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Telugu Cinema
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Telugu Cinema||
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The first sound picture in Telugu was Bhakta
Prahlada (1931), which introduced Surabhi Kamalabai as the first Telugu
heroine. Narasimha Rao's Seeta Kalyanam is the first Telugu sound
feature made in Madras. Sitaakalyaanam (1934) was another early
Telugu film produced in south-India. Harishchandra (1935) was the
debut film for Kannaamba and P. Pullayya. The first film studio was
constructed at Rajahmundry by Nidamarthy Brothers in 1936. The same year,
the Telugu company Saraswati Talkies made a debut with its Draupadi
Vastrapaharanam. Aanasooya-dhruva (1936) was the film casting
only children, while Prema vijayam (1936) was the first social film
in Telugu. Girhalakshmi (1937) was a big turning point in Telugu
film history with a revolutionary story. Its success promoted many other
social films like B.Nagi Reddy's Sumangali, Gudavalli Ramabrahman's
Malapilla, Raitu Bidda and Mallipelli (1939). The
first male playback song in Telugu was sung for Vandemataram
(1939). Since it was a child's voice, MS RamaRao's song in Devata
(1941) is considered first "male" playback. Dharmapatni (1941) was
the debut film of Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR). S.S.Vasan's Balanagamma
(1942) was a very successful folkloric film. The first female playback
(credited) in Telugu was in Bhaktapotana (1942).
L.V Prasad
(1908-1944) was one of the movie moguls of Madras who made his directorial
debut with Grihapravesam (1946). His important films include Drohi
(1948), Mana Desam (1949), Sahukaru (1950), Samsaram
(1950), Pelli Chesi Choodu (1952) and Manohara (1954). In
1947, Anjali Devi made her debut in Gollabhama while NT Rama Rao
(who later became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh) made his film debut
in Manadesam (1948). B.N.Reddi was a brilliant filmmaker who
created classical films like Vande Matram (1939), Devata
(1941), Swargaseema (1945), Malleswari (1951) and
Bangaru Papa (1956). Lavakusa (1963) was the first full-length
color production in Telugu. S.P.Balasubrahmanyam made his debut in Sri
Sri Sri Maryadaramanna (1967). Sobhanbabu and Krishna appeared on the
scene of Telugu cinema in 1960 and 1965 respectively. Oka Nari-vanda
tupakulu (1971) was the first full length black and white cinemascope
film. Alluri siita rama raju (1974) was the first full-length
colour and cinemascope film. Simhaasanam (1987) was the first 70 mm
production in Telugu. Dasari Narayan Rao is considered as one of the
luminaries among the Telugu film-makers. His Premabhisekham was a
great box-office hit. Chiranjeevi is a popular star in the contemporary
Telugu cinema.
|| Introduction || Silent Movies || The Era of Talkies || The Early Films-I || || The Early Films-II || Recent Films || Star Kids
|| || Melody & Music || ||Parallel or New Cinema || || Regional Cinema || ||
Bengali Cinema|| ||
Kannada Cinema|| ||
Malayalam Cinema||
||
Tamil Cinema || ||
Telugu Cinema||
||English Films || || Bollywood
in nternational Arena || ||Film Censorship ||Film
Journalism || ||Film Awards || Famous Cine Personalities ||
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