Devadasu (1953)

Devadasu is a 1953 Indian bilingual romance film directed by Vedantam Raghavaiah and produced by D. L. Narayana under Vinodha Pictures. Released initially in the Telugu language, based on Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novel, Devdas. The soundtrack was composed by C. R. Subburaman.

The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil (as Devadas) with slightly different casts. The Telugu version features Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Savitri, and Lalitha in the lead roles with S. V. Ranga Rao, Seetarama Anjaneyulu, Dorasamy and Surabhi Kamalabai playing supporting roles. M. N. Nambiar, Sachu and Chandrakumari played supporting roles respectively in the Tamil version. C. R. Subbaraman composed the film's music. The film was edited by P. V. Narayanan, while B. S. Ranga provided the cinematography. The film is the inaugural recipient of the Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu.

The film focuses on Devadasu and Parvathi, who were in love since childhood. Parvathi's father objects to the relationship and forces her to marry a middle aged zamindar. Unable to cope up with the failure, Devadas turns into a drunkard and rest of the film is about whether Devadas meets Parvathi or not. Devadasu released on 26 June 1953 and Tamil version released three months later. Both versions were critically and commercially successful. The Telugu version has since have achieved cult status, with terms and phrases from the film being widely cited. Both versions proved to be a major breakthrough in Nageswara Rao's career. The Telugu version is listed among CNN-IBN's list of hundred greatest Indian films of all time.

Synopsis

Devadasu, son of Ravulapalle zamindar Narayana Rao (S. V. Ranga Rao), and Parvati, daughter of his not-so-rich neighbour Neelakantham (Doraswamy) are childhood friends. The zamindar enrolls his son in a boarding school in the city. The grown-up Devadasu (Akkineni Nageswara Rao) returns to the village after his education. His childhood friendship with Parvati now turns into love.

Actors