to know this and befriends Anand.
When the mill is shut down due to a labor problem, Radha gives a depressed Raju one thousand rupees which she had saved earlier. She advises him to use this money as seed capital and commence his own toy business. Raju follows her advice, starts a business, and buys the mill. Anand, who returned to the city after a legal dispute at his village, is jobless and approaches Raju for work. Raju appoints him as his concern and over some time, Anand and Radha fall in love. Raju, who is very possessive of his sister, gets angry with Anand as he feels betrayed. However, knowing how intensely Radha loves Anand, he arranges for their wedding.
After the marriage, Anand, along with his aunt Kanthamma and cousin Apparao, move into Raju's house. Raju marries Malathi, a doctor, at Radha's suggestion. All of them continue to live under the same roof and several misunderstandings arise. Kanthamma uses every opportunity to widen the rift between the couples. Unable to witness Radha's troubles, Raju moves out of the house with his wife.
Kanthamma serves legal notice to Raju, demanding a share in the property for Radha. Meanwhile, Anand contests against Raju in the local government elections. To avoid further issues, Raju withdraws his nomination. Still, the families do not unite. Radha delivers a boy and Malathi delivers a girl. After her child's birth, Malathi dies, leaving Raju heartbroken. Anand goes to meet Raju but is expelled by Malathi's brother Bhaskar, who holds him responsible for his sister's plight. Unable to cope with the separation from his sister and to have peace of mind, Raju goes on a pilgrimage for several months. He donates the entire property to Radha and sends the papers through a lawyer before leaving.
Raju returns on Diwali day and goes to meet Radha, but is denied entry by Kanthamma. While going back, he saves a boy from getting burnt by firecrackers and in the process, loses his eyesight. Through Subbanna, Radha learns that Raju had arrived and rushes to meet him. Raju learns that the child he saved is none other than his nephew. Anand, who learned about Kanthamma's misdeeds from Apparao, expels her from his house and goes to meet Raju. He is devastated to know that both Raju and Radha have died due to cardiac arrest, holding each other's hands before dying.
Cast
;Male actors
*
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 ...
as Rajasekhar "Raju"
*
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 ...
as Anand
*
Relangi as Apparao
*
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 ...
as Vishwanatham
*K. V. S. Sharma as Rathnam
*
M. Prabhakar Reddy as Bhaskar
*Y. V. Raju as Subbanna
;Female actors
*
Savitri as Radha
*
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 daughte ...
as Malathi
*
Girija as Sita
*
Suryakantham as Kanthamma
Production
Development
Impressed with the commercial success of
A. Bhimsingh
A. Bhimsingh or Bhim Singh (1924–1978) was an Indian filmmaker who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Apart from Tamil, he made films in other languages that include 18 films in Hindi, 8 films in Telugu, 5 films in Malayalam and 1 film in ...
1961
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, nativ ...
-language film ''
Pasamalar
''Pasamalar'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri Ganesan, with K. A. Thangavelu M. N. Nambiar and M. N. Rajam in supporting roles. It revolves ar ...
'' (1961),
Doondi and Sundarlal Nahata acquired its remake rights.
They decided to remake it in
Telugu for their production company Rajalakshmi Productions, but were skeptical of the film's success, as it had a very tragic story. After a delay, Nahata revived the plans and signed
V. Madhusudhana Rao to direct the film.
Doondi signed writer
Mullapudi Venkata Ramana
Mullapudi Venkata Ramana (28 June 1931 – 24 February 2011) was an Indian writer known for his work in Telugu language. Noted for his humorous and metaphorical style of writing, Mullapudi received Raghupathi Venkaiah Award from the Government ...
to work on the script. His decision was met with severe criticism, as Ramana was known for his humorous works.
Ramana took it as a challenge and completed working on the film's script and shot division in a span of two weeks.
To tone down the melodrama in the original, Ramana introduced two characters from his fiction works: Apparao, the chronic debtor and his love interest Sita. Both were the subject of Ramana's friend, collaborator and filmmaker
Bapu paintings.
Cast and crew
Savitri was cast as the female lead, reprising her role from ''Pasamalar''. Nahata approached
Akkineni Nageswara Rao
Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...
to play the male lead, but Nageswara Rao politely rejected the proposal, saying that the audience would not accept him playing Savitri's brother, given their reputation as an on-screen romantic pair.
Doondi approached
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 ...
for the same, who accepted the proposal.
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 ...
was signed as the other male lead, played by
Gemini Ganesan
Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...
in the original.
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 daughte ...
,
M. Prabhakar Reddy and
Suryakantham were cast in key supporting roles.
Relangi and
Girija were chosen to play Apparao and Sita respectively, and
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 ...
was cast as the latter's father.
K. V. S. Sarma and Y. V. Raju played minor roles as the factory owner and servant Subbanna respectively.
Nahata and Doondi were impressed with
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's '' Panam'' to 1965's '' Aayirathil Oruvan''. After their split, Ramamoorthy wo ...
soundtrack and score for the original, and approached them to work on the remake. They expressed their inability due to scheduling conflicts, and instead suggested
Ghantasala name. Doondi signed Ghantasala as the film's music composer.
C. Nageswara Rao served as the director of photography, and N. S. Prakasham edited the film.
Krishna Rao was the film's art director.
Filming
''Rakta Sambandham'' was majorly filmed in sets erected at Golden Film Studios and
Vijaya Vauhini Studios
Vijaya Vauhini Studios was one of the premier motion picture movie studios in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the combination of Vijaya Productions and Vauhini Studios. B. Nagi Reddy (Bommireddy Nagi Reddy) was the founder of Vijaya Produ ...
