Kondura

Last updated

Kondura (Hindi)
Anugraham (Telugu)
Kondura.jpg
Directed by Shyam Benegal
Written by Arudra (dialogues)
Screenplay by Shyam Benegal
Girish Karnad
Story byChintamani T. Khanolkar
Based onMarathi novel Kondura
by Chintamani T. Khanolkar
Produced byK. Venkat Rama Reddy
Starring Ananth Nag
Vanisri
Smita Patil
Amrish Puri
Rao Gopal Rao
Satyadev Dubey
Venu
Cinematography Govind Nihalani
Music by Vanraj Bhatia
Release date
1978
Running time
137 min
CountryIndia
Languages Hindi
Telugu

Kondura / Anugraham is a 1978 Indian bilingual film directed by Shyam Benegal simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Marathi writer, Chintamani T. Khanolkar, the screen adaptation was made by Shyam Benegal and Girish Karnad. [1] The majority of the cast was common to both films and included Ananth Nag, Vanisri, Amrish Puri, Shekhar Chatterjee (Hindi version only), Rao Gopal Rao (Telugu version only) and Satyadev Dubey. The film was one of the Indian entries at the 4th Hong Kong International Film Festival. [2]

Contents

Overview

The film involves the life of a young man who comes to believe that he has been bestowed supernatural powers. As the story unfolds, this boon eventually leads to a tragedy.

Kondura is a story whose protagonist is a young Brahmin named Parshuram. He is married to Ansooya, but is dependent partially on his brother for a living. This makes the elder brother chide him often and that drives him away from home. However, as he is leaving "Kondura", the mythical sage from the sea appears and anoints him the guardian of village, to cure it of all sins. The sage also grants him a physical boon, which is a dried herb. The boon works if he remains celibate. Parshuram returns home to celibacy. Often, the goddess of the village, grants him appearance in person, speaking to him through his wife (a phenomenon still seen in Indian villages, where a person is believed to have sudden visitation by God or Goddess, who speaks to people through the person).

The goddess instructs him to get the village rid of evils, which he interprets as rebuilding the parts of the temple. For this, he enlists financial support from the village landlord who is otherwise a tyrant and womaniser. It is known that Bhairavmoorthy takes in any woman in the village who catches his eye, including his younger brother's wife, both of whom die leaving behind a physically challenged son Venu to an otherwise heirless fiefdom. It is rumoured that Vasu is his son, but Bhairavmoorthy mistreats him all the time. He marries him off to young and beautiful Parvati, who comes from a very poor family. Bhairavmoorthy is said to be eyeing Parvati too, but Parvati is stronger than rest of the women in the family and challenges his might at occasions.

Meanwhile, as the news of Kondura's boon and visitations by the Goddess coupled with constructions at the temple spreads, Parshuram becomes a revered Guru with a decent following of his own in the village. Followers see him as a counselor and a person with charisma.

There are celebrations at the landlord's house. Parvati is expecting a child. The Landlord's wife Kanthama is busy doing all the ceremonies. The gossip in the village is that the baby belongs to Bhairavmoorthy. The Goddess makes a visitation to Parshuram through Ansooya, and speaks of the "root" or "seed" of evil, mentioning Bhairavamoorthy's name. In this context, it is relevant to mention a short interlude that abruptly appears repeatedly through the narrative: The short dream-like sequence features Parvati lying in bed and beckoning the camera to come to her - Conceivably this is the director's hint at a troubling thread in Parshuram's mind, that even "chosen" ones have weaknesses to overcome. It is perhaps due to such a bias, Parshuram interprets the words of the Goddess as concerning the baby, the "root" of Bhairavamoorthy's evil. To make things worse, the landlord makes Parshuram believe that the baby is his, and Parshuram makes Parvati drink Kondura's herb that aborts the baby.

Once the sin is committed, the landlord makes the revelation that how he conned Parshuram into believing that the baby was his, which in reality was his nephew's, and that he could not bear the thought that his crippled nephew sires one and not him.

