''Balipeetam'' is a 1975 Indian Telugu-language

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film directed by

Dasari Narayana Rao Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1947 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Hindi cinema. He has directed more than 150 ...

. The film stars

Sobhan Babu Sobhan Babu (born Uppu Sobhana Chalapathi Rao; 14 January 1937 – 20 March 2008) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema.Bangaru Panjaram in Venditera Paatalu, Krishnasastri Sahityam, third volume, Vishalandhra Publishing House ...

and Sarada in the lead roles. It is produced by Y. Sunil Chowdary. It is based on the popular socialist novel, ''Balipeetam'' written by Ranganayakamma.

Plot

Bhaskar (Sobhan Babu) is a Dalit Social worker. Aruna (Sarada) is a Brahmin child-widow with consumption on her deathbed. Fulfilling her last wish to die a "Sumangali" (as someone's wife) Bhaskar marries her after telling her that he is a Dalit, which she gratefully accepts. Aruna recovers after operation and the couple lives a happy married life and they have a daughter. Bhaskar's sister (Nirmalamma) and nephew come to live them. Aruna finds it unable to accustom in Bhaskar's household. She finds them very much unlike Bhaskar. Their dialect, dressing sense and practices makes her feel the cultural distance. One of the major themes of Dalit Literature, Intercaste marriage is the leitmotif in this movie. Aruna insults Bhaskar on the basis of his lower caste and goes back to her aunt (Hemalatha) and uncle (Allu Ramalingaiah). There she sees that her relatives are more interested in her money than her and her children's well-being. Surprisingly, her cousin Kamala (Roja Ramani) marries a man (Raja Babu) of different religion. She takes care of her family becoming a housewife. She becomes an instrument in Aruna's comprehension of human nature. In the end when Aruna is ill again due to consumption, she finds that she and her children need a safer abode than her own home. She goes to Bhaskar's family, and she sees that outward appearances do not account for inner purity. The Dalit In-law family takes care of Aruna and her two children. Bhaskar comes to her and Aruna dies in his arms apologizing for sacrificing so many lives with her decisions and thus the title, Balipeetam: The pedestal of sacrifice. The core issues of inter-caste marriages and interpersonal relations are woven into the movie.

Cast

* Sharada *

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 ...

Roja Ramani Roja Ramani (also known as Chemparathy Shobana; born 16 September 1959) is an Indian actress who predominantly worked in Malayalam and Telugu films. She was a child actor and her debut movie was '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1967) for which she receiv ...

* Raja Babu *

Hemalatha Hemalatha, often credited as Hema, is an Indian actress and dancer. She is acclaimed for her roles as Raghavi in the popular soap opera '' Kana Kaanum Kaalangal'' on STAR Vijay and as Deepa in the superhit Tamil drama serial on Sun TV ''Then ...

Allu Ramalingiah 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 ...

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 ...

Sri Vidya Shri Vidya ( ISO: '; ; sometimes also spelled Sri Vidya or Shree Vidya) is a Hindu Tantric religious system devoted to the Goddess as Lalitā Tripurasundarī (''Beautiful Goddess of the Three worlds''), Bhuvaneshvari, Maha Lakshmi, etc. A thous ...

Soundtrack

* "Chandamama Rave Jabilli Rave" (Lyrics: Dasarathi; Singers: V. Ramakrishna and

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 ...

; Cast: Shobhan Babu and Sharada) * "Kusalama Neeku Kusalamena" (Lyrics:

Devulapalli Krishnasastri Devulapalli Krishnasastri (1 November 1897 – 24 February 1980) was a Telugu poet, playwright and translator known for his works in Telugu literature and Telugu cinema. He is known as ''Andhra Shelley''. In 1976, Krishnasastri was honoured with ...

; Singers: S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and P. Susheela; Cast: Shobhan Babu and Sharada) * "Maarali Maarali Manushula Nadavadi Maarali" (Lyrics:

C. Narayana Reddy Cingireddi Narayana Reddy (29 July 1931 – 12 June 2017), popularly known as CiNaRe, was an Indian Telugu-language poet and writer. Reddy had produced over eighty literary works including poems, prose-plays, lyrical plays, translations, ...

; Singers: S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and P. Susheela) * "Kalasi Padudam" (Lyrics: Srirangam Srinivasa Rao; Singers: S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and P. Susheela) * "Takku Tikku Takkuladi Bandira" (Lyrics:

Kosaraju Raghavaiah Kosaraju Raghavayya (23 June 1905 – 27 October 1987), known mononumously by his surname Kosaraju, was an Indian lyricist and poet known for his works in Telugu cinema. He wrote about 3,000 songs in 350 films. His lyrics are steeped in Telu ...

; Singers: S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and

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 ...

) * "Yesukundam Buddoda" (Lyrics: Kosaraju Raghavaiah; Singers:

Pithapuram Nageswara Rao Pithapuram Nageswara Rao (5 May 1930 – 5 March 1996) was an Indian playback singer who worked in the early period of Telugu cinema. He sang thousands of songs, mostly of a comedic nature, in the 1950s and 1960s along with Madhavapeddi Satya ...

and

Madhavapeddi Satyam Madhavapeddi Satyam (11 March 1922 – 18 December 2000) was an Indian playback singer and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. He entered films as a singer-actor in Y. V. Rao's Tamil-Hindi bilingual movie ''Ramadas'' in the year 194 ...

)

Box office

* The film ran for more than 100 days in two centers:

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 ...

and

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. ...

.Sobhanbabu's 100 Days Films List at Cinegoer.com

References

External links

*

{{Dasari Narayana Rao 1970s Telugu-language films Films directed by Dasari Narayana Rao 1975 films Indian drama films Films scored by K. Chakravarthy Films based on Indian novels te:బలిపీఠం