''Ardhangi'' () is a 1955 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 drama film, produced and directed by

P. Pullayya P. Pullayya (also spelled P. Pullaiah; 1911–1985) was an Indian film director and producer known for his work in Telugu films. He was the recipient of Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for his contributions to Telugu cinema. Personal life Pullayya m ...

under the Ragini Pictures banner. It stars

Santha Kumari Santha Kumari (born Vellaala Subbamma; 17 May 1920 – 16 January 2006) was an Indian musical artist and actress. She was married to the Telugu film director and producer P. Pullayya. Early years Vellaala Subbamma was born in Proddatur town, ...

Savitri Savitri or Savithrri may refer to: In Hinduism * Savitri, with all vowels short, a Roman-phonetic spelling of the Rigvedic solar deity Savitr *Sāvitrī, a name of the ''Gayatri Mantra'' dedicated to Savitr *Savitri (goddess), the consort of Brah ...

, and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. Music is composed by Master Venu and B. Narasimha Rao.

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 ...

scripted the film based on Maddipatla Suri's Telugu translation of the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

novel ''Swayamsidda'' written by Manilal Banerjee. The film was successful at the box office. It has received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and the Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu. The film was remade 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 '' Pennin Perumai'' and in Hindi as '' Bahurani'' (1963).

Plot

Zamindar Bhujangarao has two sons. The elder son Raghunath Rao born to his first wife is developmentally disabled. After his first wife's death, the Zamindar marries Rajeswari and the couple has a son Nagendra Rao / Naagu who is shown to be a man of vices. Naagu is cruel to his half-brother. Impressed by the way Padma, a village girl, faces Naagu when he threatens to take their farmlands, the Zamindar arranges for Naagu to marry her. But Rajeswari vetoes the alliance and instead suggests that Raghu marry Padma instead. After the wedding, Padma learns that Raghu's disability is due to the opium used to put him to sleep as a child by the maid, Ayamma. Padma takes up the task of helping him, keeping the cruel Naagu at a distance from him. The Zamindar rewrites the will, leaving everything to Raghu before dying. But Raghu leaves the property to the peeved Rajeswari and Naagu. He then goes into the village to live there with his wife. Naagu brings his lover Neelaveni, who along with her entourage are eyeing Naagu's property. When he learns that the farmers paid the tax to Raghu, an enraged Naagu goes to the village with a rifle. At the same time, Raghu brings the money to give it to him. A repentant Rajeswari along with Raghu, reaches the village to convince Naagu to come to his senses. When she fails, she takes the rifle and aims at him. Padma shields him as Naagu realizes his mistake.

Cast

as Rajeswari Devi *

as Padmavati * Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Raghunatha Rao / Raghu *

Gummadi Gummadi (Telugu: గుమ్మడి) is an Indian given name and surname. It may refer to: * Gummadi (actor) (1927–2010), Telugu film actor * Gummadi Vittal Rao (born 1949), revolutionary Telugu balladeer and vocal Naxalite * Jaya Krishna Gumm ...

as Zamindar Bhujangarao * Jaggayya as Nagendra Rao / Nagu * Surabhi Balasaraswathi as Neelaveni * Chadalavada as Bheemudu *

Nagabhushanam Nagabhushanam may refer to: *Shiva, major Hindu deity, also known as Nagabhushana (adorned with snakes) * Nagabhushanam (actor), Indian actor in Telugu cinema * T. D. J. Nagabhushanam, Indian agriculturalist * Nagabhushan Rao Machiraju, Indian-A ...

as Veeraiah * Dr. Sivaramakrishnaiah as Appula Sivakamaiah * Dr. Kamaraju as Diwanji Kakkaiah * Doraiswamy as Bhushaiah * B. Narasimha Rao as Musalaiah

Production

originally wanted N. T. Rama Rao to play the mentally disabled Raghu and Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Raghu's half-brother Nagu. Nageswara Rao felt the negative role would not suit him, and was later cast as Raghu, which he preferred as he considered it "more challenging". The role of Nagu ultimately went to Jaggayya. Pullayya cast Gummadi as the zamindar Bhujangarao at the suggestion of film producer T. V. S. Sastri.

Soundtrack

Music composed by Master Venu & B. Narasimha Rao. Lyrics were written by

Box office

The film ran for more than 100 days in 5 centers in Andhra Pradesh.ANR's 100 days films list at Idlebrain.com

Awards

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

- National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu - Certificate of Merit

References

External links

* {{Filmfare Best Telugu Film 1955 films Telugu films remade in other languages 1950s Telugu-language films Films directed by P. Pullayya Films about intellectual disability Developmental disabilities Indian drama films 1955 drama films Indian black-and-white films Films scored by Master Venu Films scored by B. Narasimha Rao