The Classic ‘Pathala Bhairavi’ Completes 70 Years

The 50s are often considered the first golden age of Tollywood with the industry invigorated by the success of classic films like Missamma, Shavukaru, Maya Bazaar, Tenali Ramakrishna, Kanyasulkam, Jaya Bheri and many more. Among them, one movie that lingers in our hearts till today is Pathala Bhairavi. The movie gave a whole new voice to the fantasy genre in Telugu cinemas.

Directed by Kadiri Venkata Reddy and produced by B Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani, Pathala Bhairavi was released in 1951 and the evergreen film completes 70 years now. It was the first Telugu film that ran for 200 days in theatres and became the only film from the Southern Indian film industry to be screened at the first International Film Festival of India in 1952.

The classic performances by SV Ranga Rao and NT Rama Rao along with Pingali Nagendrarao’s phrases grabbed the attention by accessorizing into the Telugu lexicon. NTR as Thota Ramudu, SV Ranga Rao as Nepala Mantrikudu and K Malathi as Indumati, Pathala Bhairavi resulted as a unique slate of classics from genius filmmaker K Venkata Reddy. The film was shot in Telugu and Tamil simultaneously and on the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, CNN-News18 included Pathala Bhairavi in its list of “100 greatest Indian films of all time”.

What makes Pathala Bhairavvi impressive is – it is one of the few films of its kind where you can watch for cinematography, brilliant acting by the stellar cast, fantasy story like never before and production design with imaginative set-ups and technical works. Talking about the cast, NTR, who was one of the early pioneers of Telugu cinemas, have stood as a strong element for the film, portraying every single scene with indelible enlightenment in his eyes.

The cast – NTR, SVR, Relangi and others are nothing short of an embodiment of Telugu people pride and self-respect. Pathala Bhairavi showed the audience back then what a gripping drama actually is and has set new standards for Indian fantasy movies. As of today, the film celebrates its 70th anniversary and a heavy dose of nostalgia have hit hard with the reminiscence of each scene from the film. Pathala Bhairavi certainly left its imprint on the kinds of narratives and character types with the triumph of imagination in the olden days.