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Rudraveena

1988 170’ col Telugu d/s K. Balachander pc Anjana Prod. p K. Nagendra Babu dial Ganesh Patro lyr Seetharama Sastry c P. Raghunanda Reddy m Ilaiyaraja lp Chiranjeevi, Shobhana, Gemini Ganesh, P.L. Narayana, Brahmanandam, Satyanarayana

Reformist Chiranjeevi movie addressing caste in a calculated effort to achieve greater critical respectability for the star (cf. Swayamkrushi, 1987; Apathbandhavudu, 1992). The Brahmin Suryam (Chiranjeevi) is trained in music by his father, the reputed Carnatic musician Ganapathi Sastry (Ganesh). However, the father believes that music constitutes an end in itself, while the son is committed to uplifting the masses. Suryam falls for the Dalit woman Lalitha (Shobhana), but his father’s disapproval forces him to leave home. Suryam becomes a political figure leading campaigns advocating prohibition and starts local cooperative movements. The father is betrayed by his new disciple, who demands to learn a rare raga as a dowry for marrying his daughter. The end has the Prime Minister of the country publicly congratulating Suryam for his actions while the father recants and publicly acknowledges that his son’s ideals were the better ones. The film was awarded the ‘Nargis Dutt National Integration’ award from the national film jury.

Film