| Shankarabharanam | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | K. Viswanath |
| Written by | Story &Screenplay: K. Viswanath Dialogues: Jandhyala |
| Produced by | Edida Nageswara Rao Aakasam Sriramulu |
| Starring | J.V. Somayajulu Manju Bhargavi Chandra Mohan |
| Cinematography | Balu Mahendra |
| Edited by | G. G. Krishna Rao |
| Music by | K. V. Mahadevan |
| Distributed by | Poornodaya Movie Creations |
Release date |
|
Running time | 143 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹13.50 Lakhs |
Shankarabharanam (transl. The jewel of Shankara) is a 1980 IndianTelugu-languagemusicaldrama film co-written and directed byK. Viswanath. Produced by Edida Nageswara Rao underPoornodaya Movie Creations, the film starsJ. V. Somayajulu,Manju Bhargavi,Chandra Mohan, and Rajyalakshmi. The soundtrack was composed byK. V. Mahadevan. The film explores the cultural divide betweenIndian classical andWestern pop music through the perspectives of characters from different generations.
Released on 2 February 1980,Shankarabharanam opened to near-empty halls, but quickly gained widespread popularity, eventually running for over 25 weeks in many centres. InTamil Nadu, the film was a major sensation, showing in packed houses in its original version. InBangalore, it ran for over a year without dubbing. It was later dubbed intoTamil andMalayalam,[2] with the Malayalam version also enjoying a year-long theatrical run.[3]
The film received significant acclaim, winning the Prize of the Public at the Besançon Film Festival, France in 1981.[4] It was screened at several international festivals, including the8th International Film Festival of India,[5] the Tashkent Film Festival, theAsia Pacific Film Festival, and theMoscow International Film Festival in May 1980.[6][7]Shankarabharanam was also featured in an online poll byCNN-IBN in 2013, where it ranked eleventh for the "greatest Indian film ever" as part of the centenary celebration of Indian cinema.[8] The film was honoured with fourNational Film Awards, includingBest Popular Feature Film, making it the firstSouth Indian film to receive this award.[9] It also received seven stateNandi Awards.[10] Following its success, Viswanath directed a Hindi remake titledSur Sangam (1985).[11]Forbes India included J. V. Somayajulu's performance inShankarabharanam in its list of "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema."[12]
Shankara Sastri, a widower with a daughter named Sarada, is one of the most popularCarnatic singers of the day, famed for having mastered theragaSankarabharanam. Tulasi is the daughter of a prostitute, who is a devout fan of Shankara Sastri and his music and admires him from afar.
One morning, Tulasi comes across Sastri teaching his daughter singing on a riverbank. Thrilled by Sastri's singing, she begins dancing on the riverbank, oblivious of her surroundings. Sastri sees her, and Tulasi also comes to her senses and abruptly stops. She expects Sastri to rebuke her, but he appreciates her sincerity and continues singing.
Tulasi's mother wants her to follow in the family tradition of becoming a courtesan, believing she can extract a high price for Tulasi from a rich landlord who is interested in her. Tulasi escapes via a train. She comes across Shankara Sastri, hides in his compartment and travels with him for a while, but her mother eventually finds her and brings her back, publicly accusing Shankara Sastri of manipulating and eloping with her daughter while doing so. The deal is struck, and the landlord comes to see Tulasi and rapes her. Seeing a photo of Sastri in Tulasi's room, he breaks it and taunts her by saying that she is now free to be the old Sastri's mistress. The enraged Tulasi stabs him with a shard of glass from the broken frame of Sastri's photo, killing him.
At the subsequent murder trial Sastri engages a close friend, a lawyer, to defend Tulasi. Tulasi's mother is sent to jail for engaging in prostitution, while Tulasi goes free but finds herself homeless. When Sastri takes Tulasi to his own house, the rumour spreads that Tulasi has become Sastri's mistress. Engaged to sing at a temple, everyone, including Sastri's musical accompanists, leaves on seeing Tulasi. Feeling responsible for this public insult to the man she reveres, Tulasi leaves Sastri's home.
Over time, whilepop music is on the ascendant, the popularity of classical music wanes, Sastri loses his audience and, with them his comfortable lifestyle. Ten years later, Sastri is living in a small house with his daughter, who has grown into adulthood. Meanwhile, Tulasi has inherited her mother's property after her mother's demise.
Tulasi has a ten-year-old son, the result of her rape, and desires that he become Sastri's student. She intends to make her son, the outcome of an evil, an ornament to adorn Shankara Sastri as his disciple, just as how a venomous snake becomes an ornament of Lord Shiva (Shankara - Shiva, aabaranam- ornament) and therefore, Shankara's aabharanam - Shankarabharanam. Tulasi gets her son to pretend to be homeless, entering Sastri's household as a servant. Tulasi is content to watch from a distance as her son gradually becomes Sastri's musical protege.
Pamulaparti Venkata Kameswara Rao, a schoolteacher by profession but adilettante singer at heart, falls in love with Sarada. Although Sastri rejects the alliance at first, he agrees after hearing the man sing at the village temple.
