Sankarabharanam, the Telugu musical drama, was released on this day 42 years ago. The film changed the way people watched Telugu cinema and showcased the industry’s true potential.
After the release, everyone was in awe of it. Even 42 years later, people appreciate musical drama. Initially, the makers had approached actors Krishna Raju and Shivaji Ganesan for the main role but, JV Somayaju was cast as the lead by director K.Vishwanath.
The film was made under the banner of Poornodaya Art Creations by Nageswara Rao and Akasham Sriram. K. Vishwanath did a brilliant job depicting a beautiful love story between the characters. The story was praised not only by Telugu cine lovers but people from all over the country. The characters of Shankara Shastri and Tulsi are still remembered with much love. Vishwanath completed the shooting of the film in 55 to 60 days.
The movie was a big influence on the people and many started learning classical music, inspired by the movie. The movie was shot in Rajahmundry, Raghudevpuram, Polavaram, Ramachandrapuram, Annavaram, Somavarem, Thiruvanmayur in Chennai, Belur in Karnataka, and Halibed.
Sankarabharanam was the first Telugu film to receive the Swarna Kamalam Award. SP Balasubramanian also received the National Award for Best Singer for the first time for this film. In addition to this, the music of the movie was a big hit and Vani Jayaram won the National Award for Best Singer and KV Mahadevan won the National Award for Best Music Director.
The phenomenal work of JV Somayajulu, Manjubhargavi, and Allu Ramalingayya turned Sankarabharanam into a masterpiece.
