Classic film Sankarabharanm has bagged a rare honour. The film has been chosen under ‘Restored Indian Classics’ at the 2022 International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. Going into details, the National Film Archives of India have taken an initiative of digitalising the classic Indian films and storing them. As part of this drive, they have selected Telugu classic film Sankarabharanm directed by K Viswanath and produced by Edida Nageswara Rao under Poornodaya Art Creations.
Sankarabharanam won four National Film Awards including the Best Film with Mass Appeal, Wholesome Entertainment & Aesthetic Values, the first for a South-Indian film at the 27th National Film Awards, and seven state Nandi Awards. The film won several accolades and laurels.
The musical drama film starred JV Somayajulu and Manju Bhargavi in the lead roles. Released on 2nd February in 1980, the film opened to near-empty halls and by the end of the first week, all theaters were houseful for every show. The film had an extraordinary run, running for more than 25 weeks in many centers.
Released in Bangalore without dubbing it ran for a year. It was later dubbed into Tamil and Malayalam under the same title. The Malayalam dub went on to run for over a year in theatres. Subsequently the film was remade in Hindi as Sur Sangam directed by K Viswanath himself.