K. Vishwanath, A Telugu Legendary Director Options

[swarapriya]

K. Vishwanath - A Telugu Legendary Director

Vishwanath is a distinguished director of Telugu film industry who also made himself name with several good Hindi movies. For a long time, he was an assistant to the Telugu film director Adurti Subba Rao (director of “Doli” starring Rajesh Khanna). He got a major break with Annapurna Studio’s home production in 1965 as a director for the film “Aatma Gowravam”. Even though the movie was not a money spinner, it didn’t loose its investments.

From that time onwards Vishwanath started making movies on a regular basis, some of them big hits. But not until 1980’s his full potential was realized. This started with “Shankarabharanam” which dealt with disappearing classical music of India. This movie fetched him President’s Gold Medal as the best picture for that year. In 1985 he made “Saptapadi” which dealt with intercast marriage issues. He also made “Swati Mutyam” the same year that dealt with an adult with a child’s mind and how he deals with struggles in his life. He made a movie in 1986, “Sirivennela”, that dealt with a deaf woman’s relationship with a blind man. The film “Swayam Krishi” made in 1987 dealt with issues related to work attitudes. He continued to make other fine movies through rest of the 80’s and into 90’s. Currently he only makes movies occasionally. Instead he has diverted his efforts into acting.

Some of Vishwanath’s Hindi movies include “Sargam”, “Kaam Chor”, and “Eeshwar”. Altogether he directed 55 movies. Of these 44 were in Telugu, one was in Tamil, and ten were in Hindi. In 1985 alone, he made three Hindi movies and two Telugu movies! His complete filmography as a director is shown below (H is for Hindi and T is for Tamil in the table).

Most of the albums from the period when Vishwanath found his groove and hit the stride are currently available in the marketplace in one form or another. It is the early albums that everyone has problems procuring them. Recently a friend of mine gave several albums including now “never to be found again” LPs that cover some of this early work. I will try to share as much of this music as possible through this thread provided there is enough interest.

Because of the popularity it has gained, and being considered to be a landmark achievement in Telugu cinema history, I will start with uploading songs of “Shankarabharanam” first.

[simplefable]

SP..This is a laudable thread. K.Viswanath is a Genius of a director and his films stand a testimony to his prowess..Sankarabharanam is his Magnum Opus..undoubtedly as it came at a time when Western music started swaying Indian youth..It is very endearing to me..as i saw it in a phase of my life when i immediately connected to that film. I can almost recite the whole film ..dialogue by dialogue. the only one i guess,though i have seen only a couple of times..such was my devotion for that film.
The theaters where it played were empty for the first week...then the rush picked up. In my home town, the film ran for a whole year !!
Immediately after the film, parents started their kids on classical music and dance programs..and even dresses came out with that label " Sankarabharanam dress".
The best dialogue of the film..in my view is when Sankara Sastri says " Music is divine whether it is western or indian. Who are we to deride one form or another ? It is like Perennial river...for all of us to immerse and enjoy and get enriched ".
Whew...can talk endless on this one film.
Unfortunately, Viswanath's films never had that finesse when remade in Hindi....almost all were kind of Southish... Thus ensuring rejection of most of them.
The film Sankarabharanam was made into Hindi as Sur Sangam..starring Girish Karnad. but didnt carry the kind of conviction it had in parent language...
Will keep watching this thread closely..and contribute and enjoy the songs.. Thanks a Zillion !

[swarapriya]

Shankarabharanam (1981)

This was the movie that started director Vishwanath rolling. It had a bold theme where the main character, superbly portrayed by Somayajulu, is deeply tormented with the declining popularity of Indian classical music and the attitude of youth towards such music and the influence of western music. Anyway one can look at it, a movie concieved and made so appealingly based on such idea in itself is worth appreciating. Interesting enough the movie was a huge boxoffice hit!

