Lava Kusa (1963)

For the sons of Rama, see Lava and Kusha

Lava Kusa (also spelled as Lava Kusha) is a 1963 Telugu and Tamil mythological film directed by C. S. Rao and his son Chittajallu Pullayya. The film's script was written by Samudrala Raghavacharya. The film was produced by Shankar Reddy under Lalita Sivajyothi films. The film is bilingual, shot in both Telugu and Tamil with the same title, but with slight differences in the cast. The film was a remake of 1934 film of same name which was also directed by C. Pullaiah. The story is an adaptation of the Uttara Kanda from Ramayana. It revolves around the roles of Lava and Kusa, sons of Rama (N. T. R.) and Seetha (Anjali Devi). The Telugu version stars Kanta Rao, Shoban Babu, S. Varalakshmi, Kaikala Satyanarayana in supporting roles, replaced in that order by M. R. Radha and Manorama in the Tamil counterpart.

Production began in 1958 but was stopped due to financial constraints. When it restarted, C. Pullaiah's health was deteriorating, so his son C. S. Rao took over. The soundtrack features 27 songs, with the musical score primarily composed by Ghantasala and KV Mahadevan, and the lyrics by Vempati Sadasiva and Samudrala Raghavacharya (Telugu) and Maruthakasi (Tamil). The film has won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that year. It was also dubbed in Kannada, and later in Hindi in 1974.

Synopsis

This movie is based on Uttara Kanda which is the later part of Ramayana written by Valmiki Maharshi. It depicts the lives of Lava and Kusa, the sons of Rama and Sita. The story depicts Sri Rama Pattabhishekam and about the brief period of Rama Rajyam, Rama sending Seeta exile on hearing the accusations of a washerman, Birth of Lava and Kusha, their visit to Ayodhya, Ashwamedha Yagna and conflict between Rama and his sons and Pattabhishekam of Lava and Kusha and Rama finally ending his Avatar.

Actors