Valmiki (1963 Telugu film)

Valmiki
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	C. S. Rao
Written by	Samudrala Sr (dialogues)
Screenplay by	C. S. Rao
Based on	Life of Valmiki
Produced by	S. K. Habeebulla
Starring	N. T. Rama Rao Rajasulochana
Cinematography	M. A. Rehman
Edited by	K. Govinda Swamy
Music by	Ghantasala
Production company	Jupiter Pictures
Release date	9 February 1963 (1963-02-09)
Running time	138 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Valmiki is 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, based on the life of Valmiki, produced by S. K. Habibulla under Jupiter Studios and directed by C. S. Rao. The films stars N. T. Rama Rao, Rajasulochana and music composed by Ghantasala.^[1]
[2][3] Director C. S. Rao and Jupiter Pictures made the film simultaneously in Kannada with the same title starring Rajkumar in the lead role retaining most of the cast and crew.

Plot[]

Raksha (N. T. Rama Rao) belongs to a tribal family of thieves. He attacks a Princess named Kalyani (Leelavathi) and robs her. But Kalyani falls in love with Raksha at first sight and she finds him to be the man of her dreams. At her request, he accompanies her to the palace. The king thanks him for bringing the princess to the palace safely. But, soon, a soldier reveals to the King that Raksha is a robber. The King asks him to change his ways, to which Raksha replies bluntly. After a heated conversation, the king orders to capture him and Raksha fights the soldiers and escapes. While near a river, he is attacked by an arrow of a soldier and Raksha falls into the river from the top of a cliff. Tara (Rajasulochana) rescues him and falls in love with him at first sight. Tara is the daughter of the neighboring village chief. After Raksha gets cured of his injury, he loves Tara too. Kalyani keeps nagging at Raksha to marry her and gets very adamant. So, Raksha and Tara trick Kalyani into thinking that she is a murderer. One day, Tara wishes for Nagaratna Maala (necklace of precious stones of the snake god). His father-in-law tells him that the precious stones might be there in the head of the snakes. Raksha orders his men to cut the heads of all the snakes till they find the stone. They cut many snakes but they do not find anything. Then he comes to know that the necklace is on the neck of the idol Goddess Mahalakshmi in Ayodhya. He desecrates the Lakshmi temple to steal the jewelry, but the necklace vanishes. On his way, Raksha meets the divine sage Narada, who asked him if his family would share the sin he was incurring. Rakha replies positively, but Narada tells him to confirm this with his family. Raksha asks his family, but none agree to bear the burden of sin. Dejected, the robber finally understood the truth of life and asked for Narada's forgiveness. Narada taught the robber the mantra for salvation. But, the mantra in question, the name of Lord Rama, was not to be given to murderers and the like. Narada thus told Valmiki to chant "Mara" the phonetic anagram of "Rama" instead to circumvent this restriction. The robber meditated for many years, so much so that ant-hills grew around him. Finally, a divine voice declared his penance successful, bestowing him with the name "Valmiki": "one born out of ant-hills" (Valmikam in Sanskrit means Ant-hill). He then composes the epic Ramayana.^[3]

Cast[]

• N. T. Rama Rao as Raksha / Valmiki
• Rajasulochana as Taara
• Kantha Rao as Lord Vishnu
• Rajanala as Dundubhi
• Padmanabham as Bhethala
• Mikkilineni as King
• Dr. Sivaramakrishnaiah
• Raghuramaiah as Narada Maharshi
• Leelavathi as Princess Kalyani
• Sarada as Goddess Lakshmi
• Meena Kumari as Patala

Soundtrack[]

Music composed by Ghantasala. Lyrics were written by Samudrala Sr.^[4]

References[]

External links[]

• Valmiki at IMDb