Gundamma Katha

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Gundamma Katha (transl. “Gundamma’s story”) is a 1962 Telugu comedy drama directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their Vijaya Productions banner. It brought together N. T. Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao, in Rama Rao’s 100th film and Nageswara Rao’s 99th, with Savitri, Jamuna and Suryakantham as the formidable Gundamma. Partly inspired by Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and officially a remake of the Kannada film Mane Thumbida Hennu (1958), it was released on 7 June 1962, was a commercial success, and is regarded as the last film of Vijaya’s “golden age”.

What the story is about

Gundamma is a rich widow who mistreats her gentle stepdaughter Lakshmi, reducing her to a maid in her own home, while doting on her own spoilt daughter, Saroja. Her scheming half-brother Ghantayya, a milk vendor, quietly wrecks every marriage proposal for Saroja because he wants her for his son, who is in prison. Gundamma plans to marry Lakshmi off to a vagabond and Saroja into a wealthy family. Then Ramabhadrayya, a rich man from Veerapuram and an old friend of Gundamma’s late husband, sees what is going on in the house and decides to set things right: he sends his elder son, Anji, to work in Gundamma’s house as a servant so that he can marry Lakshmi, and his younger son, Raja, to win Saroja. How the two brothers bring Gundamma and her daughter down to earth is the comedy of the film.

Cast and crew

• N. T. Rama Rao as Anjaneya “Anji” Prasad
• Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Raja
• Savitri as Lakshmi
• Jamuna as Saroja
• Suryakantham as Gundamma
• S. V. Ranga Rao as Ramabhadrayya
• Ramana Reddy as Kanchu Ghantayya
• Rajanala as Bhoopati
• Haranath as Prabhakar, Gundamma’s son
• L. Vijayalakshmi as Padma
• Allu Ramalingaiah as Iyer
• Chhaya Devi as Durgamma

Director: Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Producers: Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani. Music: Ghantasala, with lyrics by Pingali. Cinematography: Marcus Bartley. Runtime: 166 minutes.

Making of the film

Nagi Reddi had helped B. Vittalacharya make Mane Thumbida Hennu, and Vittalacharya sold him the remake rights in gratitude; it was the first remake Vijaya had attempted. Chakrapani kept only the family background of the original and rewrote the rest with The Taming of the Shrew in mind, creating Saroja for the film. The title came from studio staff who kept asking how “Gundamma’s story” was coming along. Shooting took nearly a year, largely because the two stars could rarely give bulk dates, and most of it was done on a house set at Vijaya Vauhini Studios in Madras.

Music

Ghantasala’s eight songs, with lyrics by Pingali, were all well received; Ghantasala sang for both heroes, and P. Susheela and P. Leela for Savitri and Jamuna. “Lechindi Nidra”, “Kolu Koloyanna”, “Aligina Velane Choodali” and “Prema Yatralaku” are still loved. M. L. Narasimham of The Hindu wrote that the songs “are being enjoyed even today by music lovers”.

Reviews

Contemporary reviews were warm. Andhra Jyothi wrote on 8 June 1962: “This isn’t Gundamma’s story, rather the story we see everyday – our story.” Krishnanand of Andhra Patrika singled out Suryakantham, who “breathe[s] life into that character”. Later writers have been more critical of the thin writing of some characters. In 2016, Narasimham of The Hindu observed that “with more emphasis on banter in the story, the actors, without straining a nerve, sailed smoothly through their characters”.

Box office and legacy

The film ran 100 days in 17 centres in Andhra Pradesh and celebrated a silver jubilee at the Durga Kalamandir in Vijayawada. A Tamil version shot at the same time, Manithan Maravillai, with Gemini Ganesan in Rama Rao’s role, was a commercial failure, according to the Deccan Herald. Gundamma Katha was later remade in Hindi as Swayamvar (1980). Its influence has been mixed: Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu complained in 2013 about Telugu stories “rehashed since the time of Gundamma Katha”. A planned colourised re-release was shelved over rights problems, as The Times of India reported.

Where to watch Gundamma Katha

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

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Gundamma Katha and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own records.