Poola Rangadu (1967 film)

Poola Rangadu
Poola Rangadu
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Adurthi Subba Rao
Written by	Ranganayakamma (dialogues)
Screenplay by	Adurthi Subba Rao
Story by	Mullapudi Venkata Ramana
Based on	Beyond This Place; by A. J. Cronin
Produced by	D. Madhusudhana Rao
Starring	Akkineni Nageswara Rao; Jamuna; Sobhan Babu; Vijaya Nirmala
Cinematography	P. S. Selvaraj
Edited by	T. Krishna
Music by	S. Rajeswara Rao
Production; company	Annapurna Pictures
Release date	24 November 1967;
Running time	165 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Poola Rangadu is a 1967 Indian Telugu-language crime thriller film, produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under Annapurna Pictures and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao and produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jamuna, Sobhan Babu, Vijaya Nirmala, with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. The film, loosely based on A. J. Cronin's novel Beyond This Place, was released on 24 November and became a box office success. It was remade in Tamil in 1970 as En Annan and in Hindi in 1972 as Jeet.^[1]^[2]

Plot

The film begins with breezy & jovial Ranga Rao, well-known as Poola Rangadu, whose livelihood is pulling a horse cart and is in love with a plucky Venkata Lakshmi. In childhood, his father, Veerayya, used to work as a manager at a mill owned by Purushotham, who was slaughtered by his sly partners Dharma Rao & Chalapati and incriminated Veerayya, leaving his children Ranga & Padma as orphans. However, Ranga stands alone and raises his sibling under the light of affection. Besides, Dharma Rao & Chalapati grow big shots and pose as respectable. Presently, Padma loves and espouses Dr. Prasad, who happens to be Purshotham's son. Knowing it, Narasimhulu, brother of Venkata Lakshmi, keeps a grudge as he aspires to marry Padma and divulges the fact to Prasad's mother. Hence, Padma is necked out despite being pregnant. Knowing it, furious, Ranga beats Narasimhulu and gets one year of imprisonment. In jail, Ranga meets his father, Veerayya, learns the truth, and decides to prove his innocence. Time passes, Ranga is acquitted, and by that time, Padma gives birth to a baby boy. Upon his release, Ranga plants himself in Dharma Rao's house, cooking up a rift between miscreants until the truth is finally revealed. At last, Veerayya is proven guiltless; Prasad takes Padma back. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the marriage of Ranga & Venkata Lakshmi.

Cast

Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Ranga Rao^[2]
Jamuna as Venkata Lakshmi^[2]
Sobhan Babu as Dr. Prasad^[2]
Vijaya Nirmala as Padma^[2]
V. Nagayya as Veeraiah^[2]
Gummadi as Dharma Rao^[2]
Allu Ramalingaiah as Police Punaiah
Padmanabham as Bujji
Chalam as Narasimhulu
Bhanu Prakash as Chalapathi^[2]
Suryakantham as Baby
Malathi as Prasad's mother^[2]
Geetanjali as Lilly
Radha Kumari as Punaiah's wife^[2]

Production

Producer D. Madhusudhana Rao sought to work on the adaptation of the A. J. Cronin novel Beyond This Place, on the suggestion of Gollapudi Maruti Rao. He hired Mullapudi Venkata Ramana to write the story taking a basic plot point from the novel while Ranganayakamma provided the dialogues. Prisons scenes were shot at real locations at Chanchalguda and Musheerabad Central Prisons in Hyderabad with the permission of the state government. Though the film was predominantly shot in black-and-white, the "Nee Jilugu Paita" song sequence alone was in colour.^[2]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by S. Rajeswara Rao.^[3]

Song Title	Lyrics	Singers	length
"Neetiki Nilabadi Nijayiteega"	Kosaraju	Ghantasala	4:13
"Neevu Raavu Nidura Raadu"	Dasaradhi	P. Susheela	3:49
"Nee Nadumupaina Cheyi Vesi"	C. Narayana Reddy	Ghantasala, P. Susheela	3:50
"Chigurulu Vesina Kalalannee"	C. Narayana Reddy	P. Susheela, Mohan Raju	4:11
"Chillara Rallaku Mokkutu"	Kosaraju	Ghantasala, V. Nagayya	3:24
"Misamisalade Chinadana"	C. Narayana Reddy	Ghantasala, P. Susheela	3:59
"Siggenduke Pilla"	C. Narayana Reddy	Madhavapeddi Satyam, Vasantha	3:18
"Eyra Sinnodeyra"	C. Narayana Reddy	P. Susheela	3:49
"Burrakatha"	C. Narayana Reddy	Ghantasala. P. Susheela	6:08

Release and reception

Griddaluru Gopalrao of Zamin Ryot, in his review dated 1 December 1967, criticised the film for its poor direction and performances.^[4] The film ran for more than 100 days in 11 centres in Andhra Pradesh.^[5]

Awards

Mullapudi Venkata Ramana won the Nandi Award for Second Best Story Writer (1967).^[6]

References

^ APK (11 October 2007). "Poolarangadu (1967)". CineGoer. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Narasimham, M. L. (6 July 2018). "Poola Rangadu (1967)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
^ "Poolarangadu (1967)-Song_Booklet". Indiancine.ma. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
^ Gopalrao, Griddaluru (1 December 1967). "అభిప్రాయం: పూల రంగడు" [Opinion: Poola Rangadu] (PDF). Zamin Ryot (in Telugu). p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
^ Ram (14 January 2007). "Sobhanbabu's 100 Days Films List". CineGoer. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
^ "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF) (in Telugu). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2020.