Why is it an Epic film?
A Telugu Farmer household has Seed Bags, sounds of anklets, and agricultural tools. But a Telugu Farmer’s life has bugs like wrongdoings of pawn brokers and enormous debts which can never be fulfilled in their lifetime. Apart from these they also have affections, love, and relationships as fresh as a new drizzle of a season. Shavukaru showcased these three aspects beautifully and convincingly on the silver screen- that is why it is an Epic!
The decade of 1950 is a crucial period for Telugu Cinema. That era saw new actors, producers and directors. At a time when India became newly independent, Telugu Cinema could gain appreciation of every class of audience. The films were based on our own troubles and issues like affections, and happiness-sadness changes in life. One such film which made justice to such themes is Shavukaru. Vijaya Productions- the great production house which gave unforgettable films to Telugu Cinema began its tenure with this film. Nagireddy and Chakrapani- the pioneers of Vijaya Productions took Vahini Studios for lease and wanted to give it some work instead of leaving it idle. They selected L.V.Prasad, a competent director who worked for Mana Desam previously.
Storyline:
A Telugu Village. Farmer Ramayya and interest broker Chengaiah are neighbors. Ramayya has a son Narayana, daughter in law Santhamma and a young daughter Subbulu who is of marriageable age. Chengaiah has only one son Satyam who studies in town. These two families are quite friendly with each other. Subbulu and Satyam are perceived as made for each other by everyone in the village. Right at the moment when the friendship between two families is supposed to change to a relationship –the story changes. Chengaiah’s father builds a philanthropist home and makes arrangements to suit it for poor people’s need. But in Chengaiah’s regime it transforms to a commercial zone and place for controversies. The villagers realize that it is happening due to the selfish nature of Chengaiah.
With Narayana’s help the youngsters in the village question Shavukaru Chengaiah. With this incident, the friendship between Ramayya and Chengaiah family breaks and becomes enmity. Satyam, who returns to the village for holidays, feels sad for the new happenings. An angry Chengaiah drags Ramayya’s family to the roads. He demands those debts which were given by him to Ramayya in friendly manner previously. He throws a legal case on Ramayya’s son Narayana and the latter is jailed. He even sets the agricultural fields on fire with the help of his rowdy assistant Sunnam Rangadu. The rift between these two families becomes a huge issue for the village. What would be the solution for this? How does the friendship gain back between Ramayya and Chengaiah families? After the marriage of Subbulu and Satyam how do the things change? After all these questions are answered the film ends.
Casting:
Raithu Ramayya was played by Sri Vatsava and Chengaiah role was adorned by Govindaraju Subbarao. The role of Narayana was played by Vallabhajosyula Sivaram (Who later became a great sound engineer), Shantakumari played Shantha and “Shavukaru” Janaki debuted in the role of Subbulu. Sr.NTR played the role of lead hero Satyam and SVR played the role of rowdy Sunnam Rangadu. Relangi, Madhavapeddi Satyam, Joga Rao and so on are seen in remaining roles.
After a small length role in Mana Desam, it was in this film Sr.NTR was featured as a full length hero for the first time in Telugu Cinema. Though he was booked for Palletoori Pilla as a hero along with ANR, Shavukaru was released 20 days before it was released! SVR- who did not taste success with his first film Varodhini and left for Jamshedpur for job played a small role in Mana Desam and with L.V.Prasad’s encouragement, he gave life to the role of Sunnam Rangadu in Shavukaru and casted a spell on Telugu Audience. Shankaramanchi Janaki, who debuted with this film as a heroine had the film’s name beside hers forever.
Crew and Technical Department:
The story was penned by Chakrapani. Though they initially considered Athreya , who was already earning good name in stage play writing, Chakrapani himself wrote the dialogues for the film. Samudrala Senior wrote the lyrics and Ghantasala brilliantly composed the songs. “Palukaraadate Chilaka”, “Emanene Chinnari Emanene” are pleasant to hear even till date. Marcus Bartley’s photography is another highlight of the film.
Shavukaru was released on April 7th 1956. Though it couldn’t be commercially successful, it earned the appreciation of critics as one of the greatest films in the history of Telugu Cinema.
