| Swarnakamalam | |
|---|---|
Bhanupriya - Giridhar Pottepale painting |
|
| Directed by | K. Viswanath |
| Produced by | V. Appa Rao |
| Written by | Sainath |
| Starring | Venkatesh Bhanupriya Sharon Lowen Sakshi Ranga Rao 'Shanmukha' Srinivas |
| Music by | Ilayaraja |
| Cinematography | Lok Singh |
| Release date(s) | 15 July 1988 |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
Swarna Kamalam or Swarnakamalam (Telugu: స్వర్ణ కమలం; English: The Golden Lotus) is a 1988 critically acclaimed Telugu film written and directed by K. Viswanath. It stars Venkatesh and Bhanupriya in the lead roles. The original soundtrack was composed by Ilayaraja. The film was showcased among the Indian panorama section at the 1988 International Film Festival of India.[1] Swarna Kamalam is rated as the ninth best Viswanath film by the Telugu film website Fresh and Rotten.
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Meenakshi (Bhanupriya) and Savitri (Devilalitha) are daughters of a Kuchipudi doyen, Seshendra Shastry. While a highly accomplished artiste in his field, Seshendra Shastry is not well-off and has not been able to afford his daughters a conventional education. Both of them have achieved a respectable degree of proficiency — Savitri in Carnatic classical music and Meenakshi in classical dance. Savitri is grateful for her knowledge and interest, and looks forward to a life that will require her to hone her skills in the same art. Meenakshi, on the other hand, is bitter about the lack of opportunity that she feels in the field of classical dance in India and resolves to make a simpler and more pleasurable life for herself as soon as possible, while confiding her ambitions only to her sister.
Chandrasekhar (Venkatesh) is a tenant who has just moved in next door. He is a painter and is shown to be handling movie promotions as a large chunk of his work. He develops an interest in the neighbours and tries to help them in whatever way he can, partly because of his (unconfessed) interest in Meenakshi and partly because of his interest in the art which seems to be slowly fading away from public life.
The rest of the film is largely built around on Meenakshi's personal journey from skepticism to devotion in her pursuit of dance. Chandrasekhar is shown to be an important catalyst in this transformation. Meenakshi becomes an accomplished dancer and gets an opportunity to go abroad. She learns of Chandrasekhar's love for her. She doesn't go abroad and finally unites with Chandrasekhar, confessing her love for him as well.
The high quality of the choreography in the song sequences demanded locations that were spread across the country. They include Puri in Orissa, the Himalayas, the stupa at Sanchi, Vishakapatnam, and others.