Sankarabharanam () is a 1980 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

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

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-g ...

written and directed by

K. Viswanath Kasinadhuni Viswanath (born 19 February 1930) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema. He is recipient of five National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards South ...

. Produced by Edida Nageswara Rao under the production company Poornodaya Movie Creations, ''Sankarabharanam'' starred

J. V. Somayajulu Jonnalagadda Venkata Somayajulu (30 July 1920 or – 24 April 2004) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. In 1981, he received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu ...

Manju Bhargavi Manju Bhargavi (born 1955) is an actress and dancer, best known for her performance in the Telugu blockbuster film Sankarabharanam (1979) and Nayakudu Vinayakudu (1980). Early life Manju Bhargavi parents originally hailed from Andhra Pradesh ...

, Chandra Mohan, and Rajyalakshmi. The soundtrack was composed by K. V. Mahadevan and remained a chartbuster. The film throws light on the chasm between Classical and Western Music based on the perspective of people from two different generations. ''Sankarabharanam'' won the ''Prize of the Public'' at the "

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

Film Festival of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

" in the year 1981. It was screened at the

8th International Film Festival of India The 8th International Film Festival of India was held from 3–16 January 1981 in New Delhi, India. Winners *IFFI Best Film Award, Golden Peacock (Best Film): "The Unknown Soldier’s Patent Leather Shoes" by Rangel Valchanov and "Aakrosh (1980 ...

, the

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

Film Festival, the

Asia Pacific Film Festival The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954. History The festival was first held in Toky ...

, the

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

held in May 1980, and the AISFM Film Festival. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' included J. V. Somayajulu's performance in the film on its list of "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema". In 2013, in an online poll conducted by ''

CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...

'' on their website as part of the hundred years celebration of

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

, ''Sankarabharanam'' came eleventh in the poll for finding the "greatest Indian film ever." ''Sankarabharanam'' opened to near-empty halls and by the end of the first week, all theaters were houseful for every show. It had an extraordinary run, running for more than 25 weeks in many centers. Released in Bangalore without dubbing it ran for a year. It won four

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

including the Best Film with Mass Appeal, Wholesome Entertainment & Aesthetic Values, the first for a ''South-Indian'' film at the

27th National Film Awards The 27th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictur ...

, and seven state

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 ...

. It was later dubbed into Tamil and Malayalam under the same title. The Malayalam dub went on to run for over an year in theatres. Viswanath subsequently directed the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

remake '' Sur Sangam''.

Plot

Sankara Sastri, a widower with a daughter named Sarada, is one of the most popular Carnatic singers of the day, famed for having mastered the

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

'' Sankarabharanam''. Tulasi is the daughter of a ''

devadasi In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

'', who admires Sastri from afar. Once, when Sastri came to their town on tour, Tulasi met him on the riverbank when Sastri was teaching his own daughter. One morning Tulasi was so thrilled by Sastri's singing that she begins dancing on the riverbank, oblivious of her surroundings. Sastri sees her, and Tulasi also comes to her senses and abruptly stops. She expects Sastri to rebuke her. But he appreciates her sincerity and continues singing. Tulasi's mother wants her to follow in the family tradition of becoming a courtesan, believes she can extract a high price for Tulasi from a rich man. Once the deal was struck, the man raped Tulasi. Seeing a photo of Sastri in Tulasi's room, he breaks it and taunts her by saying that she is now free to be the old Sastri's mistress. The enraged Tulasi stabs her rapist with a shard of glass from the broken frame of Sastri's photo, killing him. At the subsequent murder trial Sastri engages a close friend, a lawyer, to defend Tulasi. Tulasi's mother is sent to jail for engaging in prostitution, while Tulasi goes free but finds herself homeless. When Sastri takes Tulasi to his own house, the rumour spreads that Tulasi has become Sastri's mistress. Engaged to sing at a temple, everyone, including Sastri's musical accompanists, leaves on seeing Tulasi. Feeling responsible for this public insult to the man she reveres, Tulasi leaves Sastri's home. Over time, while

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

is on the ascendant, the popularity of classical music wanes, Sastri loses his audience and, with them his comfortable lifestyle. Ten years later, Sastri is living in a small house with his daughter, who has grown into adulthood. Meanwhile, Tulasi has inherited her mother's property after her mother's demise. Tulasi has a ten-year-old son, the result of her rape, and desires that he become Sastri's student. Tulasi gets her son to pretend to be homeless, entering Sastri's household as a servant. Tulasi is content to watch from a distance as her son gradually becomes Sastri's musical protege. Pamulaparti Venkata Kameswara Rao, a schoolteacher by profession but a

dilettante Dilettante or dilettantes may refer to: * An amateur, someone with a non-professional interest * A layperson, the opposite of an expert * ''Dilettante'' (album), a 2005 album by Ali Project * ''Dilettantes'' (album), a 2008 album by You Am I * D ...