Tulasi arranges for a concert on the day of Sarada's wedding, in a new auditorium which she named for her mentor. Sastri sings at the concert but suffers a heart attack part-way through it. His disciple, Tulasi's son, takes over from the sidelines and continues singing the song.
As Sastri watches his student with pride, he also sees Tulasi at the side of the hall and realizes that the boy is Tulasi's son. A doctor is brought to attend to Sastri, but Sastri waves him off, knowing that his end is near. As Tulasi's son completes the song, Sastri symbolically anoints the boy as his musical heir by giving his "aabharanam" (his leg bracelet, or "Ganda Penderam"), once bestowed by society to honor him and effectively became a part of him, to him and dies. Tulasi comes running to herguru, and dies at his feet. The film ends on this tragic but uplifting note, as Sastri's newly-wed daughter and son-in-law take charge of Tulasi's son.
After hearing the plot, the producers were initially taken aback due to theparallel cinema tone to the subject matter, but finallyEdida Nageswara Rao agreed to produce the film. He wantedAkkineni Nageswara Rao to enact the role of Shankara Sastry,K. Viswanath wantedSivaji Ganesan to perform the role, but couldn't approach him for various reasons and also wantedKrishnam Raju for the role, but later refused as Viswanath felt his image as a star would ruin the role and he chose a debutantJ. V. Somayajulu, a stage artist for the role.[13]K. Viswanath scripted and directed the film, whileJandhyala gave the dialogues.Balu Mahendra performed thecinematography while the film is edited by G. G. Krishna Rao.Thota Tharani worked as the film'sproduction designer.Vamsy, who went on to direct films likeSitaara,Anveshana andLadies Tailor was one of the assistant directors in the film.[14]
The shooting of the film was completed in 60 days. The film was mostly shot inRajahmundry, Raghudevapuram,Polavaram,Ramachandrapuram,Annavaram, and Somavaram inAndhra Pradesh,Thiruvanmiyur inMadras,Belur andHalebeedu inKarnataka.[15][16][17]
The music, largelyCarnatic based, was composed byK.V. Mahadevan.M. Balamuralikrishna was the original choice for the male playback singer, due to the heavy classical content of the compositions. Since M. Balamuralikrishna was not so much inclined to sing in the movie, K. V. Mahadevan, having faith in the mettle ofS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, insisted on him taking up this challenge. The soundtrack has lyrics byVeturi and vocals by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,S. Janaki andVani Jairam.
All music is composed byK. V. Mahadevan.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Playback | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brochevarevarura" | Mysore Vasudevachar | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,Vani Jayaram | |
| 2. | "Dorakunaa Ituvanti Seva" | Veturi | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vani Jayaram | |
| 3. | "Manasa Sancharare" | Sadasiva Brahmendra | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vani Jayaram | |
| 4. | "Maanikya Veena" (Poem) | Mahakavi Kalidasu | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | |
| 5. | "Omkaara Naadaanusandhanamou" | Veturi | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,S. Janaki | |
| 6. | "Paluke Bangaaramaayena" | Bhadrachala Ramadasu | Vani Jayaram | |
| 7. | "Raagam Taanam Pallavi" | Veturi | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | |
| 8. | "Shankaraa Naadasareeraparaa" | Veturi | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | |
| 9. | "Saamajavaragamana" | Thyagaraja, Veturi | S. Janaki, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | |
| 10. | "Ey Teeruga Nanu" | Bhadrachala Ramadasu | Vani Jayaram |
Released on 2 February 1980, the film was released in only a very few theatres and opened to almost empty halls. However, in a week through positive reviews and word of mouth theatres were packed.[11] The film had 216-day run at Royal theatre,Hyderabad. The film was dubbed intoMalayalam and released in New Theatre,Thiruvananthapuram and Kavitha Theatre,Ernakulam on 12 September 1980, where it ran successfully for over 200 days.[19][3] It is considered a cult classic in Telugu cinema especially due to the use of carnatic music that is more true to the classical form than for film.[20]
The Tamil dubbed version of the film was rereleased on 13 March 2015. M. Suganth ofThe Times of India wrote that "This film is a textbook example of how music and storytelling can go hand-in-hand to create a brilliant film".[21]
The film won fourNational Film Awards, primarily in the Music categories. This makesShankarabharanam the only Telugu film to win four National Film Awards at the time. The film is one of the three Telugu films to win theNational Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. The film also won sevenNandi Awards, including theNandi Award for Best Feature Film. Four of the seven Nandi Awards are from the Music categories.
The success of this film triggered a sequence of classical films in Telugu, includingTyagayya (byBapu),Meghasandesam (by Dasari N. Rao), and Viswanath's own follow-ups:Saptapadi,Saagara Sangamam,Swathi Muthyam,Sruthi Layalu,Swarna Kamalam,Swayam Krushi,Sirivennela,Swarabhishekam,Swati Kiranam.[7]S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, the Telugu playback singer who rendered all the songs of Sastri's character, has often said this movie was the highlight of his career. It gotS. P. Balasubrahmanyam his first National Award, and made him a household name across all of South India. Film critic Gudipoodi Srihari called it the best Telugu film he has seen afterMayabazar.[11]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)