Kadiri Venkata Reddy was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He is regarded as one of the most influential film directors in the history of Indian cinema. He directed 14 feature films and won three National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award South.
Lava Kusa is a 1963 Indian Hindu mythological film directed by C. S. Rao and his father C. Pullayya. The film was scripted by Sadasivabrahmam, Samudrala Sr. along with C. S. Rao and C. Pullayya. The film was produced by Sankara Reddy under Lalita Sivajyothi Films. Lava Kusa is the first full-length colour film of Telugu cinema.
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.
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. However the writers changed the tone from the tragedy of King Lear to a more entertaining one for the film. The film was commercially successful.
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).
Bandhavyalu is a 1968 Telugu film produced and directed by S. V. Ranga Rao. The film is a remake of the Tamil movie Kan Kanda Deivam and also launched the Telugu foray for the South female superstar, Lakshmi.
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. The film was dubbed in Kannada as Veeranjaneya Katha in 1974.
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.
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.
