Malliswari

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Malliswari is a 1951 Telugu historical romance produced and directed by B. N. Reddi under his Vauhini Studios banner, starring P. Bhanumathi and N. T. Rama Rao as childhood sweethearts separated by a royal custom of the Vijayanagara Empire. Written by the poet Devulapalli Krishnasastri, with music by S. Rajeswara Rao, it was released on 20 December 1951. It started slowly at the box office but succeeded on re-release, became the first Telugu film screened in China, and is now counted among the great classics of Indian cinema.

What the story is about

Under the Vijayanagara custom of “Rani Vasam”, young women chosen by the court were taken to live in the palace, their families showered with gold in return, and they were forbidden any contact with men; breaking the rule meant death. In the village of Veerapuram, cousins Nagaraju and Malliswari have been inseparable since childhood, much to the annoyance of Malliswari’s mother, Nagamma, who looks down on Nagaraju’s poor family. One rainy night the two shelter in a mandapa where King Krishnadevaraya and the poet Allasani Peddana, travelling incognito, are struck by Malliswari’s singing and dancing. Nagaraju leaves to make his fortune as a sculptor so that Nagamma will accept him, but before he can return, a palanquin arrives to take Malliswari to the palace. What the lovers risk to see each other again is the rest of the film.

Cast and crew

• P. Bhanumathi as Malliswari
• N. T. Rama Rao as Nagaraju
• Sreevatsa as Krishnadevaraya
• Kumari as Tirumaladevi
• T. G. Kamala Devi as Jalaja, Malliswari’s maid
• Nyapathi Raghava Rao as Allasani Peddana
• Rushyendramani as Nagamma
• Doraiswamy as Narappa
• Surabhi Kamalabai as Govindamma
• Vangara Venkata Subbaiah as Hanumanthappa

Producer-director: B. N. Reddi. Script and lyrics: Devulapalli Krishnasastri. Music: S. Rajeswara Rao, orchestrated by Addepalli Ramarao. Cinematography: Adi M. Irani and B. N. Konda Reddy. Art direction: A. K. Shekar. Runtime: 194 minutes.

Making of the film

B. N. Reddi conceived the film while shooting his debut, Vande Mataram (1939), at Hampi, where he decided to make a film about Krishnadevaraya. The script drew on Buchi Babu’s play Rayalavari Karunakruthyamu and, as Krishnasastri revealed after Reddi’s death, on Devan Sharar’s short story The Emperor and the Slave Girl, as The Hindu has recounted. Reddi first screen-tested the Kannada actress Revathi but chose Bhanumathi, an experienced actress with a fine voice, though the two clashed over her punctuality. According to Bhanumathi, the childhood pranks between the lovers came from Reddi’s own memories. The production took two years.

Music

Rajeswara Rao’s 19 songs, all with Krishnasastri’s lyrics and sung by Bhanumathi for her character, were a critical and commercial success. “Manasuna Mallela”, “Akasa Veedhilo” and “Parugulu Teeyaali” are still remembered; the last was adapted for “Hey Pillagada” in Fidaa (2017). The writer Aarudhra praised the sound design, noting that in one rain scene “even the flutter of the towel on Nagappa’s shoulder is heard clearly”.

Release and reception

The film had a tepid start and underperformed on first release, then did much better when Reddi re-released it, according to Idlebrain and Cinegoer. Reddi said it grossed over ₹8 lakh, a huge sum at the time. It was shown at the Peking film festival, the first Telugu film screened in China. Baburao Patel of Filmindia called it an “inspiring motion picture”, and M. L. Narasimham of The Hindu later described it as “an all-time classic of which the Telugu film industry is proud”, praising Bhanumathi’s “natural acting and mellifluous renditions”. Idlebrain credits its success with reviving N. T. Rama Rao’s career. In 2013, CNN-IBN included it in its list of the 100 greatest Indian films.

Where to watch Malliswari (1951)

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for the 1951 Malliswari on file. A planned colourised version was shelved over rights issues, as The Times of India reported.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Malliswari (1951 film) and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own records.