, where the post-production activities were carried out.
Doondi and Nahata wanted to wrap the film within a restricted budget.
According to Madhusudhan Rao, ''Rakta Sambandham'' was physically and mentally demanding for Savitri, though she played the same role in the original.
Savitri avoided using
glycerol
Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...
during emotional scenes and preferred
method acting
Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...
. As a result, she had swollen eyes and fainted on sets often. Shooting was cancelled at times due to Savitri's illness.
Suryakantham, who played the role of an abusive mother-in-law, could not bear watching Savitri struggle and used to forget her lines. She expressed her helplessness to Madhusudhan Rao and wished to walk out of the film, until Rama Rao intervened and requested to reconsider her decision. While filming an emotional scene, film producer
Aluri Chakrapani visited the sets. He suggested Rama Rao to act in a subtle way; he stated that the Telugu audience would not appreciate melodramatic performances. The song "Yevaro Nannu Kavvinchi" was filmed on Kanta Rao and Savitri at
Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...
.
Music
Ghantasala composed the film's soundtrack and background score. He was initially apprehensive about the songs as all of them were situation based, and that Viswanathan's music received critical acclaim. With Nahata's encouragement, he composed new tunes for all the songs except "Chanduruni Minchu", "Bangaru Bomma Raaveme", "Manchi Roju Vastundi" which were retained from the original.
Aarudhra
Arudra (born Bhagavatula Sadasiva Sankara Sastry; 31 August 1925 – 4 June 1998) was an Indian author, poet, lyricist, translator, publisher, dramatist, playwright, and an expert on Telugu literature. He is also known for his works in Telugu ci ...
, Anisetty Subbarao,
C. Narayana Reddy,
Daasarathi and
Kosaraju collaborated for the lyrics.
The soundtrack was marketed by
HMV Records
His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...
and was released on 1 December 1962.
The soundtrack received positive reviews. Venkat Rao, in his review for ''
Andhra Jyothi'' dated 9 November 1962, stated that Ghantasala's music was instrumental in taking the film to the next level, and praised the lyrics for the songs "Manchi Roju Vastundi", "Bangaru Bomma Raaveme" and "Yevaro Nannu Kavvinchi".
Radha Krishna, writing for ''
Andhra Prabha
''Andhra Prabha'' - ''Journalism first'' is a Telugu language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The newspaper is one of the oldest running Telugu-language daily newspapers of India. The newspaper ...
'' on 11 November 1962, opined that Ghantasala's music was "uplifting" and praised the lyricists for their contribution.
''
Visalaandhra'', in its review dated 11 November 1962, noted the songs "Idhe Rakta Sambandham", "Chanduruni Minchu" and "Bangaru Bomma Raaveme" as the finest among others in the film's soundtrack.
Release
''Rakta Sambandham'' was released on 1 November 1962,
with an approximate total length of in 17 reels, and a running time of 144 minutes.
The film's distribution rights were acquired by East India Film Company Private Limited.
While Savitri was skeptical of the film's success owing to its melodramatic nature, Rama Rao expressed his confidence citing Ramana's screenwriting as the film's strength.
''Rakta Sambandham'' was a commercial success, completing a 100-day run in 11 centers and over 25 weeks in
Vijayawada
Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises N ...
, making it a
silver jubilee film.
During Rama Rao's tenure as the
Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh
The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's '' de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...
, ''Rakta Sambandham'' was re-released in 1988, and completed a 100-day run 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, in the northern part of Southern India ...
.
Reception
The film received positive reviews from critics. Venkat Rao, in his review for ''Andhra Jyothi'' dated 9 November 1962, praised the performances of the film's cast, especially those of Rama Rao, Savitri and Kanta Rao. Venkat Rao also praised Ramana's screenplay and the emotional climax, but found the inclusion of a dance number in the second half as an unwanted addition.
Radha Krishna, writing for ''Andhra Prabha'' on 11 November 1962, termed the performances of Rama Rao and Savitri as "extraordinary", and praised Ramana for his spontaneity in the dialogues.
''Visalaandhra'', in its review dated 11 November 1962, found Rama Rao's performance in the second half more effective and moving than the one he delivered in ''
Kalasi Vunte Kaladu Sukham
''Kalasi Vunte Kaladu Sukham'' () is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by Y. Rama Krishna Prasad and C. V. R. Prasad under Saradhi Studios and directed by Tapi Chanakya. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and Savitri, with music composed ...
'' (1961). The reviewer noted that the film was "technically sound" with profound writing by Ramana and deft handling by Madhusudhan Rao.
Legacy
''Rakta Sambandham'' made a significant impact on the on-screen image of Rama Rao and Savitri.
The portraits of the actors used in the film later gained wide recognition and were used in public gatherings on multiple occasions.
During its theatrical run, the film influenced many Telugu households to celebrate brother-sister bonding.
As a mark of gratitude to Doondi, Ramana dedicated his book ''Cineramaneeyam Part I'' to him.
After ''Rakta Sambandham'', Rama Rao and Savitri acted as a romantic couple in
P. S. Ramakrishna Rao ''
Aatma Bandhuvu
''Aatma Bandhuvu'' () is a 1962 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by Sarathi Studios and directed by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao and Savitri, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. It is a remake of the T ...
'' (1962). Its commercial success encouraged Rama Rao to experiment further with his on-screen image.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{V. Madhusudhana Rao
1960s Telugu-language films
1962 drama films
1962 films
Films directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao
Films scored by Ghantasala (musician)
Indian black-and-white films
Indian drama films
Telugu remakes of Tamil films