Balipeetam
Encyclopedia
Balipeetam is a 1975 Telugu Drama film
directed by Dasari Narayana Rao
. It is based on the popular socialist novel written by Muppala Ranganayakamma
entitled Balipeetam.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Dasari Narayana Rao
Dasari Narayana Rao
Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao B.A. is a politician, film director, and film producer. Narayana Rao directed about 150 films, produced 53 films and worked in more than 250 films as a dialogue writer and as a lyricist.Beside graduating with a BA degree, he used to take part in scores of drama competitions...
. It is based on the popular socialist novel written by Muppala Ranganayakamma
Muppala Ranganayakamma
Muppala Ranganayakamma mononymously known as Ranganayakamma is a leading Telugu Feminist-Marxist writer and critic.Ranganayakamma was born in Bommidi village near Tadepalli in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh....
entitled Balipeetam.
Plot
Balipeetam is a tragedy. The protagonist Bhaskar, a Dalit marries Aruna, a Higher-caste woman, when she is on her deathbed. Fulfilling her wish to die a 'Sumangali' Bhaskar marries her. Aruna does not die and comes back to life from deadly consumption. After her recovery she understands the enormity of her decision and its consequences. She goes to live with Bhaskar's family. However Aruna finds it unable to accustom in Bhaskar's household. She finds them very much unlike Bhaskar. Their dialect, dressing sense, practices makes her feel the cultuural distance. One of the major themes of Dalit Literature, Intercaste marriage is the leitmotif in this movie. Aruna insults Bhasker on the basis of his lower caste and goes back to her Aunt and Uncle. There she sees that her relatives are more interested in her money than her ill health. Surprisingly, her cousin Kamala marries a man 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 apologising for sacrificing so many lives with her decisions. And thus the title, Balipeetam: The pedestal of Sacrifice. The core issues of Intercaste marriages and Interpersonal relations are woven into the movie .Cast
- Shobhan Babu
- SharadaSharada (actress)Sharada is a three time national award winning South Indian actress and Indian Parliament member. She originally hails from Andhra Pradesh. She has achieved success through Malayalam movies. Initially she did many supporting roles in Telugu films and later on moved to Malayalam film industry and...
- NirmalammaNirmalammaNirmalamma was one of the most versatile and natural character artists in the Telugu film industry of India. She has acted in more than 800 films. She was well known for her grandmother roles in several films.-Film career:...
- Roja RamaniRoja RamaniRoja Ramani is a South Indian movie actress who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. She was a child star in her debut movie Bhakta Prahlada , and was popular during the 1970s and early 1980s. She has acted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam movies...
- Raja babuRaja BabuRaja Babu is a 1994 Bollywood movie directed by David Dhawan.The film stars Karisma Kapoor , Govinda, Shakti Kapoor, Kadar Khan, Aruna Irani, Prem Chopra and Gulshan Grover, with music by Anand-Milind and lyrics by Sameer. It is a remake of K...
- Hemalatha
Soundtrack
- Chandamama Rave Jabilli Rave (Lyrics: DasaradhiDasaradhiDasaradhi Krishnamacharyulu mononymously known as Dasaradhi was an Indian poet and political activist. He was a great pundit in the Telugu, Sanskrit, and Tamil languages and puranas .-Early life:...
; Singers: V. RamakrishnaV. RamakrishnaV. Ramakrishna is a playback singer in South India. Some of his Bhakti Songs are memorable.-Life sketch: He was born to V. Rangasai and Ratnam on August 20, 1947. He is also related to P. Susheela.He graduated from B.Sc in his young age. Impressed by Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao he took up to...
and P. SusheelaP. SusheelaPulapaka Susheela is an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning more than four decades, she has recorded songs in many Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu, Badaga and Sinhalese.-Personal life:She is the daughter of Pulapaka...
; Cast: Shobhan Babu and Sharada) - Kusalama Neeku Kusalamena (Lyrics: Devulapalli KrishnasastriDevulapalli KrishnasastriDevulapalli Venkata Krishnasastri was a Telugu poet, playwright and translator. He is famously known as Andhra Shelley.-Early life:Krishnasastri was born in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India...
; Singers: S. P. Balasubramanyam and P. Susheela; Cast: Shobhan Babu and Sharada) - Maarali Maarali Manushula Nadavadi Maarali (Lyrics: C. Narayana Reddy; Singers: S. P. Balasubramanyam and P. Susheela)
- Kalasi Padudam (Lyrics: Srirangam Srinivasa Rao; Singers: S. P. Balasubramanyam and P. Susheela)
- Takku Tikku Takkuladi Bandira (Lyrics: Kosaraju RaghavaiahKosaraju RaghavaiahKosaraju or Kosaraju Raghavaiah or Kosaraju Raghavaiah Chowdary was a Telugu poet and writer. His lyrics are stepped in Telugu folklore and rural idiom. Born in 1905 in an agricultural family in Appikatla village, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. Raghavaih studied Telugu literature, epics and...
; Singers: S. P. Balasubramanyam and S. JanakiS. JanakiS. Janaki is an Indian female playback singer. Renowned for her voice modulation abilities, she has sung in many Indian languages, most frequently in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. Throughout a career spanning more than five decades, she has won four National Film Awards and 35...
) - Yesukundam Buddoda (Lyrics: Kosaraju Raghavaiah; Singers: Pithapuram Nageswara RaoPithapuram Nageswara RaoPithapuram Nageswara Rao is a popular Playback singer during the early period of Telugu cinema. He sang thousands of songs mostly of comedy nature in 1950s and 1960s along with Madhavapeddi Satyam and others.-Brief lifesketch:...
and Madhavapeddi SatyamMadhavapeddi SatyamMadhavapeddi Satyam was a renowned Telugu singer and stage-actor from the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. He entered into films as a singer-actor in Y.V. Rao's Tamil-Hindi Biligual movie Ramadas in the year 1946. He played the role of Kabir. However, he became more popular as a playback singer...
)