singer at heart, falls in love with Sarada. Although Sastri rejects the alliance at first, he agrees after hearing the man sing at the village temple. Tulasi arranges for a concert on the day of Sarada's wedding, in a new auditorium which she named for her mentor. Sastri sings at the concert but suffers a heart attack part-way through it. His disciple, Tulasi's son, takes over from the sidelines and continues singing the song. As Sastri watches his student with pride, he also sees Tulasi at the side of the hall and realizes that the boy is Tulasi's son. A doctor is brought to attend to Sastri, but Sastri waves him off, knowing that his end is near. As Tulasi's son completes the song, Sastri symbolically anoints the boy as his musical heir by giving his "aabharanam" (his leg bracelet) to him and dies. Tulasi comes running to her ''guru'', and dies at his feet. The film ends on this tragic but uplifting note, as Sastri's newly-wed daughter and son-in-law take charge of Tulasi's son.

Cast

as 'Sankarabharanam' Sankara Sastry *

as Tulasi * Chandra Mohan as Kameswara Rao * Rajyalakshmi Chendu as Sarada *

Tulasi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulsi'' or ''tulasi'', is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian ...

as Sankaram *

Allu Ramalingaiah Allu Ramalingaiah (1 October 1922 – 31 July 2004) was an Indian character actor, comedian, and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. In 1990, He was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema. In 1998, he rec ...

as Madhava *

Nirmalamma Nirmalamma (18 July 1920 – 19 February 2009) was an Indian actress in the Telugu cinema. She has acted in more than 800 films. She was well known for her grandmother roles in several films.She won two Nandi Awards. Early life She was born in ...

as Bamma *

Sakshi Ranga Rao Sakshi Ranga Rao (born Rangavajhula Ranga Rao; 15 September 1942 – 27 June 2005) was an Indian character actor who worked in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He appeared in about 450 films over a career spanning four decades, majority of ...

as Gopalam *

Dubbing Janaki Dasari Janaki, known professionally as Dubbing Janaki, is an Indian actress and voice artist. She has appeared in several films and television shows in various South Indian languages. Early life Janaki was born in Peddapuram, East Godavari Di ...

as cook * Jith Mohan Mitra as Dasu * ''Baby'' Varalakshmi as Young Sarada * Jhansi as Ratna Papa * Pushpa Kumari * Arja Janardhana Rao as Tulasi's maternal uncle * Edida Sriramprasad * S. Bheemeswara Rao as Zamindar * Dhum * Srigopal * Ganeswara Rao

Production

Development

After hearing the plot, the producers were initially taken aback due to the

parallel cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

tone to the subject matter, but finally

Edida Nageswara Rao Edida Nageswara Rao (24 April 1934 – 4 October 2015) was an Indian film producer in Telugu cinema. He owned the film production house Poornodaya Movie Creations in Tollywood. He produced ''Sankarabharanam (1980 film), Sankarabharanam'', ' ...

agreed to produce the film. He wanted

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 enact the role of Sankara Sastry,

wanted

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

to perform the role, but couldn't approach him for various reasons and also wanted

Krishnam Raju Uppalapati Venkata Krishnam Raju (20 January 1940 – 11 September 2022) was an Indian actor and politician. He was known for his works in Telugu cinema and was widely known as "''Rebel Star''" for his rebellious acting style. He was also the ...

for the role, but later refused as Viswanath felt his image as a star would ruin the role and he chose a debutant

, a stage artist for the role.

scripted and directed the film, while

Jandhyala Jandhyala Subrahmanya Sastry (14 January 1951 – 19 June 2001), known mononymously by his surname Jandhyala, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, playwright, and actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He is popula ...

gave the dialogues.

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan-born Indian cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as ...

performed the

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

while the film is edited by G. G. Krishna Rao.

Thota Tharani Thota Tharani is an Indian film art director and production designer who has predominantly worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema and Bollywood. As of 2013, he has won two National Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and four Tamil ...

worked as the film's

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

Vamsy Vamsy is an Indian film director, screenwriter and music director known for his works in Telugu cinema. In 1985, he received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, National Film Award for ''Sitaara''. Vamsy has his own styl ...

, who went on to direct films like ''

Sitaara ''Sitaara'' () is a 1984 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Vamsy. The film marked the debut of Bhanupriya in Telugu film industry. The film was adapted from Vamsy's own novel ''Mahal lo Kokila'' (). The film deals with the ...

'', ''

Anveshana ''Anveshana'' () is a 1985 Indian Telugu-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Vamsy. It stars Karthik, Bhanupriya, Kaikala Satyanarayana and Sarath Babu with music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The story revolves around an or ...

'' and ''

Ladies Tailor ''Ladies Tailor'' is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language comedy film, produced by K. Sarada Devi under the Sri Sravanthi Movies banner, presented by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore and written and directed by Vamsy. It stars Rajendra Prasad and Archana, with ...

'' was one of the assistant directors in the film.

