Pandava Vanavasam

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Pandava Vanavasam (“The Exile of the Pandavas”) is a 1965 Telugu Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao, written by Samudrala Sr. and produced by A. S. R. Anjaneyulu under the Madhavi Productions banner. Drawn from the Mahabharata, it stars N. T. Rama Rao as Bheema, Savitri as Draupadi and S. V. Ranga Rao as Duryodhana, with music by Ghantasala. It was released on 14 January 1965 and runs 198 minutes.

What the story is about

The Pandavas have just completed the Rajasuya sacrifice and thanked Krishna for his help. Duryodhana, still smarting from his humiliation in the Mayasabha, is consoled by his uncle Sakuni, who proposes a game of dice with Dharmaraju. Dharmaraju gambles away his kingdom, his wealth, his brothers and finally Draupadi, who is humiliated before the court, and after losing a second game the Pandavas are sent into exile. The film then follows episodes from their years in the forest: Bheema’s meeting with Anjaneya as he seeks the Sowgandhika flower for Draupadi, Duryodhana’s attempts to mock the exiles, Saindhava’s designs on Draupadi, and the comic affair of Sasirekha’s wedding, in which Bheema’s son Ghatotkacha plays a starring part.

Cast and crew

• N. T. Rama Rao as Bheema
• Savitri as Draupadi
• S. V. Ranga Rao as Duryodhana
• Gummadi as Dharmaraju, M. Balayya as Arjuna and Prabhakar Reddy as Karna
• Kantha Rao as Krishna and Mudigonda Lingamurthy as Sakuni
• Mikkilineni as Dussasana and Rajanala as Saindhava
• Satyanarayana as Ghatotkacha, Haranath as Abhimanyu and L. Vijayalakshmi as Sasirekha
• V. Nagayya as Vidura, Dhulipala as Chitrasena, Mukkamala as Durvasa and Rushyendramani as Gandhari
• Padmanabham, Ramana Reddy, Allu Ramalingaiah and Vanisri, with Rajasulochana and Hema Malini as dancers

Director: Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Writer: Samudrala Raghavacharya. Producer: A. S. R. Anjaneyulu. Music: Ghantasala (soundtrack on Saregama).

Behind the film

Hema Malini made her Telugu debut here with a dance in the “Ghosha Yatra” sequence, performed for Duryodhana and his entourage. K. Raghavendra Rao, who went on to direct more than 100 films, started out as an assistant director to Kamalakara Kameswara Rao on this film.

Reception and box office

According to The Hindu’s 50th-anniversary look back, the film was praised for its storytelling and performances, especially Rama Rao’s Bheema, with its changed dialogue delivery and body language, and the work of Ranga Rao, Gummadi and Savitri. It was a major commercial success, running 100 days in 24 centres and 175 days in several theatres, and was among the highest-grossing Telugu films of its time; it has reportedly been re-released around 20 times. It opened a week after Naadi Aada Janme, which shared its lead trio.

Where to watch Pandava Vanavasam

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

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Pandava Vanavasam and the report it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.