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| image = Varakatnam.jpg
| image = Varakatnam.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| writer = [[Samudrala Ramanujacharya|Samudrala Jr]]<br />Maddipatla Suri<br />{{small|(dialogues)}}
| story = N. T. Rama Rao
| story = N. T. Rama Rao
| screenplay = N. T. Rama Rao
| producer = [[N. Trivikrama Rao]]
| producer = [[N. Trivikrama Rao]]
| director = [[N. T. Rama Rao]]
| director = [[N. T. Rama Rao]]
| starring = N. T. Rama Rao<br />[[Krishna Kumari (actress)|Krishna Kumari]]<br />[[Savitri (actress)|Savitri]]
| starring = N. T. Rama Rao<br />[[Krishna Kumari (actress)|Krishna Kumari]]<br />[[Savitri (actress)|Savitri]]
| music = [[T. V. Raju]]
| music = [[Thotakura Venkata Raju]]
| cinematography = [[Ravikant Nagaich]]
| cinematography = [[Ravikant Nagaich]]
| editing = G. D. Joshi
| editing = G. D. Joshi
| studio = NAT & [[Ramakrishna Cine Studios]]
| studio = Ramakrishna & NAT Combines
| released = 10 January 1969
| released = 10 January 1969
| runtime = 176 minutes
| runtime = 176 minutes
| country = India
| country = India
| language = Telugu
| language = Telugu
| budget =
}}
}}


'''''Varakatnam''''' ({{trans|Dowry}}) is a 1969 Indian [[Telugu language|Telugu]]-language [[drama film]], produced by [[N. Trivikrama Rao]] under the banner NAT & [[Ramakrishna Cine Studios]] and directed by [[N. T. Rama Rao]]. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, [[Savitri (actress)|Savitri]] and [[Krishna Kumari (actress)|Krishna Kumari]], with music composed by [[T. V. Raju]].<ref>http://telugucineblitz.blogspot.in/2010/08/varakatnam-1969.html</ref><ref name="fridayreview">{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/varakatnam-1968/article26464030.ece |title=Varakatnam (1968) |last=Narasimham |first=M. L. |date=8 March 2019 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=8 March 2019 |archive-url=http://archive.fo/jRGtL |archive-date=8 March 2019 |dead-url=no |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
'''''Varakatnam''''' ({{trans|Dowry}}) is a 1969 Indian [[Telugu language|Telugu]]-language [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]], produced by [[N. Trivikrama Rao]] under the banner [[Ramakrishna Studios|Ramakrishna & NAT Combines]] and directed by his older brother [[N. T. Rama Rao]]. It stars Rama Rao, [[Savitri (actress)|Savitri]] and [[Krishna Kumari (actress)|Krishna Kumari]], with music composed by [[Thotakura Venkata Raju|T. V. Raju]].


==Plot==
==Plot==
The film revolves between two neighboring villages, Meesala Venkaiah (Nagabhushanam) is the head farmer for one village who is high on self-respect and sternness. In another village, Bhadraiah (Mikkilineni) a quite confident with little less property. The alliance of Bhadraiah's daughter Sujatha (Krishna Kumari) is fixed with Venkaiah's son Devasimha (N. T. Rama Rao). During the time of the wedding, a troublemaker Acchaiah (Allu Ramailngaiah) injects an idea to Venkaiah to demand the dowry before the marriage when Bhadraiah's short-tempered son Balaramaiah (Satyanarayana) becomes furious and quarrels with them. As a result, the wedding is called off, Devasimha is dragged away by his father and the poor bride is in tears. After that, both the families plan to make different marriages to the couple which Devasimha opposes. He reaches Sujatha and secretly marries her with the help & blessings of Sujatha's sensible sister-in-law Subhadra (Savitri). Rest of the story is how Devasimha clears the differences between two families and fights against the dowry system.
There are two neighbouring villages. "Meesaala" Venkaiah is the head farmer for one village who is high on self-respect and sternness. In the other village, Bhadraiah is a quite confident with little less property. The alliance of Bhadraiah's daughter Sujatha is fixed with Venkaiah's son Devasimha. During the time of the wedding, a troublemaker Acchaiah injects an idea to Venkaiah to demand the dowry before the marriage when Bhadraiah's short-tempered son Balaramaiah becomes furious and quarrels with them. As a result, the wedding is called off, Devasimha is dragged away by his father and the bride starts to cry. After that, both the families plan to make different marriages to the couple which Devasimha opposes. He reaches Sujatha and secretly marries her with the help and blessings of Sujatha's sensible sister-in-law Subhadra. The rest of the story is how Devasimha clears the differences between two families and fights against the dowry system.


