Sri Madvirata Parvam

Sri Madvirata Parvam is a 1979 Telugu Hindu mythological film produced and directed by N. T. Rama Rao under his Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner. Based on the Virata Parva of the Mahabharata, it has Rama Rao in five roles: Krishna, Duryodhana, Arjuna, Brihannala and Kichaka. Vanisri plays Draupadi and Nandamuri Balakrishna Abhimanyu, and Susarla Dakshinamurthi composed the music. It was released on 28 May 1979 and runs 155 minutes.

What the story is about

The Pandavas have survived twelve years of exile and now begin the thirteenth, which they must spend in hiding under false identities. Krishna advises them to take refuge in the Matsya kingdom of King Virata, whose support they will need in the war to come, but warns them of Virata’s brother-in-law Kichaka, a friend of Duryodhana. So Dharmaraja becomes the courtier Kankubhattu, Bhima the cook Valala, Nakula a groom and Sahadeva a cowherd, while Draupadi enters the queen’s service as the maid Sairandhri. Arjuna, the most easily recognised of them, turns a curse once laid on him by the celestial dancer Urvashi into a disguise, becoming Brihannala, a dance teacher to Princess Uttara. The film follows the year in hiding as Kichaka grows suspicious of the newcomers and Duryodhana’s camp schemes to find them.

Cast and crew

• N. T. Rama Rao as Krishna, Duryodhana, Arjuna, Brihannala and Kichaka
• Vanisri as Draupadi
• Nandamuri Balakrishna as Abhimanyu
• Satyanarayana as Bhima and Ghatotkacha
• Prabhakar Reddy as Dharma Raju and Mukkamala as Virata
• Mikkilineni as Bhishma, Dhulipala as Shakuni and Rajanala as Drona
• Mada as Uttara Kumara, Prabha as Satyabhama and Vijayalalitha as Urvashi

Producer and director: N. T. Rama Rao. Music: Susarla Dakshinamurthi (soundtrack on EMI Columbia).

Background

The film followed the blockbuster success of Rama Rao’s Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977), in which he had played three roles, and is a colour remake of the 1966 film Nartanasala, in which he also played Arjuna. We have no box-office figures or contemporary reviews for Sri Madvirata Parvam from a named outlet.

Where to watch Sri Madvirata Parvam

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for Sri Madvirata Parvam on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Srimad Virata Parvam; our own cast and crew records.