''Raju Peda'' () is a 1954 Indian Telugu-language film, produced and directed by B. A. Subba Rao. 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 ...

, Lakshmirajyam, S. V. Ranga Rao and Master Sudhakar, with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. The film is based on Mark Twain’s 1881 novel, ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547 ...

'' and was later remade into the Hindi film '' Raja Aur Runk'' (1968) and dubbed 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 ''Aandi Petra Selvan'' (1957).

Plot

Two identical boys are born on the same day to King Surendra Dev and to a thief Poligadu. Twelve years later, the sick King decides to crown the Prince Narendra Dev. His lookalike Narigadu tortured by his father for refusing to beg, leaves home without informing his mother Achi and sister Malli. He is caught by the palace guards, but is saved by the Prince. They exchange clothes and find that they look identical. Narigadu falls asleep on the Prince's bed. Mistaking him for Narigadu, the guards throw the prince out. Thus they accidentally exchange places. Soon the prince leaves Poligadu's house. Sudhir, a valiant soldier who is in love with Malli, takes care of him. Meanwhile, the king dies. The army commander Vikram Dev plots to usurp the kingdom. He learns the truth about Narigadu and compels him to act as the prince. He also plots to kill the real prince, but Poligadu and Sudhir thwart his plan. In the fight that follows, Poligadu kills Vikram. Narendra Dev is crowned as the king. He orders Poligadu and his family to stay with him in the palace.

Cast

as Pooligadu * Lakshmirajyam as Achamma * S. V. Ranga Rao as Maharaju Surendra Dev * Relangi as Sudhir * R. Nageswara Rao as Vikram * Dr. Sivaramakrishnaiah as Bhugolam Panthulu * V. C. Kamaraju as Vijay * Lakshmaiah Chowdary as Subedhar * Chelamaiah Chowdary as Raja Guruvu * Jaya Rami Reddy as Bhaskar * Lakshman Rao as Prabhakar * Ammaji as Malli * T. D. Kusalakumari as dancer * Master Sudhakar as Narendra Dev & Naarigadu: (dual role)

Soundtrack

;Telugu The music of the film was composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. Lyrics were by

Tapi Dharma Rao Thapi Dharma Rao Naidu (1887–1973) was a Telugu writer, lyricist and social reformer. He wrote dialogues and lyrics for the films like ''Mala Pilla'', ''Drohi'', ''Thathaji'', ''Bhishma'', and ''Patni''. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Awar ...

, Aatreya and Kosaraju. Playback singers are Ghantasala,

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 ...

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 ...

, K. Rani,

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 ...

and T. Sathyavathi. ;Tamil Music for the Tamil version was composed by

T. Chalapathi Rao Tatineni Chalapathi Rao (22 December 1920 – 22 February 1994) was an Indian music composer who worked in Telugu cinema. His career spanned more than three decades from early 1950s, till 1980s. He was the cousin of T. Prakash Rao. Early life ...

and the lyrics were penned by Kuyilan and Puratchidasan. Playback singers are T. M. Soundararajan,

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, ...

R. Balasaraswathi Devi Raavu Balasaraswathi Devi (born 28 August 1928) is an Indian singer and actress who performed from 1930 to the 1960s in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She was the first light music singer on All India Radio and the first playback singer in the Telu ...

, M. S. Rajeswari, T. Sathyavathi and Kamala.

Awards

*This film was one of

's finest performances, for which he was awarded the

Rashtrapati Award Rashtrapati Awards used to be given by the President of India, in some cases the Prime Minister of India, for achievements in the field of sports, art, military, literature, cinema, culture, science and technology, or Scouting. The award-givin ...

for his role.

References

External links

* - Song sung by Jikki in Telugu * - Same song in Tamil * {{The Prince and the Pauper 1954 films 1950s Telugu-language films Indian black-and-white films Telugu films remade in other languages Films directed by B. A. Subba Rao Indian drama films 1954 drama films