Lava Kusha

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Lava Kusa (also spelled Lava Kusha) is a 1963 Telugu mythological film directed by C. Pullayya and his son C. S. Rao and produced by A. Sankara Reddy under Lalita Sivajyothi Films. A remake of Pullayya’s own 1934 film, it tells the later part of the Ramayana through Lava and Kusa, the twin sons of Rama and Sita, with N. T. Rama Rao as Rama and Anjali Devi as Sita. Ghantasala composed most of its 27 songs. Released on 29 March 1963, it was the first full-length colour film in Telugu cinema, ran for 75 weeks, grossed more than ₹1 crore and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.

What the story is about

The film is based on the Uttara Kanda, the later part of the Ramayana attributed to Valmiki. It opens with Rama’s coronation and the brief golden age of his reign in Ayodhya. When a washerman’s accusations about Sita’s chastity reach Rama, he sends her into exile. In the forest, Sita gives birth to the twins Lava and Kusa, and the film follows the boys as they grow up and, in time, find their way to Ayodhya.

Cast

• N. T. Rama Rao as Rama
• Anjali Devi as Sita
• Master Nagaraju as Lava and Master Subrahmanyam as Kusa
• Chittoor V. Nagayya as Valmiki
• Kantha Rao as Lakshmana, Kaikala Satyanarayana as Bharata and Sobhan Babu as Shatrughna
• P. Kannamba as Kausalya and S. Varalakshmi as Bhudevi
• Sando Krishna as Anjaneya and Dhulipala as Vasishtha
• Relangi as the washerman, and Ramana Reddy and Suryakantham as Valmiki’s disciple and his wife

How it was made

Sankara Reddy wanted to make a Ramayana film with Rama Rao and Anjali Devi after seeing them as Rama and Sita in a song from his earlier film Charana Dasi (1956), and approached Pullayya, who was already planning to remake his 1934 Lava Kusa. Vempati Sadasivabrahmam wrote the script, staying close to the original screenplay and dialogue. The decision to shoot in colour sent costs up, and after work began in 1958 production stalled for financial reasons with about a third completed. According to The Hindu, five years later Sunderlal Nahata agreed to fund it in return for distribution rights and B. Nagi Reddi provided studio facilities; by then Pullayya was unwell, and on B. N. Reddi’s suggestion his son C. S. Rao took over. The film was made in Telugu and Tamil at the same time, with some cast changes. Kusa was played by Viyyuri Subrahmanyam, spotted in the same role in a play in Kakinada, who was nine when filming started and 14 when the film came out. Because the climax was shot first, the boys looked older in scenes filmed later. Rama Rao wore the crown from Charana Dasi after none of the new ones suited him.

Release and box office

The Telugu version opened on 29 March 1963 and the Tamil version on 19 April 1963. According to The Times of India, it was released in 26 centres and ran 100 days in all of them; overall it ran 100 days in 62 centres and 175 days in 18, grossing more than ₹1 crore. Idlebrain.com and IndiaGlitz report an uninterrupted run of 75 weeks, a record in Telugu cinema. The film was later dubbed into Kannada and, in 1974, into Hindi.

Legacy

Lava Kusa is regarded as a classic of Telugu cinema. In 2007 M. L. Narasimham of The Hindu named it among the significant works of Telugu cinema alongside Mala Pilla, Malliswari and Mayabazar, and actor-writer Ravi Kondala Rao has called it one of the cult films that defined the industry. Rama Rao’s Rama became iconic, and he returned to the role in several films over the next two decades. In 2011 director Bapu retold the story as Sri Rama Rajyam, starring Rama Rao’s son Nandamuri Balakrishna.

Where to watch Lava Kusa

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for Lava Kusa on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Lava Kusa and the articles it cites, linked above; Wikidata; our own cast and crew records.