Gripped with immense guilt, Parshuram takes a radical path of atonement. He tries to invoke the Goddess by praying to his wife, Ansooya; but, when that effort fails, he decides to repent for his sin by forsaking his celibacy. While Ansooya resists the temptation, Parshurama forces her to succumb to it. Shocked by the action and her loss of purity, Ansooya commits suicide by jumping in a dry well. Parshooram wakes up searching for Ansooya and upon finding her dead body, he runs widely screaming her name.

Through the story, there is one character, Ramanayye Master, the village teacher, who does not blindly accept Parshuram's actions as Divinely sanctioned. He is seen questioning Parshuram, once even scolding him. The last shot of the film shows the teacher nodding helplessly. While intellectuals may interpret the movie as a statement against faith itself, the story actually does not deny Divinity or its manifestations; for instance, at no point are Anasooya's visitations hinted at being fake; indeed, much good did come out of the Goddess's instructions to Parshuram, as long as his self-interest did not cloud his interpretation of those instructions. More than likely, the story's ending is a nuanced take on sincere seekers, that even those with Divine experiences are not exempt from vigilance.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<i>Annamayya</i> (film) 1997 Indian film

Annamayya is a 1997 Indian Telugu-language-language biographical film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by V. Doraswamy Raju under the VMC Productions banner. The film portrays the life of the 15th century composer Annamacharya, played by Nagarjuna who features alongside an ensemble cast including Mohan Babu, Suman, Ramya Krishna, Bhanupriya, Roja, and Kasthuri. The film has score and soundtrack composed by M. M. Keeravani.

<i>Bhumika</i> (film) 1977 Indian film

Bhumika is a 1977 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal. The film stars Smita Patil, Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin Shah and Amrish Puri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanisri</span> Indian actress

Vanisri is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has received three Filmfare Awards South, the Nandi Awards and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

Satyadev Dubey Indian actor, director and playwright (1936-2011)

Satyadev Dubey was an Indian theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter & film director. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. V. Vasudeva Rao</span>

Mudabidri Venkat Rao Vasudeva Rao was an Indian actor. He entered the film world as a child actor in 1928. He won the Best Actor Award at the 23rd National Film Awards for his role of Choma in the Chomana Dudi (1975), a film based on Shivarama Karanth's novel of the same name.

<i>Krishnarjuna</i> 2008 film by P. Vasu

Krishnarjuna is a 2008 Telugu language film produced by M.Mohan Babu on his Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures banner and directed by P. Vasu. Starring Nagarjuna Akkineni, Manchu Vishnu, Mamta Mohandas, Mohan Babu in cameo appearance and music composed by M. M. Keeravani. The film recorded as flop at box-office.

<i>Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi</i> 1988 Indian film

Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi is a Marathi film directed by Sachin Pilgaonkar and had released in India on 23 September 1988. It is a comedy film revolving around four close friends. This movie was inspired from Biwi aur Makaan movie directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. which was also remade in Telugu in 1991 as Chithram Bhallare Vichithram, in Kannada in 2003 as Olu Saar Bari Olu, in Hindi in 2009 as Paying Guests, in Punjabi in 2014 as Mr & Mrs 420 and in Bengali in 2017 as Jio Pagla. It is now considered as a cult classic comedy in Marathi cinema.

Chintamani Tryambak Khanolkar was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He wrote poetry under the name "Arati Prabhu" and prose under his own name. He received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1976 for his playwriting and a Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for his collection of poems Nakshatranche Dene.

<i>Jeevana Jyothi</i> (1975 film) 1975 Indian film

Jeevana Jyothi is a 1975 Telugu film directed by K. Viswanath. It stars Vanisri in a double role as mother and daughter. Sobhan Babu is the leading man. This film won major awards especially in Filmfare Awards South and also won two Nandi Awards. The director K. Viswanath later remade the film in Hindi as Sanjog (1985), with Jaya Prada and Jeetendra. The film was also remade in Kannada as Balina Jyothi, with Vishnu Vardhan. The film was screened at the Asian and African film Festival at Tashkent.

<i>Rangula Ratnam</i> (1966 film) 1966 Indian film

Rangula Ratnam is a 1966 Indian Telugu-language film directed and produced by B. N. Reddy under the banner of Vauhini pictures. The film stars Chandra Mohan, Vanisri, Anjali Devi and Baby Bhanurekha Ganeshan. It is a social and political satire involving a middle-class family in the backdrop of politics and elections. The film won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and also won two Nandi Awards. B. N. Reddy introduced many stalwarts like Chandra Mohan, Vanisri, Rekha and Vijaya Nirmala as young artists to the film industry with this movie.