==Cast==
==Cast==
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{{colend}}
{{colend}}


==Crew==
==Production==

*'''Art''': S. Krishna Rao
=== Development ===
*'''Choreography''': Vempati
With an urge to play offbeat characters, [[N. T. Rama Rao]] converted his theatre troupe, National Art Theatre, into a film production company with his younger brother, [[N. Trivikrama Rao]], as the producer and made ''[[Pichi Pullayya]]'' (1953), in which Rama Rao played a "have-not". He followed it with another film dealing with an unconventional subject, ''[[Todu Dongalu (1954 film)|Todu Dongalu]]'' (1954). However, Rama Rao's intentions were not fruitful, forcing him to revert to the folklore genre with ''[[Jayasimha (1955 film)|Jayasimha]]'' (1955) for commercial success. Subsequently, he made many successful films in the same genre. But his desire to make films dealing with contemporary issues remained. He then wrote a story based on [[Dowry system in India|dowry as a menace]] and himself directed the film, titled ''Varakatnam'' produced under his home banner, [[Ramakrishna Studios|Ramakrishna & NAT Combines]]. Maddipatla Suri and Samudrala Ramanujacharya were hired to write the dialogues. [[Ravikant Nagaich]] was hired as cinematographer, and G. D. Doshi as editor.<ref name="fridayreview">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/varakatnam-1968/article26464030.ece|title=Varakatnam (1968)|last=Narasimham|first=M. L.|date=8 March 2019|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=8 March 2019|archive-url=http://archive.fo/jRGtL|archive-date=8 March 2019|dead-url=no|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
*'''Stills''': Nagaraja Rao

*'''Fights''': Sambasiva Rao, Swamynathan
=== Casting ===
*'''Dialogues''': [[Samudrala Ramanujacharya|Samudrala Jr.]], Maddipatla Suri
Rama Rao, in addition to directing and writing the story, played the male lead Devasimha, while [[Krishna Kumari (actress)|Krishna Kumari]] played the female lead Sujatha. The supporting cast of the main plot includes [[Nagabhushanam (actor)|Nagabhushanam]] as Deva's father "Meesaala" Venkaiah, [[Savitri (actress)|Savitri]] as Sujatha's sister-in-law Subhadra, Sathyanarayana as the short-tempered Balaramaiah and Mikkilineni as Balaramaiah's father Bhadraiah. The parallel plot features Suryakantham as the "sharp-tongued" Chukkamma, Relangi as her meek husband Devaiah, Padmanabham as their son Rangaiah and Chandrakala as the couple's daughter-in-law Lakshmi.<ref name="fridayreview" />
*'''Lyrics''':[[C. Narayana Reddy]], [[Kosaraju Raghavaiah|Kosaraju]]

*'''Playback''': [[Ghantasala (singer)|Ghantasala]], [[P. Susheela]], [[Jamuna Rani]], [[Madhavapeddi Satyam]], [[Pithapuram Nageswara Rao|Pithapuram]], Tilakam
=== Filming ===
*'''Music''': [[T. V. Raju]]
''Varakatnam'' was the first instance that Rama Rao had gone to [[Tadepalligudem]] and [[Tanuku]] for [[location shooting]].<ref name="fridayreview" />
*'''Editing''': G. D. Joshi
*'''Cinematography''': [[Ravikant Nagaich]]
*'''Producer''': [[N. Trivikrama Rao]]
*'''Story&nbsp;— Screenplay&nbsp;— Director''': [[N. T. Rama Rao]]
*'''Banner''': NAT & [[Ramakrishna Cine Studios]]
*'''Release Date''': 10 January 1969


==Soundtrack==
==Soundtrack==
Line 85: Line 77:
}}
}}


The soundtrack was composed by [[Thotakura Venkata Raju]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Array|title=Varakatnam - All Songs - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn|url=https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/varakatnam/afW3V8q,4xc_|access-date=2019-07-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://indiancine.ma/documents/CGU/info|title=Varakatnam|last=|first=|publisher=Ramakrishna & NAT Combines|year=1969|isbn=|location=|pages=|language=te|type=songbook}}</ref>
Music composed by [[T. V. Raju]]. Music released on Audio Company.
{|class="wikitable"
{|class="wikitable"
|-
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|4:20
|4:20
|}
|}

== Release and reception ==
''Varakatnam'' was released on 10 January 1969.


