Lakshmi Nivasam

Lakshmi Nivasam (“The Abode of Lakshmi”) is a 1968 Telugu family drama directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao and written by Aarudra, a remake of the Kannada film Dudde Doddappa (1966). S. V. Ranga Rao, Anjali Devi, Krishna, Vanisri, Sobhan Babu and Bharathi star, with music by K. V. Mahadevan. It was released on 19 July 1968.

What the story is about

Subbaiah grew up poor and became rich through hard work, and his one wish is that his children should never know the poverty he did. Instead his wife Sarada, sons Chandram and Raju and daughter Kalpana have become shallow and materialistic. The last straw comes when Sarada throws a lavish party for her pet dog. Subbaiah teams up with his former employee Gopal and Gopal’s children, Anand and Asha, to teach his family a lesson and bring them to their senses.

Cast and crew

• S. V. Ranga Rao as Subbaiah
• Anjali Devi as Sarada
• Krishna as Chandram
• Bharathi as Kalpana
• V. Nagayya as Gopal
• Sobhan Babu as Anand and Vanisri as Asha
• Ram Mohan as Giri, Padmanabham as Rajasekharam and Chadalavada as Gangaiah, with Vijayalalitha

Director: V. Madhusudhana Rao. Writer: Aarudra. Producer: T. Govindarajan. Music: K. V. Mahadevan. Cinematography: V. Ramamurthy. Art direction: S. Krishna Rao. Editing: K. Satyam.

Making the film

B. R. Panthulu’s Padmini Pictures and S. Krishnamurthy’s Venus Pictures had leased Vijaya Studios for a spell of continuous production, and Venus chose to remake Panthulu’s Kannada film in Telugu under the joint banner Venus-Padmini Combines. Bharathi and Vanisri repeated their roles from the Tamil remake, Namma Veettu Lakshmi (1966); Bharathi had also been in the Kannada original. The song “Dhanameraa Annitiki Moolam” was filmed at Vijaya Studios on sets designed to look like an outdoor location.

Box office

Lakshmi Nivasam was a commercial success, according to The Hindu’s retrospective of the film; no figures are given.

Where to watch Lakshmi Nivasam

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

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Lakshmi Nivasam and The Hindu’s retrospective it draws on, linked above; our own cast and crew records.