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Home > Articles > History Of Birth And Growth Of Telugu Cinema Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 History Of Birth And Growth Of Telugu Cinema (Part 9) Nagaiah's Entry – An Eventful Decade: HM Reddy made 'Gruhalakshmi' on the subject of prohibition under the banner of his Rohini Films. It introduced Chittoor V. Nagaiah, who later became the earliest legend among heroes of Telugu cinema. It had in its cast stalwarts like Kannamba and Muktevi Ramanujachari. The film was a sensational hit. BN Reddi, KV Reddi and Kadaru Nagabhushanam were HM Reddy's assitants. They learned the art of filmmaking from HM. Efforts too were already on to construct a studio in the heart of Telugu land by Nidamarthi Suraiah. He constructed Durga Cinetone at Rajahmundry, East Godavai district, and made mythological 'Sampoorna Ramayanam' with Koderu Raju and Pushpavalli in the lead. This is recorded as the first film shot on Telugu soil. We saw another studio coming up with the name Andhra Cinetone, at Visakhapatnam, under the leadership of C. Pullaiah. He made 'Bhakta Jayadeva' in 1938 featuring Renduchintala and Surabhi Kamalabai. Hiren Bose directed the film. Raja of Mirjapur took interest in cinema and constructed a studio at Alwarpet at Madras and made 'Jarasandha' under studio banner Jaya Pictures. After Vel Pictures of PV Das, this was the second best studio in Madras constructed and run by Telugus. 'Jeevana Jyothi' was also made here. Ch. Narayana Rao, another memorable name of Telugu cinema, figured in this film. This studio was renamed as Sobhanachala Studios. 1940 was a bad year for the Telugu film industry. Many films flopped. Of the seventeen films released this year, only pure comedies like 'Barrister Parvateesam', 'Chaduvukunna Bharya' and 'Bondam Pelli' found success. 'Illalu' was another film with Kanchanamala and Umamaheswara Rao in the lead.
As many as 36 films were made under this banner, during its existence. Akkineni Nageswara Rao figured in this year in 'Dharmapatni', as a child artiste. He was then a fifteen-year-old boy. P. Pullaiah made this. Another notable film was Rohini Pictures' 'Tenali Ramakrishna' directed by HM Reddi. LV Prasad and Tilakam led the cast. Among the fifteen films released in the year 1942, Gemini's 'Balanagamma' with Kanchanamala, Govindarajula and Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao was a great success. 'Bhakta Pothana' was another big hit. This was Nagaiah starrer. Reliable souces say that Nagaiah rose to such a super stardom that he was offered one lakh rupees as remuneration. Those were the days when pictures with the title of 'Lakashadhikaari' were released, reflecting its value. Today this might be equivalent to Rs. 10 crores. Akkineni quipped at one time, referring to the discussion that arose about the present day stars taking crores of rupees as remuneration, that Nagaiah was the highest paid, so far in the industry, if you consider the present day value of that money given to him then. But Nagaiah spent all of his earnings on charities and had to accept very minor roles given to him for survival and died with none around him to become pallbearers. He was a great soul and deserves an exclusive write-up about him. To Be Continued... | ||
