Subhalekha
Subhalekha (Wedding Invitation) is a 1982 Telugu comedy drama film, produced by Allu Aravind and V. V. Sastry under the Prasanthi Creations banner and directed by K. Viswanath. It stars Chiranjeevi and Sumalata in the lead roles, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film was recorded as a Super Hit at the box office.
| Subhalekha | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | K. Viswanath |
| Produced by | Allu Aravind V. V. Sastry |
| Written by | Gollapudi Maruti Rao (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | K. Viswanath |
| Story by | K. Viswanath |
| Starring | Chiranjeevi Sumalata |
| Music by | K. V. Mahadevan |
| Cinematography | Lok Singh |
| Edited by | G. G. Krishna Rao |
Production company | Prasanthi Creations |
Release date |
|
Running time | 139 mins |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
It was the first time they worked together; after this success, they went on to make two more movies: Swayamkrushi in 1987 and Aapadbandhavudu in 1992. The film was made at a time when Chiranjeevi had started getting lead actor roles and followed the immensely successful film Intlo Ramayya Veedilo Krishnayya. After making Saptapadi, in which he dealt with the social stigma of the caste system, K. Viswanath followed up with this film in which he dealt with the social malady of the dowry system and is inspired by famous writer Gurazada Venkata Apparao's work Kanyasulkam. The film is the debut of famous actor Subhalekha Sudhakar, his character in the film became so popular that after that, he has been credited with this feature title before his name.
Plot
Narasimha Murthy (Chiranjeevi) is a multi-talented person who works as a waiter in a star hotel, (filming location: Dolphin Hotel, Visakhapatnam) since he is unable to pass his B.A. exams. He meets Sujatha (Sumalata), a lecturer who works in a college run by councilor Ankella Adiseshayya (Satyanarayana). Mohan (Girish), who is an engineer and elder son of Adiseshayya, comes to Sujatha's place with his father for a marriage proposal. During this, Sujata stands up and has an argument with Adiseshayya when the latter demands exorbitant amounts as dowry. This creates a rift between Sujata and her parents who fear that this act of Sujatha might ostracize them from society. Adiseshayya also dismisses Sujatha from her job.
During this difficult phase, Murthy, as a friend, provides solace to Sujatha; their relationship is mistaken as an affair and Sujatha is forced to leave her home. Murthy creates a big ruckus during the felicitation function of Adiseshayya and humiliates him. Adiseshayya retaliates by hiring goons to beat up Murthy and also gets him dismissed from his job.
Left with no choice, Murti takes Sujatha to Hyderabad and meets Rao (Arun), whom he had met during the latter's stay in the hotel where Murti worked. Rao, who is in a senior post in Allwyn, hires Sujatha. Back home, Lakshmi (Tulasi), younger sister of Sujatha, falls in love with Murali (Subhalekha Sudhakar), who is the younger son of Adiseshayya. Murali threatens his father with suicide and forces his father to let him marry Lakshmi. Left without a choice, Adiseshayya, who had dreamed of getting a lot of dowries since his son is a doctor accepts the proposal with the very little dowry. After marriage, Lakshmi leaves to Sujatha's place where Murthy arranges for a marriage between Sujatha and Rao. Lakshmi, with consent from her husband, files a suit against Adiseshayya to surrender his son, Murali to her since she paid for him during her marriage to teach Adiseshayya a lesson. Seeing this notice, Adiseshayya, his son, and Lakshmi's parents come to Hyderabad just before Sujatha's marriage. The climax deals with how Adiseshayya is taught a lesson and also ends with the marriage of Murthy and Sujata as per the wishes of the latter. Adiseshayya returns home to find that his elder son Mohan had married the widowed cousin of Murthy.
Cast
- Chiranjeevi as Narasimha Murthy
- Sumalata as Sujatha
- Satyanarayana as Ankella Adiseshayya
- Allu Ramalingaiah as Lawyer Chillara Bhavani Sankaram
- Ramana Murthy as Jagannatham
- Subhalekha Sudhakar as Murali
- Rallapalli as Gurnadham
- Sakshi Ranga Rao as Bhavanarayana
- Girish as Mohan
- Arun as Rao
- Potti Prasad as Server Subba Rao
- Vankayala Satyanarayana as Principal Challeswara Rao
- Hemasundar as Hotel Properter Bhatt
- C.H.Krishnamurthy as Srinivasa Rao
- Jeet Mohan Mitra as Kesava Rao
- Krishna Chaitanya
- Dham as Peon
- Tulasi as Lakshmi
- Pushpakumari as Sujatha's mother
- Anupama as Satyavathi
- Malini
- Nirmalamma as Narasimha Murthy's grandmother
Crew
- Dialogues: Gollapudi Maruti Rao
- Lyrics: Veturi Sundararama Murthy and Annamayya
- Music: K. V. Mahadevan
- Playback singers: SP Balu, S. Janaki, P. Susheela, S. P. Sailaja & Poornachander Rao
- Choreographer: Parupalli Seshu
- Assistant Music Director: Puhalendi
- Art: Thota Tharani
- Cinematography: Lok Singh
- Editor: G. G. Krishna Rao
- Producers:Allu Aravind & V. V. Sastry
- Story - Screenplay - Director: K. Viswanath
- Production Company: Prasanthi Creations
- DVD release: S.V. Entertainments
Soundtrack
| Subhalekha | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 26:54 | |||
| Label | SAREGAMA Audio | |||
| Producer | K. V. Mahadevan | |||
| K. V. Mahadevan chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. Music released on SAREGAMA Audio Company.
| S. No. | Song Title | Lyrics | Singers | length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ayithe" | Veturi Sundararama Murthy | SP Balu | 4:24 |
| 2 | "Vinnapaalu Vinavale Vintavintalu" | Annamayya | S. Janaki | 3:24 |
| 3 | "Neyyamulallo" | Annamayya | SP Balu | 4:07 |
| 4 | "Raagala Pallakilo" | Veturi Sundararama Murthy | SP Balu, P. Susheela | 4:25 |
| 5 | "Nee Jada Kucchulu Naa Medakucchulu" | Veturi Sundararama Murthy | SP Balu, S. Janaki | 4:45 |
| 6 | "Oho Taddhimi Takajhanu" | Veturi Sundararama Murthy | S. Janaki, Poornachander Rao | 4:19 |
| 7 | "Marugelaraa O Raaghavaa" | Tyagaraja | S. Janaki | 1:30 |
Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Chiranjeevi (for 1st time) | Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actor | Won |
| 1982 | K. Viswanath | Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu | Won |
Reception
- The movie was very well received by both critics and audiences and did very well at the box office and perhaps would have done even better if it had been released a bit later: It was released within five weeks of Intlo Ramayya Veedilo Krishnayya which was running very successfully at that time.
- Was remade into Hindi as Shubh Kaamna (1983) by actor Rakesh Roshan who played the role played by Chiranjeevi in the direction of K. Viswanath. Rakesh Roshan had earlier remade Subhodayam into Hindi as Kaamchor.