<i>Aatma Gowravam</i> 1965 Indian film

Aatma Gowravam (transl. Self-esteem) is a 1965 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under Annapurna Pictures and directed by K. Viswanath. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Kanchana and Rajasree, with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao.

<i>Jeevana Tarangalu</i> 1973 Indian film

Jeevana Tarangalu is a 1973 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by T. Rama Rao. The film stars Sobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju, Vanisri, Chandramohan, and Lakshmi. It is based on a novel by Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani, and won three Filmfare Awards South. It was remade in Tamil as Thirumangalyam (1974), in Hindi in as Dil Aur Deewaar (1978), and in Kannada as Mangalya (1991).

<i>Gandeevam</i> 1994 Telugu film by Priyadarshan

Gandeevam is a 1994 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film, produced by Satyam Babu, Sampath Kumar under the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Combines banner and directed by Priyadarshan. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nandamuri Balakrishna, Roja and music composed by M. M. Keeravani.

<i>Sati Savitri</i> (1978 film) 1978 Indian film

Sati Savitri is a 1978 Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced by A. Sankar Reddy under the Lalitha Siva Jyothi Studios and directed by B. A. Subba Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Krishnam Raju and Vanisri with music composed by Ghantasala & Pendyala Nageswara Rao. The film is based on the story of Savitri and Satyavan.

<i>Sri Vinayaka Vijayamu</i> 1979 Indian film

Sri Vinayaka Vijayamu is a 1979 Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and produced by Jagarlamudi Radhakrishna Murthy under Jaganmatha Arts. The film stars Krishnam Raju, Rama Krishna, Vanisri, M. G. V. Madan Gopal, Kaikala Satyanarayana in the lead roles. The music was composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. The lyrics were penned by Devulapalli Krishnasastri, Arudra, Veeturi and Kosaraju. The film is about Lord Ganesha's life from his birth till he tamed Mushikasura, a rakshasa who later became Ganesha's vahana. The film was a major commercial success.

<i>Uma Chandi Gowri Sankarula Katha</i> 1968 Indian film

Uma Chandi Gowri Sankarula Katha is a 1968 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, directed by K. V. Reddy under the Vijaya Productions. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and B. Saroja Devi, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao.

<i>Dasara Bullodu</i> 1971 Indian film

Dasara Bullodu is a 1971 Indian Telugu-language romance film, produced and directed by V. B. Rajendra Prasad. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Vanisri and Chandrakala, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. It is the first film of Rajendra Prasad as a director. The film was a blockbuster at the box office and remained an all time superhit in Telugu film history. It is considered to be one of the biggest hits of ANR. It ran for 100 days at 25 theatres and went on to record a 200-day run at 4 centres. It was the first non-mythological film in Telugu to run for over 200 days. It had the unique distinction of celebrating 200 days run in all the three regions of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, first film to do so. It was remade in Hindi as Raaste Pyar Ke (1982) under the same banner and director.

<i>Chilipi Krishnudu</i> 1978 Indian film

Chilipi Krishnudu is a 1978 Telugu-language romance film, produced by D. Ramanaidu under the Suresh Productions banner and directed by Boina Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Vanisri, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film was remade in Hindi in 1980 as Bandish.

<i>Maya Maschindra</i> (1975 film) 1975 Indian film

Maya Maschindra is a 1975 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced by Pinjala Subba Rao under the P.S.R. Pictures banner and directed by Babu Bhai Mistry. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Vanisri and music composed by Satyam.

<i>Aradhana</i> (1976 film) 1976 Indian film

Aradhana (transl. Worship) is a 1976 Indian Telugu-language romantic musical film, produced by A. Pundarikakshaiah under the Sri Bhaskara Chitra banner and directed by B. V. Prasad. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and Vanisri, with music composed by Saluri Hanumantha Rao. The film was a remake of the Hindi film Geet (1970).

References

  1. The Boon filmreference
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)