Filming

The film was primarily shot in and around the city of

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

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 ...

Soundtrack

The music, largely Carnatic based, was composed by

K.V. Mahadevan Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician known for his works in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, and Kann ...

M. Balamuralikrishna Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (6 July 1930 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in ...

was the original choice for the male playback singer, due to the heavy classical content of the compositions. Since M. Balamuralikrishna was not so much inclined to sing in the movie, K. V. Mahadevan, having faith in the mettle of

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...

, insisted on him taking up this challenge. The soundtrack has lyrics by

Veturi Veturi Sundararama Murthy (29 January 1936 – 22 May 2010), known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet, lyricist and journalist who is popular for writing Telugu songs. His career in the Telugu cinema spanned more than four de ...

and vocals by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,

S. Janaki Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer from Andhra Pradesh. She is referred to respectfully as "Janaki Amma" and Nightingale of South India. She is one of the best-known playback singers in ...

Vani Jayaram Vani Jairam (born as Kalaivani on 30 November 1945), also credited as Vani Jayaram, is an Indian singer. She is best known as a playback singer in South Indian cinema. Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over five decades. She has don ...

, S.P. Sailaja, Madhavapeddi Ramesh, Jit Mohan Mitra, and Pattabhi.

Release and reception

Released on 2 February 1980, the film was released in only a very few theatres and opened to almost empty halls. However, in a week through positive reviews and word of mouth theatres were packed. The film had 216-day run at Royal theatre,

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 ...

. The film was dubbed into

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

and released in New Theatre,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

and Kavitha Theatre,

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

on 12 September 1980, where it ran successfully for over 200 days. It is considered a cult classic in Telugu cinema especially due to the use of carnatic music that is more true to the classical form than for film.

Accolades

International recognition

* The film won the ''Prize of the Public'' at the "

Film Festival of

" in the year 1981. * On the centenary of Indian cinema in 2013, ''

'' included J. V. Somayajulu's performance in the film on its list of "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema". * In 2013, in an online poll conducted by ''

'' on their website as part of the hundred years celebration of

, ''Sankarabharanam'' came eleventh in the poll for finding the "greatest Indian film ever."

National recognition

The film won four

, primarily in the Music categories. This makes ''Sankarabharanam'' the only Telugu film to win four National Film Awards at the time. The film is one of the three Telugu films to win the

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1975. This is one of the ''Golden ...

. The film also won seven

, including the

Nandi Award for Best Feature Film This is the list of winners of the Nandi Award for Best Feature Films since 1964. Best Feature Film - Gold Second Best Feature Film - Silver Third Best Feature Film - Bronze References See also * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Nan ...

. Four of the seven Nandi Awards are from the Music categories.

Legacy

The success of this film triggered a sequence of classical films in Telugu, including ''

Tyagayya Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...

'' (by Bapu), ''

Meghasandesam ''Meghasandesam'' () is a 1982 Telugu-language drama film, produced and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao under his Taraka Prabhu Films banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jaya Prada, Jayasudha and music composed by Ramesh Naidu. This film i ...

'' (by Dasari N. Rao), and Viswanath's own follow-ups: ''

Saptapadi Saptapadi () is regarded to be the most important rite (Sanskrit: ) of a Hindu wedding ceremony. After tying the sacred knot known as the mangalasutra, the newly-wed couple takes seven steps together, during which the marriage is solemnised. Aft ...

'', '' Saagara Sangamam'', '' Sruthi Layalu'', ''

Swarna Kamalam ''Swarnakamalam'' () is a 1988 Indian Telugu-language dance film written and directed by K. Viswanath. The film stars Venkatesh and Bhanupriya in the lead, while Sharon Lowen appears in a special role. The choreography is helmed by Kelucharan ...

'', ''

Swayam Krushi ''Swayamkrushi'' () is a 1987 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by K. Viswanath. The film stars Chiranjeevi and Vijayashanti in main leads, while Sarvadaman D. Banerjee, and Sumalatha in other pivotal roles. The film chr ...

'', ''

Sirivennela ''Sirivennela'' () is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language romance film written and directed by K. Viswanath. The film stars Suhasini, Sarvadaman Banerjee and Moon Moon Sen. The film has music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film won five Nandi Awar ...

'', and '' Swati Kiranam''. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, the Telugu playback singer who rendered all the songs of Sastri's character, has often said this movie was the highlight of his career. It got 'SPB' his first National Award, and made him a household name across all of South India. Film critic Gudipoodi Srihari called it the best Telugu film he has seen after ''

Mayabazar ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, with ...

''.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Jandhyala Subramanya Sastry 1980s Telugu-language films Films directed by K. Viswanath Social realism in film Films about teacher–student relationships 1980s musical drama films Films about the arts Films about classical music and musicians Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award winners Indian nonlinear narrative films Telugu films remade in other languages Films about social issues in India Indian musical drama films Indian avant-garde and experimental films 1980 drama films 1980 films