Todu Dongalu

1954 142’ b&w Telugu d Yoganand p N.T. Rama Rao pc National Art Theatres s/lyr Samudrala Ramanujam c M.A. Rehman m T.V. Raju lp N.T. Rama Rao, Gummadi Venkateshwara Rao, T.G. Kamaladevi, Hemalatha, Chalam, Rita, A. Pundarikakshayya, Sivaramakrishnaiah

Realist drama which helped define the image of Telugu megastar and politician NTR. He plays Paramesam, the corrupt manager of the Annapurna Rice Mills, in league with the owner Lokanatham (Gummadi). As a result of the brutal working conditions, the starving and unpaid worker Ramudu dies. The nasty duo get rid of Ramudu’s body and claim he committed suicide. However, Paramesam feels guilty and, when another worker helps him when he is ill, joins the workers demanding that the factory pay compensation to Ramudu’s family. Eventually Paramesam becomes the owner of the mill and the workers share in its prosperity. NTR’s first production flopped but is sometimes presented as a predecessor of the realist 70s New Indian Cinema in Telugu.

Film