The movie earned the much coveted President's Gold Medal, first ever to a Telugu movie, for that year. Its music became very popular and even after nearly 28 years, its freshness hasn't diminished a bit. There are so many great songs composed by the maestro K.V. Mahadevan in this movie that one can write in deatil on each one of them. Janaki, Vani Jairam, and Balu (S.P. Balasubrahmanyam) are the principal singers. Many of Janaki's songs take your breath away. But my favorite is Balu's "Shankara". Everytime I listen to this song I get goosebumps. I have been fortunate enough to see Balu perform many times on stage. When he sings this particular song it lets the pondemonium loose. He brings down the entire crowd to their feet with unprecedented appreciative uproar. Such is the power of the great and sweet sound of music ...

Because of the number of songs, I will post these in two separate but back-to-back posts. Here is the first set of songs ...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Jun 3 2009, 12:43 AM

[swarapriya]

Songs of "Shankarabharanam (1981)" Continued ...

Here are the rest of the songs from this classic album from a class movie and an ace director ...

[swarapriya]

Will keep watching this thread closely..and contribute and enjoy the songs.. Thanks a Zillion !

SF, I know I can count on your support. I will be curious to see how it will go ... Cheers. -Swarapriya

[venkat]

Sudigundalu (1967) was directed by Adurti Subba Rao himself and not by KV, if I remember right!

A good effort with one more highly worthy artist, Swarapriya.


Venkat

[venkat]

Songs of "Shankarabharanam (1981)" Continued ...

Here are the rest of the songs from this classic album from a class movie and an ace director ...

For the humorously inclined, I would recommend the above, second 'broche varevaru ra', sung in pop style by this Pattabhi guy!!

[swarapriya]

Sudigundalu (1967) was directed by Adurti Subba Rao himself and not by KV, if I remember right!

A good effort with one more highly worthy artist, Swarapriya.


Venkat

Thank you Venkat. Even though I suspected this, when I check several sites for Vishwanath's filmographies, they all seem to list this as his movie. Probably they are all wrong.

Cheers,
Venkat

[sangeetbhakt]

SP..This is a laudable thread. K.Viswanath is a Genius of a director and his films stand a testimony to his prowess..Sankarabharanam is his Magnum Opus..undoubtedly as it came at a time when Western music started swaying Indian youth..It is very endearing to me..as i saw it in a phase of my life when i immediately connected to that film. I can almost recite the whole film ..dialogue by dialogue. the only one i guess,though i have seen only a couple of times..such was my devotion for that film.
The theaters where it played were empty for the first week...then the rush picked up. In my home town, the film ran for a whole year !!
Immediately after the film, parents started their kids on classical music and dance programs..and even dresses came out with that label " Sankarabharanam dress".
The best dialogue of the film..in my view is when Sankara Sastri says " Music is divine whether it is western or indian. Who are we to deride one form or another ? It is like Perennial river...for all of us to immerse and enjoy and get enriched ".
Whew...can talk endless on this one film.
Unfortunately, Viswanath's films never had that finesse when remade in Hindi....almost all were kind of Southish... Thus ensuring rejection of most of them.
The film Sankarabharanam was made into Hindi as Sur Sangam..starring Girish Karnad. but didnt carry the kind of conviction it had in parent language...
Will keep watching this thread closely..and contribute and enjoy the songs.. Thanks a Zillion !

I am a huge fan of the music in this film. Every song is an amazing composition and impeccably rendered.
Finally, just a couple of days back, I got a copy of the film with sub-titles. Don't know how good or bad
they are since I have not seen the film yet. But I always felt like I missed out on some of the subtleties of
the film since I did not understand every word of it.

SP, couple of corrections to your song/singer list.

• Broche va revaru ra is a duet by Vani and SPB. Vani's rendition is extraordinary, particularly the fast swarams.
• MaaNikya veeNam is a solo by SPB, not a duet.

While Janaki is very good in this film, Vani totally outshines her IMO. Her rendition of "Maanasa sanchara
re" is worth the price of admission.

[simplefable]

SP, couple of corrections to your song/singer list.

• Broche va revaru ra is a duet by Vani and SPB. Vani's rendition is extraordinary, particularly the fast swarams.
• MaaNikya veeNam is a solo by SPB, not a duet.

