Mayabazar story at a glance
There have been some fictional stories which don’t belong to the original Epic Mahabharata dealing with Sasirekha- Abhimanyu love story, Ghatotkacha’s magic wonders which were made into stage plays. There was a film named Mayabazar with the same story sequence in the year 1936. The same story was re-made by Pingali Nagendra rao and K.V.Reddy into a timeless masterpiece in the year 1957. This Mayabazar released in 1957 is every Telugu person’s pride and it was rated as one of the best Indian Films of all time.
Story Details:
During the Forest Exile period of Pandavas, Arjuna sends his wife Subhadra(Rushyendramani) and son Abhimanyu(ANR) to her parents’ house in Dwaraka where Lord Krishna (Sr.NTR) and his brother Balarama (Gummadi) rule. Balarama’s daughter Sasirekha (Savitri) and Abhimanyu are childhood friends and dream of being together for the rest of their lives. Their parents make a promise about the alliance the moment Sasirekha is born. But as things take a turn, Pandavas lose their kingdom and riches which makes Sasirekha’s mother Revathi (Chaya Devi) refuses for the alliance and plans to get Sasirekha married to Lakshmana Kumar (Relangi), son of Duryodhana (Mukkamala).
Unable to bear the insult, Abhimanyu leaves Dwaraka along with his mother – but Lord Krishna plans something very different in store. He directs the chariot driver to take Abhimanyu and his mother to Ghatotkacha(SVR)’s abode for rescue. The rest of the film is about how Ghatotkacha plans to break the alliance between Sasirekha and Lakshmana Kumar under the eternal guidance of Lord Krishna.
Performances:
Sr.NTR is the star of the film. He played Lord Krishna with unmistakable ease and perfect histrionics. Mayabazar is one film which took him to the pinnacle of acting skills. His portrayal of Lord Krishna is so believable that the audience would feel it is indeed Lord Krishna who came back to life in his appearance! ANR plays the young Abhimanyu with perfection and his chemistry with Savitri is another highlight. Savitri plays Sasirekha wonderfully, and her changed body language as Ghatotkacha coming in disguise as her is another highlight of the film.
SVR is legendary as Ghatotkacha in almost every frame he appears. The aggression, comedy timing, and amazing dialogue delivery makes it clear about SVR's amazing perfection in any role he plays!
Mukkamala is excellent as Duryodhana and veteran actor CSR generates great laughter as Shakuni, along with some cunning ideas. Relangi is at hilarious best as Lakshmana Kumar, the funny bride groom for Sasirekha who gets pranked by Ghatotkacha – an entertainment galore!
The film is well equipped with stars like Chaya Devi, Rushyendramani, Suryakantham, Ramana Reddy, Allu Ramalingaiah and so on., making it a perfect epic.
Technical Aspects:
Dialogues by Pingali Nagendra rao are crisp and thought provoking. Though it is based on mythological background, the film speaks on larger topics such as Family bonding, Money’s influence on people, and relationships. Music by Ghantasala is phenomenal and every song in the film speaks for itself. No Telugu Audience can forget the songs like Choopulu Kalasina Subhavela, Neevena Nanu Talachinadhi, Bhali Bhali Deva, Vivaha Bhonjanambu and Aha Naa Pellanta! K.V. Reddy’s rock steady direction is another asset of the film. It is interesting to note that versatile director of Today- Singeetham Srinivasa Rao worked as assistant director for this film.