Bhatti Vikramarka () is a 1960 Indian Telugu-language

swashbuckling A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

adventure film, produced by P. V. V. Satyanarayana Murthy under the P.V.V.S.M. Productions banner and directed by Jampana. It 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 ...

, Anjali Devi, and

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 ...

, with music composed by

Pendyala Nageswara Rao Pendyala Nageswara Rao (6 March 1917 – 31 August 1984), known mononymously by his surname Pendyala, was an Indian composer, multi-instrumentalist, conductor, music producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with Tami ...

. It is a commercial hit film that ran for 100 days. The film was dubbed into Tamil as ''Patti Vikramathithan''.

Plot

The story is based on the historical characters of

Bhatti Bhatti () is a clan of Rajputs and Jats found in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Bhattis along with Bhuttos and Bhatias claim to have originated from the Hindu Bhati Rajputs. In the years preceding the Indian rebellion of 1857 the British ...

and Vikramarka. Emperor Vikramarka (N. T. Rama Rao) with the help of brother Bhatti (Kanta Rao) is the ruling

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain ...

. He prays to Goddess Kali (Kanchana) and gets her appreciation. The Goddess blesses him so that nobody can defeat him and gives him a diamond-studded sword. Indra (Mikkilineni) invites him to heaven and asks him a question; who is a better dancer, between Rambha and

Urvashi Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' scr ...

. Vikramarka gives two garlands to them to wear and dance. The garland worn by Urvasi stays fresh, whereas that one worn by Rambha withers. He judges Urvasi as the best dancer, as she is fearless about her performance. Being satisfied with his answer, Indra presents him with a throne carried by 32 Salabajhanjika and a powerful diamond chain. Indra also says that he will rule on this throne for 1000 years. Bhatti also prays to Mahakali and to satisfy her wish beheads Vikramarka. Kalika gives rebirth to Vikramarka and gives Bhatti 2000 years of life when Bhatti gets an idea and asks Vikramarka to sit on the throne for 6 months so that both of them can live for 2000 years. In a forest, Mantra Siddha (S. V. Ranga Rao) a wizard, harasses people with his tricks and he wants to defeat Vikramarka by any means. Once Vikramarka is touring the state with friend Tirakaasu (Relangi) when he gets the acquaintance with Prabavathi (Anjali Devi) the daughter of King Chandrasena. Knowing this, Mantra Siddha tries to kidnap Prabavathi but fails. Hence, he orders his disciple Prachanda (Nagabhushanam) to attack Vikramarka and prevent him from attending Prabavati's ''Swayamvaram''. Prachanda requests Vikramarka to help him in his endeavor to get Bhethala's power, but Vikramarka himself answers the questions of Bhethala and kills Prachanda. Meanwhile, Mantra Siddha in Vikramarka's attire goes to ''Swayamvaram''. At the time Prabhavathi is garlanding Mantra Siddha, Vikramarka enters the court and defeats him. Frustrated, Mantra Siddha wants to take revenge, he steals Vikramarka's diamond chain and while Prabhavathi is going to her husband he captures her. In that fight, Prabavathi's father dies and escapes and reaches a tribal village where one person tries to molest her, but the leader saves her and dies. The rest of the tribes want to offer her to the goddess. At that time, Mantra Siddha arrives in a sage form and takes her to his cave. Vikramarka with Bhatti starts searching for Prabhavathi, who is struggling to protect her chastity from Mantra Siddha. After some time, Tirakaasu reaches the cave. He plans along with Prabhavathi and learns about Mantra Siddha's life secret. Prabhavathi escapes and wants to reveal the secret to Vikramarka. But Mantra Siddha makes her dumb and old. Vikramarka does not recognize her and throws her out. Prabavathi in sorrow tries to commit suicide. Mantra Siddha grabs her, takes her back to the cave, and makes her normal. Tiraakasu reaches Vikramarka and reveals that the old woman is Prabhavathi then Vikramarka feels sorry for his behavior. Immediately he reaches the cave along with Bhatti and Tirakaasu when Mantra Siddha is trying to molest Prabhavathi. The war interfaces between Vikramarka and Mantra Siddha. Meanwhile, Prabhavathi reaches the secret place, and after taking many risks, she achieves the life of Mantra Siddha. Vikramarka stamps out Mantra Siddha. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the reunion of Vikramarka and Prabhavathi.

Cast

as Vikramarka Maharaju * Anjali Devi as Prabhavathi Devi *

* S. V. Ranga Rao as Mantra Siddha * Relangi as Tirakasu * Nagabhushanam as Prachandudu * Mikkilineni as Indra * Mukkamala *

Balakrishna Bala Krishna ( sa, बाल कृष्ण, lit=child Krishna/divine child Krishna, translit=Bālakṛṣṇa). Present day Krishna worship is an amalgam of various elements. According to historical testimonies Krishna-Vasudeva worship alread ...

as Konangi * Kanchana as Goddess Kali * Girija as Arakasu *Sandhya *Seeta as Champa * T. D. Kusalakumari as Dancer

Soundtrack

Music composed by

Pendyala Nageshwara Rao Pendyala Nageswara Rao (6 March 1917 – 31 August 1984), known mononymously by his surname Pendyala, was an Indian composer, multi-instrumentalist, conductor, music producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with Tami ...

. Lyrics were written by Anishetty. Music released on Audio Company.

Tamil Songs

Music composed by T. M. Ibrahim. Lyrics were written by . Playback singers are

Seerkazhi Govindarajan Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. Early life Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day M ...

S. C. Krishnan S. C. Krishnan (1929-1983) was an Indian actor and playback singer who worked mainly in Tamil dramas and films. Early life He was born into a Saurashtra family as the fourth son of a jeweller ''Chelvam Achary'' in Sivaganga that was part of ...

P. Leela Porayathu Leela (19 May 1934 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, ...

Jikki Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and Sinhalese langua ...

, P. Susheela, A. P. Komala &

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 ...

Production

There was fire Accident on the sets of Narasu Studios, Guindy, Madras on 13 March 1959. The ''Bhatti Vikramarka'' shooting required a fire, and a fire was made by using petrol and straw. Mukkamala and Anjali Devi were on the sets. The bamboo setting was ablaze and the flames rose high fast. The fire spread to the adjacent sets too and caused a huge damage of a lakh and half rupees. It took them for more than 90 minutes for the fire brigades to bring the fire under control. This was the worst fire disaster in the history of Telugu cinema.Films And Flames, at Cinegoer.com

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt0330054, Bhatti Vikramarka 1960 films Indian black-and-white films 1960s Telugu-language films Films scored by Pendyala Nageswara Rao Memorials to Vikramaditya Films scored by T. M. Ibrahim Films directed by Jampana