The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Smriti texts and Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered in Hinduism, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas.
Ghatotkacha is a prominent character in the story of Mahabharata. His name comes from the fact that his head was hairless (utkacha) and shaped like a ghatam, or a pot. Ghatotkacha was the son of the Pandava Bhima and the demoness Hidimbi, and thus a half-human, half-demon hybrid.
Bhishma, also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a major character of the epic Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War of the epic. He was the only character who witnessed the entirety of the events of the Mahabharata, beginning from the reign of his father, King Shantanu of the Kuru kingdom. Bhishma was the stepbrother of Vyasa, the grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was a prominent statesman of the Kuru Kingdom. He was born as the elder son of the illustrious King Shantanu and goddess Ganga.
Abhimanyū is a warrior from the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the son of Arjuna, the third of the Pandavas and the hero of the epic, and Subhadra, the younger sister of the revered Hindu deity Krishna. Abhimanyū is portrayed as a young, strong and talented warrior. He was also one of the few individuals, along with his father, who knew the technique to enter Chakravyuha, a powerful military formation.
Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma, known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Kannada cinema's most influential filmmakers.
Mayabazar is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, with a few differences in the cast. The story is an adaptation of the folk tale Sasirekha Parinayam, which is based on the characters of the epic Mahabharata. It revolves around the roles of Krishna and Ghatotkacha, as they try to reunite Arjuna's son Abhimanyu with his love, Balarama's daughter Sasirekha (Savitri). The Telugu version features Gummadi, Mukkamala, Ramana Reddy, and Relangi in supporting roles, with D. Balasubramaniam, R. Balasubramaniam, V. M. Ezhumalai, and K. A. Thangavelu playing those parts in the Tamil version.
Manavoori Pandavulu is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language film directed by Bapu and written by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, dealing with the struggle against the feudal system in their own unique way. The film is remake of Kannada movie Paduvaaralli Pandavaru directed by Puttanna Kanagal. In 1980, he also remade it in Hindi as Hum Paanch starring Mithun Chakraborty.
Randamoozham is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language mythological drama novel written by the Indian author M. T. Vasudevan Nair, widely credited as his masterpiece. The work won the Vayalar Award, given for the best literary work in Malayalam, in 1985. It also won the Muttathu Varkey Award in 1994. The novel has been translated to multiple languages. It was translated into English as Second Turn by P. K. Ravindranath in 1997. Another English translation by Gita Krishnankutty published in 2013 is titled Bhima: Lone Warrior.
Hum Paanch is a 1980 Hindi language action film directed by Bapu and produced by Boney Kapoor. The film features a huge all-star cast including Sanjeev Kumar, Shabana Azmi, Mithun Chakraborty, Nasiruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, Gulshan Grover and Amrish Puri.
Nartanasala is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and written by Samudrala Sr. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, S. V. Ranga Rao, and Relangi while Mukkamala, Mikkilineni and Dandamudi Rajagopal play supporting roles among others. Susarla Dakshinamurthi composed the film's soundtrack and background score. M. A. Rahman and S. P. S. Veerappa served as the cinematographer and editor respectively. T. V. S. Sarma was the film's art director. The film was produced by actress C. Lakshmi Rajyam and her husband C. Sridhar Rao under the Rajyam Pictures banner.
Bhagyavantha is a 1981 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed and written by B. S. Ranga. The film featured Master Lohit, Aarathi and Jai Jagadish in pivotal roles. Veteran actor Rajkumar and Thoogudeepa Srinivas made brief appearances in the film.
Sri Krishnavataram is a 1967 Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Devika and Kanchana, with music composed by T. V. Raju. The film was produced by A. Pundarikakshayya under the Taraka Rama Pictures. The film is based on the Hindu epics Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana covering major life events of Lord Krishna.
Bandhana is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu from a screenplay by H. V. Subba Rao and Rajendra Singh Babu, based on a novel of the same name by Usha Navaratnanram. The film revolves around the relationship between a surgeon, Harish and his student Nandini. The film stars Vishuvardhan as Dr. Harish and Suhasini as his protégé Nandini, along with Jai Jagadish, Roopadevi and G. K. Govinda Rao in supporting roles.
Sri Krishna Rayabaram is a popular Telugu drama written by Tirupati Venkata Kavulu in the early 20th century. It was made into a Telugu film in 1960. Many actors and companies have staged this production throughout Andhra Pradesh, India, and abroad.
Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by Sriwass and featuring an ensemble cast composed of Mohan Babu, Manchu Vishnu, Manchu Manoj, Raveena Tandon, Hansika Motwani, Pranitha Subhash, Varun Sandesh, and Tanish. Manchu Vishnu and Manchu Manoj are jointly producing the film on their respective banners, 24 Frames Factory and Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures. Kona Venkat, Gopimohan and BVS Ravi wrote the film's screenplay with Palani Kumar handling cinematography.
Baddi Bangaramma is a 1984 Indian Kannada language film directed by Kommineni. It is the remake of Telugu movie Konte Koddulu, directed by Kommineni. It stars Srinath, Jai Jagadish, Bhavya, Mahalakshmi, Ramakrishna and Uma Shivakumar, who played the title role of Baddi Bangaramma, in pivotal roles. Uma Shivakumar's performance as a moneylender in the film received appreciation and was henceforth referred to as Baddi Bangaramma by the audience.
Srimad Virata Parvam is a 1979 Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced and directed by N. T. Rama Rao under his Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Vanisri, Nandamuri Balakrishna and music composed by Susarla Dakshina Murthy. The film is based on Virata Parva from epic Mahabharata in which NTR has performed 5 pivotal roles, after blockbuster success of Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977), in which he emoted 3 different roles. It is a color remake of the 1966 movie Nartanasala both starring N.T.Rama Rao as Arjuna.
Draupadi is a 1931 sound film from Indian cinema. The film was a big-budget mythological production from Ardeshir Irani's Imperial Film Company following their release of the first talkie in India, Alam Ara (1931). It was directed by Bhagwati Prasad Mishra, who had made a name for himself as a photographer and painter and had worked with Irani in his Star, Majestic, Royal and Imperial Studios. The story adaptation from Vyasa's Mahabharata and the screenplay, were by Mishra. The star cast included Prithviraj Kapoor who played the role of Arjuna, with Ermeline as Draupadi, and Khalil as Krishna. The rest of cast included Hadi, Elizer, Rustom Irani and Jilloobai. The cinematographer was Adi Irani.
Kurukshetra is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language mythological war film written by J. K. Bharavi and directed by Naganna. The story is based on the epic poem Gadhayuddha by Ranna, which itself is based on the Indian epic Mahabharata. The story is centred on Duryodhana, the Kaurava king. The film was produced by Munirathna.
Released in 1976 Phalitamsha is a romantic Kannada movie, directed by S. R. Puttanna Kanagal. The movie is based on the story Golagummata by Srinivasa Kulakarni. Produced under the banner of A1 Movietone, the movie was predominantly shot in Bijapur. The movie paired newcomer Jai Jagadish with four heroines. Aarathi as expected has the meatiest role and delivers yet another power-packed performance. Despite a good-looking hero, top notch actresses and beautiful outdoor locales, Phalitamsha remains one of the few flops of ace director Puttana Kanagal's career. The negatives of the movie were lost in fire. The movie was dubbed in Telugu in 1977 as Nannu Preminchu.
