Sankarabharanam

Śankarabharanam
Directed by	K. Viswanath
Produced by	Poornodaya Movie Creations
Written by	K. Viswanath Jandhyala (dialogues )
Starring	J.V. Somayajulu Manju Bhargavi Chandra Mohan
Music by	KV Mahadevan
Cinematography	Balu Mahendra
Release dates	January 1979 (1979-01) (India)
Running time	137 min
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Śankarabharanam (Telugu: శంకరాభరణం, English: Shankara's ornament) is a 1979 blockbuster, Telugu film, directed by K. Viswanath and produced by Poornodaya Movie Creations. The soundtrack, composed by KV Mahadevan, led to an increase in usage of Indian classical music in Indian cinema. The film is listed among CNN-IBN's list of hundred greatest Indian films of all time.^[1]

The film is considered to be one of the best films to emerge from Telugu film industry, having won four National Film Awards and five Nandi Awards, and showcased at many international film festivals, especially the Indian panorama of the 8th International Film Festival of India in 1980, and Moscow Film Festival.^[2][3] The film has also won the Prize of the Public at the Besancon Film Festival of France in the year 1981.^[4]

Plot

The movie starts with an introduction by Viswanath, "Sisurvetti pasurvetti, vetti gana rasam phanihi (Music is enjoyed equally well by babies, animals and even snakes). We hope you appreciate our effort in bringing you the 'Jeeva Dhara' (Lifestream) of Indian classical music."

"Śankarabharanam" Śankara Śastri is a very popular Carnatic singer. He is immersed in sangeeta rasaamruta (Nectar of Music) with his nirantara saadhana (uninterrupted practice). People come in huge numbers to listen to his voice and consider him a great man. He has mastered the raga Śankarabharanam and hence is eponymous with the same. Tulasi, (Manju Bhargavi) is a prostitute's daughter who has great interest in music and dance. She is also an admirer of Śastri and learns music from him when he used to teach his own daughter along the riverside. But her mother wants her to become a prostitute to earn money. One day a rich client of her mother's rapes Tulasi. He insults Śastri saying that now that he is done with Tulasi, she could go and flirt with Śastri all she wanted. Enraged by the disgrace towards Śastri, her guru, she kills the client. Śastri tries to save her by consulting his lawyer brother (Allu Ramalingaiah), who wins the case in Tulasi's favour and her mother is sent to jail.

Then Śastri brings her to his home where other people insult him, as Tulasi is a murderer and daughter of a prostitute, while Śastri is a devout Brahmin. Tulasi moves out of his house as she does not want him to be insulted because of her but hopes to show her gratitude towards him.

Ten years have passed, pop music is now popular in India and Śastri loses his classical music audience. He now lives in a small house with his grown up daughter. When Tulasi comes to know of Śastri's plight she tries to help him financially but gives the money through someone else. Tulasi inherits all of her mother's property and utilizes all of it to help him. She also asks her son to go to Śastri's home and learn classical music from him. After managing to get an entry to Śastri's home, he starts learning Carnatic music from the maestro.

Chandra Mohan, a dilettante, falls in love with Śastri's daughter. Although Śastri rejects the alliance at first, he later agrees after learning of the man's interest in classical music. Tulasi then arranges for a concert on the day of Śastri's daughter's wedding, where Śastri finds his lost audience return to hear his voice. Śastri sings at the concert and halfway through it suffers a heart attack and finds his new disciple, Tulasi's son, take over the concert from him. As he watches him with pride, he also sees Tulasi and finds out that the boy is indeed, Tulasi's son. After the performance, he symbolically anoints the boy as heir to his music. Tulasi comes to her guru and falls down at his feet. The film ends with death of both Śastri and Tulasi on the stage.

Cast

Reception

Box office performance

• The film released in only one theatre and opened to empty hall.^[5] But it later turned out to be the biggest hit of 1980 and also one of the legends of Telugu industry owing to the positive feedback from the audience.
• The film had a 216-day run at Royal theatre, Hyderabad.^[6]
• The success of this film triggered a sequence of classical films in Telugu, including Saptapadi, Tyagayya (by Bapu), Meghasandesam (by Dasari N. Rao), and Viswanath's own follow-ups: Saagara Sangamam, Sruthi Layalu, Swarna Kamalam, Sirivennela, and Swati Kiranam.^[7]
• The original Telugu version was screened across Kerala with overwhelming response. Though there is a huge difference between Telugu and Malayalam, the wave created by this movie in Kerala was commendable.
• It was remade in Hindi as Sur Sangam (1986) with Jayaprada.^[7]
• The film was dubbed in Tamil and Malayalam.

Critical response

• Film critic Gudipoodi Srihari called it as the best Telugu film he has seen after Mayabazar.^[5]

Awards

Soundtrack

The music, largely Carnatic based, was composed by K.V. Mahadevan. Mangalampalli was the original choice for the male playback singer, due to the heavy classical content of the compositions. But K.V. Mahadevan, having faith in the mettle of S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, insisted on him taking up this challenge.

References

External links

• Śankara Bharanam - a review of the film from the Telugu film site idlebrain.com
• Sankarabharanam at the Internet Movie Database