Shri Krishnavataram
Encyclopedia
Shri Krishnavataram is a 1967 Telugu film directed by Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao
. The magnum opus mythological film is based on Hindu epics Mahabharata
and Bhagavata Purana
covering major life events of Lord Krishna
.
An example of Bhakti and devotion to friendship like Kuchelopakhyanam is also pictured beautifully.
After Sisupala completes his 100 sins, he defeats and kills him, thus regaining his entry back to Vishnu's abode. Kuchela's episode is followed by Draupadi's humiliation where Krishna saves her honour. The great war of Kurukshetra takes place after the negotiations (Rayabharam) between the cousins fails. Krishna's Geetopadesam to Arjuna is also shown. Finally he saves Bheema from Dhritarastra's ire after Bheema kills Duryodhana. Balarama wades deep into the ocean after the gory war, while Lord Krishna ends his Avataram owing to a hunter's mistake.
more than in Andhra Pradesh
and celebrated Silver Jubilee
. Even in the second and third releases, it ran for more than 100 days.
Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao
K. Kameshwara Rao or Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao BA is famous Indian film director popularly known as Pouraanika Chitra Brahma. He has directed about 50 films in Telugu and Tamil languages, majority of them are Mythological in nature. The most renowned among them is Nartanasala.-Life Sketch:He was...
. The magnum opus mythological film is based on Hindu epics Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
covering major life events of Lord Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
.
The story
The movie covers all episodes of Lord Krishna's life. Krishna's birth, his captive parents and the prediction that Kamsa would be killed by Devaki's eighth child makes the first episode. After defeating Kamsa, he marries Rukmini, fights with Jambavantha to procure the Samanthaka Mani and gets his daughter Jambavanthi's hand in marriage. Satrajit, who initially proclaims that Krishna has the Mani regrets his mistake and gives his daughter Satyabhama in marriage to Krishna.An example of Bhakti and devotion to friendship like Kuchelopakhyanam is also pictured beautifully.
After Sisupala completes his 100 sins, he defeats and kills him, thus regaining his entry back to Vishnu's abode. Kuchela's episode is followed by Draupadi's humiliation where Krishna saves her honour. The great war of Kurukshetra takes place after the negotiations (Rayabharam) between the cousins fails. Krishna's Geetopadesam to Arjuna is also shown. Finally he saves Bheema from Dhritarastra's ire after Bheema kills Duryodhana. Balarama wades deep into the ocean after the gory war, while Lord Krishna ends his Avataram owing to a hunter's mistake.
Cast
- Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao as Lord Vishnu / Lord Krishna
- DevikaDevikaDevika or Prameela Devi was a popular Tamil and Telugu actress. She is regarded as a versatile and graceful heroine of her era. She was known for her natural beauty which was the key in her casting in mythological films like Karnan, thiruvilaiyadal...
as LakshmiLakshmiLakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
/ RukminiRukminiIn Hinduism, Rukmini is the principal wife and queen of Krishna at his city of Dwarka. Krishna heroically kidnaps her from an un-wanted marriage at her request . Of Krishna's 16,108 queens, Rukmini is the first and most prominent... - Shobhan Babu as NaradaNaradaNarada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
- M. Prabhakar Reddy as BalaramaBalaramaBalarama , also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha, is the elder brother of the divine being, Krishna in Hinduism. Within Vaishnavism Hindu traditions Balarama is worshipped as an Avatar of Vishnu, and he is also listed as such in the Bhagavata Purana...
- Ramakrishna as ArjunaArjunaArjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
- Kaikala SatyanarayanaKaikala SatyanarayanaKaikala Satyanarayana , a versatile Telugu cine actor, was born on 25 July 1935 to Kaikala Laxmi Narayana couple at Kautaram village in Krishna district. Having completed his primary and intermediate education in Gudivada and Vijayawada, Satyanarayana graduated from Gudivada College...
as DuryodhanaDuryodhanaIn the Hindu epic the Mahābhārata, Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, Emperor of the world at that time which means Emperor of India or Bharatvarsha as it was known at that time, cousin and the chief... - Maddali Krishnamurthy as KuberuduKuberaKubera , also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North , and a protector of the world His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of...
- Kanchana as SatyabhamaSatyabhamaSatyabhama is the third wife of Lord Krishna, known for her strong will and tantrums.She is believed to be a partial avatar of Bhudevi.-Marriage:...
- Master Harikrishna as Bala KrishnaBala KrishnaBala Krishna sometimes translated to "Divine Child Krishna", is historically one of the early forms of worship in Krishnaism and an element of the history of Krishna worship in antiquity...
- Dhulipala Seetharama SastryDhulipala Seetharama SastryDhulipala Seetharama Sastry , popularly known as Dhulipala is a veteran Telugu film and Stage Actor of Andhra Pradesh, India....
as Satrajit - Rajanala Kaleswara Rao as Sishupala
- Mukkamala Krishna Murthy as KamsaKamsaIn Hinduism, Kamsa or Kansa , often known as Kans in Hindi, is the brother of Devaki, and ruler of the Vrishni kingdom with its capital at Mathura. His father was King Ugrasena and mother was Queen Padmavati...
