- The First Telugu Film to be screened at an International Film Festival.
- The Film that had a comeback of the brilliant actress Bhanumathi, even after she quit films and got married.
- The Film that introduced eminent cinematographer Marcus Bartley and legendary singer Ghantasala to Telugu screen.
- All the above epic moments are accredited to a single film, Swargaseema.
After producing films like Vandemataram, Sumangali, Devatha and Bhakta Pothana, Vahini Pictures produced Swargaseema, which is one of the epic movies in Telugu Cinema. The inspiration for the director B. N. Reddy, came from Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and Rita Hayworth’s Hollywood film Blood and Sand. B. N. Reddy took help from writer Chakrapani who was then busy translating the works of Bengali writer Sarath Babu. He discussed the story line with Chakrapani, who wrote the dialogues and the script for the film. But then, BN. Reddy faced the real problem! Who can fit aptly in the role of the heroine? The moment BN. Reddy decided on the story, he had only Bhanumathi in mind. But, Bhanumathi was married by then and was leading a life as a housewife. BN. Reddy had no second thoughts of casting anyone except Bhanumathi and was even ready to call off the whole project! Finally, actor Linga Mutrhy and writer Samudrala Senior convinced Bhanumathi to act in Swargaseema. That’s was how Bhanumathi happened to act in a negative role, which is a perfect blend of absolute beauty and terrific performance, starting her second innings with Swargaseema.
Story Summary:
Murthy (Nagaiah) is an editor of a newspaper, happily married to Kalyani (Gubbi Veeramma), leading quite a good life. Once he goes on a visit to his in-laws village and there he happens to see the beautiful and charming Subbalkshmi (Bhanumathi). He sees the hidden talent in Subbalakshmi and encourages her to join a famous Drama Company in Madras and advises the same to her father, providing him with the company’s address and details. Here comes the twist in the story! Subbalakshmi undergoes a dramatic transformation as a lead heroine and turns into a glamorous modern lady Sujatha. Murthy once again happens to meet Sujatha (Subbalakshmi) regarding an article. He eventually falls for her beauty and neglects his family. His wife Kalyani stands on her own feet and takes care of her children. Time passes, Murthy learns from his mistakes, leaves Sujatha and finally realizes that nothing is more important than family.
Behind the Screen:
The songs in the film were written by Samudrala Senior and Balanthrapu Rajnikanth, which were very popular during those days. Music was composed by Nagaiah and Ogirala Ramachandra Rao. The song O Pavurama is regarded as the best song in Bhanumathi’s career. Also, in the duet O O Na Raja, Gantasala sang his first ever lines of his career, Are Ho Le Vennela Chirunavvula. These lines were enacted by CH. Narayana Rao on screen. With all the unique aspects, Swargaseema went about creating success waves not just in Andhra Pradesh, but also in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. In Bangalore, it ran for 200 days in a theatre. The film was released on June 6th, 1945.
