Laila Majnu

Laila Majnu is a 1949 Telugu historical romance based on the Sufi legend of Laila and Majnu, produced and directed by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao for his Bharani Pictures banner. Akkineni Nageswara Rao plays Khayas, the lover who becomes “Majnu”, and P. Bhanumathi plays Laila, with music by C. R. Subburaman. Released on 1 October 1949 and made simultaneously in a Tamil version, it was a box-office success, according to The Hindu.

What the story is about

The film retells the old Arab love story. Khayas (Qais) and Laila grow up together, almost as one soul, and their fathers, Amir Zamri and Amir Sarvar, are on friendly terms. As the two families notice how attached their children are, a rift opens between them. Laila’s father takes her away, and Khayas wanders the streets calling her name, mocked by the public as “Majnu”, the madman. Then the Emperor of Iraq arrives in the town, hears the story, and wants Laila for himself. Anyone who knows the legend knows where it is heading; the film follows it faithfully.

Cast and crew

• Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Khayas (Majnu)
• P. Bhanumathi as Laila
• C. S. R. as Rakkin Prabhu
• Siva Rao as Anwar
• Krishnamurthy as Amir Sarvar
• Aarani as Amir Zamri
• K. V. Subba Rao as Kubla Khan
• Sriranjani (Junior) as Zarina
• Hemalatha as Begum
• Surabhi Balasaraswathi as Zohrah

Producer-director: P. S. Ramakrishna Rao. Story, dialogue and lyrics: Samudrala Raghavacharya (Samudrala Sr). Music: C. R. Subburaman. Cinematography: B. S. Ranga. Choreography: Vedantam Raghavayya. Runtime: 169 minutes.

Making of the film

After his first film as a director, Rathnamala, became a hit, Ramakrishna Rao was looking for a subject for Bharani’s next production. He had seen the Hindi Laila Majnu (1945) in Bombay and chose the same legend, arranging a screening of the Hindi film for his wife Bhanumathi and for Nageswara Rao, whom he wanted as the hero. Instead of the veteran cameraman Jiten Banerjee, he gave the camera to B. S. Ranga, then little known; the film became the turning point of Ranga’s career. Sound was designed by V. Srinivasa Raghavan, under whom K. Viswanath, later a celebrated director, worked as an assistant.

The sets drew particular notice. As The Hindu later described it, the palace and garden were built on the studio floor, while a desert with a pond, palm trees and sand dunes was created in the open space between the studio and the recording theatre and filmed at night, an effort that “was reflected in audience’s appreciation of the movie”. The sandstorm sequence is often singled out.

Music

C. R. Subburaman used the same tunes and singers for both the Telugu and Tamil versions. Bhanumathi sang her own songs, and the playback singers included Ghantasala, P. Leela, Jikki and R. Balasaraswathi Devi. The Telugu lyrics are by Samudrala Sr, and his song “Preme Neramouna” is still remembered. The soundtrack was released by AVM Audio.

Other versions

The Tamil version, with dialogue and lyrics by S. D. Sundharam, was released at the same time as the Telugu one. As The Hindu notes, another Tamil Laila Majnu followed in 1950 from F. Nagoor, with T. R. Mahalingam, and the story was filmed again in 1953, 1976 (in Hindi and Bengali) and 1982.

Where to watch Laila Majnu

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for the Telugu version of Laila Majnu on file. Wikipedia links to a copy of the Tamil version on YouTube; we have not checked its rights status.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Laila Majnu (1949) and the articles it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.