''Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam'' is a 1986

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 biograhical film written and directed by K. Vasu, based on the life of

Shirdi Sai Baba Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to a ...

, who has preached and practiced Religious humanism.

Vijayachander Vijayachander, (born Vijayachander Telidevara), is an Indian actor, director and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television. Regarded as one of the finest character actor's of Telugu cinema, Vijayachander has appear ...

portrayed the role of Baba. The film was a

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

and remained a cult classic. The film ran for 175 days in 12 centers, was screened 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 ...

and the

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

. The soundtrack was composed by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

, with lyrics written by

Acharya Aatreya 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 fo ...

, and received wide appreciation. The film was dubbed into

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 ...

as ''Shirdi Sai Baba Ki Kahani'' and into

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 ...

as ''Sri Shirdi Saibaba''.

Plot

Sadguru

Sai Baba of Shirdi Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to a ...

lived in British India. He was initially shunned by both Hindus and Muslims, especially by Hindu Bal Bhate. Sai was a Muslim and Bal Bhate forbade him to enter any Temple. Rohila, a Muslim, who thought Sai was desecrating the local Masjid by performing Hindu prayers and incantations, attempted to kill Sai. Then he saw both the Allah and Bhagwan in Sai and became a devotee. When Sai was ready to give up his body and resurrect himself after 3 days, just like Lord Jesus, a disbelieving Bal had wanted Sai's body to be cremated within 24 hours - only to find out that Sai had indeed risen, and also became his devotee. Bhagoti, a leper, who was cured by Sai became his follower. Though Sai had no relations, he did call Tatya's mother his sister; Tatya his maternal nephew; a devotee named Laxmi as his daughter, and an elderly woman as his mother. Sai displayed his true form and opulence to another devotee, Nana Chandorkar. Sai lived in a rebuilt Masjid and urged his devotees to pray to God, as the Creator and to love and respect all living beings. He begged for alms daily so that he could collect sins and wash them away. He always uttered "Allah Bhala Kare" and "Bhagwan Bhala Kare" to both Muslims and Hindus alike. He appeared in a multitude forms to his devotees (Lord Jesus, Guru Nanak Devji, Allah, Bhagwan Shri Ganesh) to cater to the various tastes of devotees. Sai was also fond of Nanavli, a mentally challenged devotee, who often challenged Sai. He was one of the few who really understood and accepted Sai as Vishnu's Avatar. Sai appeared simultaneously in a wealthy man's and Nana's dreams and called upon them to construct a Mandir of Bhagwan Shri Krishna. While the construction was under way, Sai prophesied the death of Tatya. Shortly thereafter while bequeathing the nine coins symbolizing nine virtues to Laxmi (which depict Sravan, Kirtan, Smaran, Padaseva, Archana, Namaskar, Dastan, Samveta and Atmanivrdan) Sai was ready to demonstrate to his devotees why they should not worry about Tatya's impending demise.

Cast

* Chandra Mohan as Nanavali *

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 Shyama * Seshagiri Rao as Mahalsapathi *

Anjali Devi Anjali Devi (; 24 August 1927 – 13 January 2014) was an Indian actress, model and producer in Telugu and Tamil films. She was well known for her role as the Devi Sita in ''Lava Kusa'' as well as for the titular roles in movies like Chenchu ...

as Baayeeja Bai *

Sarath Babu Sathyam Babu Dixithulu (born 31 July 1951), known by his stage name Sarath Babu, is an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He has worked in more than 200 films. He has appeared in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and ...

as Chand Patel *

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 ...

as Nana Chandorkar *

Ramakrishna Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

as Aayaram * Chalam as Gayaram * Suthi Veerabhadra Rao as Bal Bhate * Tyagaraaju as Daroga Dasuganu * Adabala as Bhagoti * Jaya Bhaskar as Ramachandra Patil * Raja as Tatya Patil * Kanchana *

Murali Mohan Maganti Murali Mohan (born 24 June 1940) is an Indian actor, producer, politician, and business executive from Telugu cinema. In 1973, Murali Mohan debuted in ''Jagame Maya'', produced by Atluri Poornachandra Rao. He gained recognition with the ...

Ramaprabha Rama Prabha is an Indian actress who performs in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. She has acted in more than 1,400 films and is credited as a character artist who shared screen space with superstars across all generation of South Indian Cinema ...

Rushyendramani Rushyendramani (1 January 1917 – 17 August 2002) was an Indian actress, singer, dancer, and playback singer from South India. She had more than 150 movies to her credit and acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films from the 193 ...

* Sridhar * Vijaya Chamadeswari

Soundtrack

The music rights of the film were acquired by

Aditya Music Aditya Music India Private Limited is a music company in India, which owns the label Aditya Music. It produces music for the Telugu cinema industry and is headquartered at Hyderabad, Telangana. Overview The company was founded by Umesh Gup ...

* "Baba Sai Baba Neevu Maavale Manishivani" (Music director:

; Singer: S. P. Balasubrahmanyam) * "Daivam Manava Roopamlo Avatarinchunee Lokamlo" (Music director: Ilaiyaraaja; Singer:

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 ...

) * "Hey Panduranga Hey Pandarinadha Saranam" (Music director: Ilaiyaraaja; Singer:

Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian Music and also as a c ...

) * "Jai Shirdi Naadha Saideva" ( Dandakam) (Music director: Ilaiyaraaja; Singer: V. Ramakrishna) * "Maa Paapala Tolaginchu Deepala Neeve Veliginchinavayya" (Music director: Ilaiyaraaja; Singer:

) * "Nuvvu Leka Anadhalam Bratukanta Ayomayam Baba" (Music director: Ilaiyaraaja; Singer:

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 ...

and Chorus) * "Slokams" (Music director: Ilaiyaraaja; Singer:

)

References

External links

Listen to Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam songs at Raaga.com
* {{authority control 1986 films 1980s Telugu-language films Indian biographical films Indian films based on actual events Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Sai Baba of Shirdi Hindu devotional films Indian historical films 1980s biographical films 1980s historical films Films directed by K. Vasu