Ghatotkacha is a prominent character in the ancient Indian epic 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.
Daana Veera Soora Karna is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film co-written, produced and directed by N. T. Rama Rao under his banner, Ramakrishna Cine Studios. Based on the life of Karna from the Mahabharata, it stars Rama Rao in three roles: the title character, Duryodhana, and Krishna. It also stars Rao's sons Nandamuri Harikrishna and Nandamuri Balakrishna, who play the roles of Arjuna and Abhimanyu, respectively. Music for the film was composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao.
Abhimanyu was the youngest warrior in the Kurukshetra War. Son of Arjuna and Subhadra, and husband of Uttarā, Abhimanyu was a young, strong and talented warrior. He was also one of the few individuals, along with his father, who knew the technique to enter the Chakravyuha, a powerful military formation.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, King Shalya was the brother of Madri, and the ruler of the Madra kingdom. Skilled with the mace and a formidable warrior, he was tricked by Duryodhana to fight the war on the side of the Kauravas. He was encouraged to serve as the charioteer of Karna by Duryodhana. Shalya was an incredibly calm and deliberate fighter, his level-headedness and prowess in warfare making him a great warrior in spite of his slight build.
Virata was the king of the Matsya Kingdom, in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. Virata was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and Princess Uttarā, who married Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. Abhimanyu and Uttara's son Parikshit succeeded Yudhishthira on the throne of Hastinapura, after the war of Mahabharata. He is the titular character of the Virata Parva, the fourth book of the epic Mahabharata
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.
Anarta is a Vedic period kingdom of ancient India described in the Mahabharata, roughly forming the northern Gujarat state of India. It was founded by the father of Vaivasvata Manu and Yama, named Anarta. He built a fortress at Kusasthali (Dvaraka), which was later flooded by Varuna. The place remained then for some time as a forest land, before Krishna and the Yadavas went there and built Dvaraka. It was then ruled by Yadavas after they fled from Mathura of Surasena kingdom, due to the attacks of Jarasandha, the king of Magadha. The Yadava chiefs like Vasudeva Krishna, Bala Rama, Kritavarma and Satyaki, ruled this kingdom under their king Ugrasena. In Mahabharata, Dwaraka is considered as a capital city of Anarta kingdom. But some other ancient texts like Mahabhagavata, mentions Dwaraka and Anarta as two independent kingdoms. As per the Purana viz. Bhagavata Purana, Bala Rama's wife Revati was from this kingdom.
Uttarā was the princess of Matsya, as described in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. She was the daughter of King Virata and Queen Sudeshna, at whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. During that period, she learned music and dance from Arjuna, the third Pandava, and later married his son, Abhimanyu. Unfortunately, Uttarā was widowed at a young age during the Kurukshetra War. Following the Pandavas' victory in the war, she and her unborn son were attacked by the enemy warrior Ashwatthama, but they were saved by the divine intervention of Krishna. Her son Parikshit saved the Kuru lineage from extinction and became a well-known monarch celebrated in both the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana.
Mahabharat is an Indian Hindi-language epic television series based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. The original airing consisted of a total of 94 episodes and were broadcast from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990 on Doordarshan. It was produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by his son, Ravi Chopra. The music was composed by Raj Kamal. The script was written by Pandit Narendra Sharma and the Hindi/Urdu poet Rahi Masoom Raza, based on the epic by Vyasa. Costumes for the series were provided by Maganlal Dresswala. The serial claims to have used the Critical Edition of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute as its basic source with Vishnu Sitaram Sukthankar and Shripad Krishna Belwalkar as its primary editor.
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.
Pandava Vanavasam is a 1965 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and written by Samudrala Sr. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and Savitri, with music composed by Ghantasala. It was produced by A. S. R. Anjaneyulu under the Madhavi Productions banner. The film was a major box office success, running for 175 days in theatres.
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.
Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddhamu is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced and directed by K. V. Reddy under the Jayanthi Pictures banner. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and B. Saroja Devi, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao. The film was based on the Telugu play Gayopakhyanam written by Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham in 1890. It was later dubbed into Kannada and into Tamil.
Mahabharat is a 2013 Indian epic mythological television series based on the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. It aired from 16 September 2013 to 16 August 2014 on Star Plus. The series is available digitally on Disney+ Hotstar. Produced by Swastik Productions Pvt. Ltd, it starred Saurabh Raj Jain, Pooja Sharma, Shaheer Sheikh and Aham Sharma.
Kurukshetram is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film produced by A. S. R. Anjaneyulu and directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It stars Krishna, Sobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju and Kaikala Satyanarayana while Jamuna, Vijaya Nirmala, Anjali Devi and Gummadi played other important roles.
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.
Suryaputra Karn is an Indian historical epic television series, which premiered on 29 June 2015 on Sony Entertainment Television. Produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary of Swastik Pictures, the series covers the life journey of Karna in the Mahabharata. The show starred Gautam Rode, Vishesh Bansal and Basant Bhatt as the lead character at various stages of his life.
Veera Abhimanyu is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao and produced by Sunderlal Nahta and Doondi. Based on Abhimanyu, a character from the Indian epic Mahabharata, the film stars Gemini Ganesan leading an ensemble cast, including A. V. M. Rajan portraying the title character. It was simultaneously filmed in Telugu as Veerabhimanyu, with a largely different cast. The film was released on 20 August 1965, and failed commercially.
Pothina Doondeswara Rao, popularly known as Doondi or Dhoondy, was an Indian film producer and director noted for his work in Telugu cinema. His career spanned from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, during which he produced over 60 films in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil languages. In 2005, Doondi served as the Chairman of the Nandi Awards Committee.