While Janaki is very good in this film, Vani totally outshines her IMO. Her rendition of "Maanasa sanchara
re" is worth the price of admission.

SB...It is heartening to know that you liked this film inspite of linguistic limitations...I am very happy that you got the DVD with subtitles..Yes, infact the film is full of subtleties..with every character so well defined...even the silences are a part of the script...as any good film.
As you said, Broche varevarura..is a duet..Maanikya veena is a solo..and yes, Vani did a fantastic job.. particularly taking in that her voice is used for the kid in the film.
For sheer comparision..Maanikya veena is also sung by Ghantasala in the film Mahakavi Kalidasu..and i wanted to upload it soon. The rendition of Ghantasala is something fantastic with soaring scales ! It just gives me goosebumps..

here is the youtube link..for Mahakavi Kalidasu..1960 film..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwf3HqBZemE

This post has been edited by simplefable: Jun 2 2009, 09:01 PM

[venkat]

While this Film is being discussed, Allu Ramalingayya's role as Sankarasastry's brother-in-law is unique in that it has refined humor, irony, hurt, reverence, all in one! KV had once gone out of his way to remember and acknowledge Allu's contribution to the Film, in a long interview to TV9!

Allu is the real life father of the much-lesser Allu Aravind, who in turn is the brother in law of the Megastar-in-despair, Chiranjeevi!

In this Film, Allu is also a lawer by profession! Does anyone remember his comic encounter with a hapless client of his? It is so naturally picturised and is my favorite!

Venkat

[simplefable]

Venkat..yes, who can forget those fantastic lines?? " you are the son..your mother has died..and you have two fathers .".. and the client running away..
but seriously, i opine that it is K.V. who resurrected Allu's career with this..

[swarapriya]

SP, couple of corrections to your song/singer list.

• Broche va revaru ra is a duet by Vani and SPB. Vani's rendition is extraordinary, particularly the fast swarams.
• MaaNikya veeNam is a solo by SPB, not a duet.

While Janaki is very good in this film, Vani totally outshines her IMO. Her rendition of "Maanasa sanchara
re" is worth the price of admission.

Thank you very much SB for pointing out my errors. I have made the changes per your suggestiosn.

Cheers,
Swarapriya

[swarapriya]

Sagara Sangamam (1983)

Here is the next movie from Vishwanath which followed his now famous "Shakrabharanam". Of course, "Sangamam" doesn't even come close to the classic but how many films can stake such a claim?

As usually is the case with Vishwanath's movies, this movie also has fantastic music. Ilaiyaraja's music won the National Best Music award. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam's (Balu) songs earned him the National Best Male Singer award. The movie also won host of other awards at the state level.

Kamala Haasan appeared for the first time in this movie for Vishwanath. Later they will come together to make couple of more movies. Vishwanath's knack in selection of the actors here was to showcase Haasan's talent as a trained classical dancer. This Haasan does very well.

The movie also has several songs by Shailaja (Balu's own sister). She also has a major role in the movie. Balu's talent as a singer is on total display in the song "Takita Tadhimi". One of my favorite romantic duet is in this movie, "Mounamelanoyi". Janaki and Balu did such a splendid job.

Here are the songs from this album...

[swarapriya]

Saptapadi (1985)

Here is a movie that is about a couple taking seven steps forward for eternal friendship through a marriage so that they can live together as a united family in love, peace, and harmony. But Vishwanath, the director, takes us one giant step foward based on this concept where age old traditions are broken so that in spite of the marrigae, the vows can be broken so that loved ones can actually come and live together. The girl in question is married to someone she doesn't love. The traditionalist grandparent soon realizes his mistake and decides to break the shackles of age old traditions in bringing the girl and her lover together so that they can walk side by side by taking step after one another.

This is one bold theme. It takes guts to contemplate to make such a movie. But in the wake of the success he enjoyed with "Shankarabharanam", Vishwanath had enough clout to pull this off. This he did magnificently. To back it up the movie has some incredibly memorable songs. Unfortunately, the audience rejected the movie.

Because of the number of songs, I will upload them in two separate posts. Here is the first set ...