Premalu Pellillu story at a glance

Premalu Pellillu was the first film to have ANR- Sarada as a pair and one of the last films of Jayalalitha in Telugu Film career. While Sarada acted in many films paired opposite ANR after this film, Jayaliatha acted only in one film Nayakudu Vinayakudu released in 1980. This film is based on a novel of same name written by Madireddy Sulochana and features Sarada and Jayalalitha in strikingly opposite roles.

Story Details:
Dr.Madhu (ANR) is an idealist and has a great appreciation for life. Indira (Jayalalitha) belongs to an affluent family and naturally has the tendency of getting what she wants with determination. She gets Madhu fall in love with her and they both spend time in a relaxing manner. The topic of marriage arrives but Madhu’s mom doesn’t like the alliance because Indira belongs to a different caste. But Madhu takes a step forward and marries Indira. After Indira enters Madhu’s house as his wife, everything dramatically changes. Indira’s lavish lifestyle with parties, money spending and modernity is not approved by Madhu. He tries to explain the same to Indira but the latter doesn’t listen.  Things get serious when both think of filing a divorce. Sadly, the couple already has two kids and at this juncture Indira leaves her in laws house heartlessly leaving even her kids. Madhu gets devastated with it and becomes mentally ill. He takes sleep inducing injections in order to forget the troubles. The kids are left unnoticed despite having parents and family. It is when Madhu’s sister Saroja (Geethanjali) introduces her friend Anuradha (Sarada) to him. Saroja convinces Madhu to marry Anuradha and gets it done. But Madhu finds it difficult to have a happy life with Anuradha. However, Anuradha is a confident woman who keeps her loneliness aside, looks after the kids well and earns a good name in the family along with Madhu. She transforms him to a normal individual and meanwhile Indira realizes her mistake but it is already late.

Performances:
ANR is perfect as the idealist doctor, a sincere lover and a troubled family man later. His acting during the emotional sequences is a treat to watch. Jayalalitha is fantastic as the arrogant Indira and her natural acting makes us believe that she is really the character. Sarada gets a challenging role as the second wife to the hero and does a phenomenal job opposite a stalwart like ANR. Geethanjali is adequate as the sister of the hero.

Technical Aspects:
Athreya does wonders to this story high on emotional quotient and based on a novel. The dialogues which talk about relationships and sensitivity were brilliantly written. Music by M.S.Vishwanathan is highly engrossing and songs like Chiliki Chiliki Chilipi Vayasu (Suseela- Ramakrishna duet), Manasulu Murise Samayamidhi (Suseela- Ramakrishna), Manasu Leni Devudu Manishikendhuko Manasicchadu (Ramakrishna’s solo), Evaru Neevu Nee Roopamedhi became good hit. This is an interesting film because in the era of Color films, it was made in Black and White. Direction by V.Madhusudana Rao is at its masterful perfection.

Cast and Crew:
Dr.Madhu- ANR
Indira- Jayalalitha
Anuradha- Sarada
Saroja- Geethanjali
Base Story- Madireddy Sulochana (Premalu Pellillu- Novel)
Dialogues –Athreya
Lyrics- Athreya, Dasaradhi, Dr.C.Narayana Reddy
Music- M.S.Vishwanathan
Producer- D. Bhaskara Rao
Direction- V. Madhusudana Rao
Banner-Sri Lakshmi Productions
Release Date- 12^th January 1974