Karunamayudu

"Daya Sagar" redirects here. For the television series, see Dayasagar.

Karunamayudu
Directed byA. Bhimsingh
Fr. Christopher Coelho OFM
Written byFr. Christopher Coelho, O.F.M.
Modukuri Johnson (dialogues)
Produced byVijayachander and Rev. Louis F. Knoll, STBC
StarringVijayachander
Sreedhar Surapaneni
CinematographyK. S. Prasad
Edited byPaul Doraisingh
Music byJoseph Fernandez
B. Gopalam
Distributed byRadha Chitra
Release date
  • 21 December 1978 (1978-12-21)
Running time
160 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu

Karunamayudu (transl. Man of Compassion/The Compassionate One; also commonly known as Ocean of Mercy from its titles in other languages) is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language biographical film written and directed by A. Bhimsingh. It stars Vijayachander as Jesus of Nazareth.[1] The film won two Nandi Awards, was notable for two song sequences narrating the Birth of Jesus and Entry into Jerusalem, the film was screened at the International Film Festival of India.[2]

It was followed by Dayamayudu (1987), starring Vijayachander as Saint Paul, which can considered as a sequel to Karunamayudu.[3] A Hindi television series titled Dayasagar aired on DD National, the national public broadcaster, in the 1990s with Vijayachander reprising the role of Jesus Christ.[4]

Production

The film was originally set to be called Raraju Kristu (Christ the King, possibly inspired by Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings) and gained some funding from the Roman Catholic Church in South India.[5]

Reception

The film reportedly performed well at the box office in its initial run.[6]

Role in Evangelism in India

Directed and produced in India, with all-Indian actors, Karunamayudu was seen by many missionaries as one of the most culturally relevant tools for Christian evangelism in India. In India, many of the villagers encounter a story that they are unfamiliar with: the Life of Christ. The gospel is rendered in their cultural context when the film is shown. The film was not considered evangelical upon release, but American evangelicals later promoted the film in India as an evangelical tool.[7] According to Dayspring International, a ministry founded to propagate the film, Karunamayudu was dubbed into 14 Indian languages by 2012.[7]

Cast

Other language titles

  • Hindi - Daya Sagar (Ocean of Mercy)
  • Tamil - Karunamoorthy[8] (The Compassionate One)
  • Kannada - Dayasagara (Ocean of Mercy)
  • Malayalam - Mishihaacharithram (History/Story of the Messiah/Jesus)

Songs

Playback Singers: S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vani Jayaram, V. Ramakrishna

Awards

Nandi Awards[9]

References

  1. ^ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (10 July 2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. ISBN 9781135943189 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ W. Barnes Tatum Jesus: A Brief History -2009 Page 236 "The auspicious moments"
  3. ^ "Some Obscure Paul Films". Bible Films Blog. 4 May 2011.
  4. ^ Peter Malone (12 October 2012). Screen Jesus: Portrayals of Christ in Television and Film. Scarecrow Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-8108-8390-1.
  5. ^ Friesen 2012, p. 123.
  6. ^ Friesen 2012, p. 127.
  7. ^ a b Friesen 2012, p. 122.
  8. ^ பி.எஸ்.எம் (23 December 1979). "கருணா மூர்த்தி". Kalki. p. 32. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  9. ^ "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 21 August 2020.(in Telugu)

Bibliography