Chandraharam is a 1954 Telugu-Tamil bilingual swashbuckler film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao in his debut. It was produced by Nagi Reddy-Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri and Sriranjani Jr., with music composed by Ghantasala.[1] The film was not commercially successful.[2][3]

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Chandraharam
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kamalakara Kameswara Rao L. V. Prasad (Supervision)
Written by	Pingali Nagendra Rao (story / dialogues / songs) Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass (Tamil)
Produced by	Nagi Reddy Chakrapani
Starring	N. T. Rama Rao Savitri Sriranjani
Cinematography	Marcus Bartley
Edited by	Jambulingam
Music by	Ghantasala
Production company	Vijaya Productions
Release date	6 January 1954 (1954-01-06)
Running time	174 minutes
Country	India
Languages	Telugu Tamil

Plot

The film begins in the kingdom of Chandana Desam. Its king was blessed with a baby boy with the boon of Lord Chandra which he named Chandanraju. Chadan was born with a necklace called Chandraharam and his life is preserved in it. At the age of five, Chandan was sent to Maali for education and was raised in his care of him. Chandan is obligated to get married lest his life is in danger, hence his parents procure portraits of neighboring princesses. All the while, Chandan has a dream girl and wants to marry her. The king asks Maali to search for such a girl and sends Chandan to tour the country. Chandan's brother-in-law Dhoomekatu is greedy for the kingdom and wants to break his marriage. He sends Niksheparayudu behind him. Niksheparayudu detects Chandan's dream girl Gauri in a village. Niksheparayudu cleverly manages Gauri's stepmother and hides Gauri there. Gauri's father disapproves of this proposal and sends away Gauri secretly. Chanchala, an angel, is infatuated with Chandan but he refuses. She snatches his Chadraharam and says he will be alive only in the night. Chanchala's sister Achala notices Gauri in an unconscious state and takes her to Chandan. Maali performs their marriage. Dhoomketu threatens the king to get him crowned, to which the helpless king agrees. During this time, Niksheparayudu notices Gauri at Maali's house. Maali takes Gauri and hides her inside a temple. Meanwhile, Chanchala gets angry at Chandan as he has left for the palace, so she kills him. Dhoomketu orders to keep Gauri also on the funeral pyre. Finally, Gauri's devotion and willpower bring Chandan back to life. Chanchala is cursed by Lord Indra by stripping her supernatural powers. Dhoomekatu and Niksheparayudu also realize their mistake. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the crowning ceremony of Chadanraju.

Cast

• N.T. Rama Rao as Prince Chandan
• Savitri as Chanchala
• Sriranjani Jr. as Gauri
• S. V. Ranga Rao as Mali
• Relangi as Dhumaketu
• R. Nageswara Rao
• Padmanabham
• Balakrishna
• K. V. S. Sarma
• Joga Rao
• Suryakantham
• Rushyendramani as Maridamma

Music

Music was composed by Ghantasala. Lyrics were written by Pingali Nagendra Rao. Music released on Audio Company.

Tamil songs

Lyrics by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass. Arud Jyothi Daivam is a Thiruvarutpa by Vallalar Ramalinga Swamigal. Playback singers are Ghantasala, N. Lalitha, K. Rani, P. Leela, M. Sathyam and A. P. Komala.[4]

Production

The film was produced by Nagi Reddy and Chakrapani under the banner Vijaya Pictures simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. This is the directorial debut for Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. The cinematography was by Marcus Bartley. Chakrapani wrote the story while Pingali Nagendra Rao wrote the dialogues and lyrics for the Telugu version.[1]

Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass wrote the dialogues and lyrics for the Tamil version.[4]

References

External links

• Chandraharam at IMDb
• Chandraharam songs at Raaga.com