- Mudigonda LingamurthyMudigonda LingamurthyMudigonda Lingamurthy, shortly Lingamurthy is a famous Character actor in Telugu drama and cinema and writer in South India.,-Life sketch:...
as ShakuniShakuniShakuni , an avatar of Dvapara, the personification of Dvapara Yuga, was the brother of Gandhari in the Mahābhārata. He was portrayed as an extremely intelligent but devious old man, who was very fond of his nephew Duryodhana. He won the kingdom of the Pandavas' for his nephew, as a wager in a... - Krishna KumariKrishna Kumari (actress)Krishna Kumari is a noted Telugu actress of the 1960s and 1970s. She was a leading actress and competed Savitri and acted alongside great legendary actors N.T.R, A.N.R etc. She acted in Tamil movies too. She has done many films in Kannada too that also with the kannada veteran Dr...
as Lakshana - Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy as DharmarajuYudhisthiraIn the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
- S. VaralakshmiS. VaralakshmiSaridey Varalakshmi, popularly known as Telugu: ఎస్. వర లక్ష్మిS. Varalakshmi was a veteran Telugu and Tamil actress and singer...
as DraupadiDraupadiIn the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha... - Arja Janardhana Rao as BheemaBheema-Box office:In its opening week, the film grossed a record of 19 crores in Tamil nadu and fetched a record 5 crores in Thiruvarur alone, thus becoming the second biggest opening after Sivaji at that time. The film debuted at number one position at the Chennai box-office and grossed 58 lakhs in the...
- Chhaya DeviChhaya DeviChhaya Devi or Chhaya Debi was an Indian film actress. She has acted in hundreds of Bengali, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language movies for over five decades and played many character roles...
| as Mother of Sishupala - Chittor V. NagaiahChittor V. NagaiahChitturu Nagayya or Chittor V. Nagaiah birth name - Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya was an Indian actor, composer, director, producer, writer and playback singer of Telugu film industry, Andhra Pradesh, India. Indian film journalist and the editor of Film India, Baburao Patel, described Nagiah as ‘The...
as DhritarashtraDhritarashtraIn the Mahābhārata, Dhritarashtra was King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epic's climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Vyasa. He was blind from birth, and became father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari... - SukanyaSukanyaIn Hindu mythology, was the daughter of Shryayati, son of Vaivasvata Manu and the wife of the great sage Chyavana.The sage had spent so long in meditation that he was covered by a termite nest. The beautiful girl Sukanya came upon the nest and saw two shining objects inside...
as JambavatiJambavatiJambavati is the only daughter of the king-bear Jambavan. Her story is told in the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana. She received the famous "Syamantaka Jewel" as a gift from her father and she married to Lord Krishna and occupied the third most prominent position of his eight principal queens... - RushyendramaniRushyendramaniRushyendramani was a famous drama and film actress and playback singer from South India...
as Kunti Devi - L. Vijayalaxmi as Kalindi
- GeetanjaliGeetanjaliGeetanjali, in Bengali, literally "song-offerings", is a book of poems by the Nobel Prize winning poet Rabindranath Tagore. This term has come to signify a type of serenade to god....
as Nagnajiti - Sandhyarani as Mitravinda
Crew
- Director : Kamalakara Kameshwara RaoKamalakara Kameshwara RaoK. Kameshwara Rao or Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao BA is famous Indian film director popularly known as Pouraanika Chitra Brahma. He has directed about 50 films in Telugu and Tamil languages, majority of them are Mythological in nature. The most renowned among them is Nartanasala.-Life Sketch:He was...
- Writer : Samudrala RaghavacharyaSamudrala RaghavacharyaSamudrala Raghavacharya also known as Samudrala Senior, is a writer, producer, director and playback singer of Telugu films, Andhra Pradesh, India...
- Producer : Atluri Pundarikakshaiah
- Production company : Tarakarama Pictures
- Cinematography : Annayya
- Music Director : T. V. Raju
- Playback singers : Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao 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...
.
Soundtrack
There are 10 songs and 25 poems in the film. Music score provided by T. V. Raju.- Adigo Alladigo
- Ededo Autundi Egisi Egisi Padutundi
- Tanuvuto (Geetopadesam) (singer: Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao)
- Jagamulanele Gopalude Naa Sigalo Poovavune (singer: 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...
and Ghantasala; Cast: NTR and Kanchana) - Jayahe Krishnavatara (Singer: Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao; Cast: Sobhan Babu)
- Neecharana Kamalana Needaye Chalu (singers: GhantasalaGhantasala (singer)Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao was a famous & popular Indian Playback Singer and music composer of Telugu films and many other languages such as Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu and Hindi. He is the recipient of the Padmashree award, India's fourth highest civilian award. For nearly a quarter of a...
, P. LeelaP. LeelaPorayathu Leela better known as P. Leela was a popular Indian playback singer. She was awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously in 2006.-Early life:...
, 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: NTR, Devika and Kanchana)
Boxoffice
The film was successful in KarnatakaKarnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
more than in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
and celebrated Silver Jubilee
Silver Jubilee
A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, ruling anniversary or anything that has completed a 25 year mark...
. Even in the second and third releases, it ran for more than 100 days.