Kathanayakudu

Kathanayakudu (“Hero”) is a 1969 Telugu action drama starring N. T. Rama Rao and Jayalalithaa. It was directed by K. Hemambaradhara Rao and produced by K. Gopala Krishna under the Gopala Krishna Productions banner, with music by T. V. Raju. The film was released on 27 February 1969 and runs 171 minutes. It was later remade in Tamil as Nam Naadu (1969) and in Hindi as Apna Desh (1972).

What the story is about

A town is under the thumb of the corrupt Dayanandam, who passes himself off as an honourable man with the help of his associates Satya Murthy and Appadu. Saradhi, a spirited young man, keeps standing up to them, which puts him at odds with his elder brother Srinivasa Rao, an honest employee of Dayanandam. Saradhi falls for Jaya, a fruit seller, and after the rift with his brother forces him out of the house he moves into her labour colony and works for its people. When municipal elections come round, Saradhi takes on Dayanandam directly, and the rest of the film is his fight against the trio.

Cast and crew

• N. T. Rama Rao as Saradhi
• Jayalalithaa as Jayalakshmi
• Nagabhushanam as Dayanandam
• Dhulipala as Srinivasa Rao and T. G. Kamala Devi as his wife
• Mikkilineni as Sathya Murthy and Allu Ramalingaiah as Appadu
• V. Nagayya as Chalapathi Rao
• Mukkamala, Prabhakar Reddy, Padmanabham, Raja Babu, Raavi Kondala Rao, Rama Prabha and Radha Kumari in supporting roles

Director: K. Hemambaradhara Rao. Producer: K. Gopala Krishna. Music: T. V. Raju. Story: Mullapudi Venkata Ramana.

Awards and box office

Kathanayakudu won two Nandi Awards for 1969: the gold award for Best Feature Film and Best Story Writer for Mullapudi Venkata Ramana. Wikipedia describes the film as a blockbuster, but gives no source or figures for that, so treat it as Wikipedia’s claim rather than a documented result.

Where to watch Kathanayakudu (1969)

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

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Kathanayakudu (1969); our own cast and crew records.