Kadiri Venkata Reddy was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest directors in the history of Telugu cinema. He directed 14 feature films and won three National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award South.
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.
Samudrala Raghavacharya, also known as Samudrala Sr., was an Indian screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, director, and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. Samudrala Senior made his screen debut in 1937, and known for his collaborations with Ghantasala.grand son samudrala srinivaas
Bhakta Potana is a 1943 Telugu-language biographical film directed by K. V. Reddy in his directorial debut. Based on the life of poet-saint Potana who translated Bhagavatham into Telugu language, the film was scripted by Samudrala Sr. The film had celebrated Jubilee runs all over the South India including Mysore state and Kerala. It was remade in 1966, starring Gummadi as Potana.
V. Nagayya also known as Chittoor Nagayya was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. Indian film journalist Baburao Patel described Nagayya as "The Paul Muni of India". Nagayya was considered the best character actor in South Indian cinema during 1940s and 1950s. In 1965, he became the first South Indian actor to receive the Padma Shri in Arts from the Government of India for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Pedda Manushulu is a 1954 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by K. V. Reddy. It stars Jandhyala Gaurinatha Sastry, Mudigonda Lingamurthy, Relangi, Vangara, Sriranjani Jr. in prominent roles. The film portrays corruption among so called respectable persons of the society. It was loosely based on The Pillars of Society, a 1877 play by famous Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.
Chandraharam is a 1954 Telugu-Tamil bilingual swashbuckler film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao in his debut. It was produced by Nagi Reddy-Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri and Sriranjani Jr., with music composed by Ghantasala. The film was not commercially successful.
Gunasundari Katha is a 1949 Indian Telugu language fantasy film produced and directed by K. V. Reddy, starring Sriranjani, Kasturi Siva Rao, Santha Kumari. The script was written by Pingali Nagendra Rao, K. V. Reddy, and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Kameswara Rao was also the associate director. William Shakespeare's play King Lear was the inspiration for the core plot. But the writers changed the tone from the tragedy of King Lear to a more entertaining one for the film. The film was commercially successful.
Swarga Seema is a 1945 Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by B. N. Reddy and starring V. Nagayya, B. Jayamma and Bhanumathi. Ghantasala entered film world as a Playback singer for a song of C. H. Narayana Rao and it is also Ghantasala's first duet with Bhanumathi Ramakrishna for the song Oh Naa Raaja. Marcus Bartley also made a debut as a cinematographer with this film. It is the first Telugu film to be screened at the International Film Festival, Vietnam.
Panduranga Mahatyam is a 1957 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of Pundarika, produced by N. Trivikrama Rao under the National Art Theatres banner and directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Anjali Devi and B. Saroja Devi with music composed by T. V. Raju. The film was dubbed into Tamil as Annaiyum Pithavum Munnari Dheivam (1959) and it was again remade as the Telugu film Pandurangadu (2008).
Sumangali is a 1940 Telugu-language film written, directed and produced by B. N. Reddy. The film stars V. Nagayya, A. S. Giri, Kumari and Malathi. The main concept of the film widow remarriage is inspired by Kandukuri Veeresalingam.
C. R. Subbaraman also known as C. S. Ram (1916–1952) was a famous South Indian film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar–Ganesh duo was his younger brother. His ancestors were from the Krishna district of present-day Andhra Pradesh and due to this, his family spoke Telugu well.
Kamalakara Kameswara Rao was an Indian film director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, and a few Tamil and Hindi films. Widely known as Pauranika Chitra Brahma, Kameswara Rao directed fifty feature films in a variety of genres.
Veeranjaneya is a 1968 Indian Telugu-language film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It is a musical film released in 1968, starring Arja Janardhana Rao, Kanta Rao, Anjali Devi and S.V. Ranga Rao.
Devata is a 1941 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by B. N. Reddy. The huge success of this film led to the making of more films with the same title in 1964 by B. Padmanabham and in 1982 by D. Ramanaidu. The film was remade in Malayalam as Pavappettaval (1967).
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. During the shooting in Rajasthan the producer ran out of money and superstar Krishna became producer of the movie. In tollywood this film is remembered as a contest between NTR's stardom in Telugu feature film dhaana Veera soora karna versus Maharadhi's pen power in Kurukshetram.
Abhimanam is a 1960 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced by Sundarlal Nahatha and T. Ashwadanarayana under the Sri Productions banner and directed by C. S. Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Savitri, Krishna Kumari, with music composed by Ghantasala.
Sakunthala is a 1966 Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao and B. Saroja Devi, with music composed by Ghantasala. It is produced by Lakshmi Rajyam and Sridhar Rao under the Rajyam Productions banner.
Rechukka Pagatichukka is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film, produced by N. Trivikrama Rao and directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Sowcar Janaki and S. V. Ranga Rao, with music composed by T. V. Raju. The film was simultaneously made in Tamil as Raja Sevai.