==Awards==
==Awards==

Revision as of 10:25, 26 July 2019

Varakatnam
Theatrical release poster
Directed byN. T. Rama Rao
Story byN. T. Rama Rao
Produced byN. Trivikrama Rao
StarringN. T. Rama Rao
Krishna Kumari
Savitri
CinematographyRavikant Nagaich
Edited byG. D. Joshi
Music byThotakura Venkata Raju
Production
company
Ramakrishna & NAT Combines
Release date
10 January 1969
Running time
176 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu

Varakatnam (transl. Dowry) is a 1969 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by N. Trivikrama Rao under the banner Ramakrishna & NAT Combines and directed by his older brother N. T. Rama Rao. It stars Rama Rao, Savitri and Krishna Kumari, with music composed by T. V. Raju.

Plot

There are two neighbouring villages. "Meesaala" Venkaiah is the head farmer for one village who is high on self-respect and sternness. In the other village, Bhadraiah is a quite confident with little less property. The alliance of Bhadraiah's daughter Sujatha is fixed with Venkaiah's son Devasimha. During the time of the wedding, a troublemaker Acchaiah injects an idea to Venkaiah to demand the dowry before the marriage when Bhadraiah's short-tempered son Balaramaiah becomes furious and quarrels with them. As a result, the wedding is called off, Devasimha is dragged away by his father and the bride starts to cry. After that, both the families plan to make different marriages to the couple which Devasimha opposes. He reaches Sujatha and secretly marries her with the help and blessings of Sujatha's sensible sister-in-law Subhadra. The rest of the story is how Devasimha clears the differences between two families and fights against the dowry system.

Cast

Production

Development

With an urge to play offbeat characters, N. T. Rama Rao converted his theatre troupe, National Art Theatre, into a film production company with his younger brother, N. Trivikrama Rao, as the producer and made Pichi Pullayya (1953), in which Rama Rao played a "have-not". He followed it with another film dealing with an unconventional subject, Todu Dongalu (1954). However, Rama Rao's intentions were not fruitful, forcing him to revert to the folklore genre with Jayasimha (1955) for commercial success. Subsequently, he made many successful films in the same genre. But his desire to make films dealing with contemporary issues remained. He then wrote a story based on dowry as a menace and himself directed the film, titled Varakatnam produced under his home banner, Ramakrishna & NAT Combines. Maddipatla Suri and Samudrala Ramanujacharya were hired to write the dialogues. Ravikant Nagaich was hired as cinematographer, and G. D. Doshi as editor.[1]

Casting

Rama Rao, in addition to directing and writing the story, played the male lead Devasimha, while Krishna Kumari played the female lead Sujatha. The supporting cast of the main plot includes Nagabhushanam as Deva's father "Meesaala" Venkaiah, Savitri as Sujatha's sister-in-law Subhadra, Sathyanarayana as the short-tempered Balaramaiah and Mikkilineni as Balaramaiah's father Bhadraiah. The parallel plot features Suryakantham as the "sharp-tongued" Chukkamma, Relangi as her meek husband Devaiah, Padmanabham as their son Rangaiah and Chandrakala as the couple's daughter-in-law Lakshmi.[1]

Filming

Varakatnam was the first instance that Rama Rao had gone to Tadepalligudem and Tanuku for location shooting.[1]

Soundtrack

Varakatnam
Film score by
T. V. Raju
Released1968
GenreSoundtrack
ProducerT. V. Raju

The soundtrack was composed by Thotakura Venkata Raju.[2][3]

S. No. Song Title Lyrics Singers length
1 "Yanduki Thondara" Kosaraju P. Susheela, Tilakam
2 "Sampradayamidena" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala 4:49
3 "Malle Poola Panditlona" Kosaraju Pithapuram, Jamuna Rani 2:17
4 "Meruputeegelalona" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala, P. Susheela 3:40
5 "Gilakala Mancham" Kosaraju Pithapuram, Jamuna Rani
6 "Puttaloni Nagamma" Kosaraju P. Susheela, Jikki
7 "Sye Sye Jodedla Bandi" Kosaraju Ghantasala, Madhavapeddi Satyam 5:10
8 "Deevenalu" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala, P. Susheela 3:53
9 "Maradala Maradala" C. Narayana Reddy P. Susheela, Jikki 3:18
10 "Evaru Chesina Kharma" Kosaraju Madhavapeddi Satyam 4:20

Release and reception

Varakatnam was released on 10 January 1969.

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c Narasimham, M. L. (8 March 2019). "Varakatnam (1968)". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Array, Varakatnam - All Songs - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn, retrieved 26 July 2019
  3. ^ Varakatnam (songbook) (in Telugu). Ramakrishna & NAT Combines. 1969.
  4. ^ http://dff.nic.in/2011/16th_nff_1970.pdf
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