Vedantam Raghavaiah

Vedantam Raghavaiah (Telugu: వేదాంతం రాఘవయ్య) (8 June 1919 – 1971) was an Indian film choreographer, method actor, Kuchipudi exponent, musician, director and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and Tamil cinema.[1][2][3][4][5] Raghavaiah was an accomplished Kuchipudi dancer, who was awarded "Bharata Kala Prapurna" in dance by the Andhra Pradesh government. Raghavaiah served in the committee of the First General Council of the "Andhra Pradesh Sangeeth Nataka Academy" that represented Dance and was also nominated in 1964 as the President of the "National Dance Festival". Noted dancer, Bhagavathula Yagna Narayana Sarma, Sangeet Natak Akademi winner was trained under Raghavaiah's Fellowship.[6][5]

Vedantam Raghavaiah
Born(1919-06-08)8 June 1919
Kuchipudi, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India
Died1971
OccupationFilm director
Film producer
Screenwriter
Choreographer

Raghavaiah was the co-owner of the film production house "Vinodha Pictures", starting his career as a dance master,[7] he choreographed for films such as Raithu Bidda, and Swarga Seema, which was screened at the "Vietnam Film Association". Regarded as one of the pioneers of romantic tales, Raghavaiah, made his directorial and production debut with Stree Sahasamu (1951). He then directed successful films such as Devadasu (1953), Annadata (1954), Anarkali (1955), Chiranjeevulu (1956), Bhale Ramudu (1956), Prema Pasam (Tamil, 1956), Suvarna Sundari (1957), Rahasyam (1967).[8] As an actor he starred in Mohini Rukmanigada (1937), Garuda Garvabhangam (1943) and Raksharekha (1949).[9][6]

Film craft and Devadasu

His directorial Devadasu (1953),[3] which was the first Telugu adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel, and Devadas was the second Tamil adaptation of the same, following the 1937 Devadas directed by and starring P. V. Rao.[10] During pre-production Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who portrayed the titular character, later recalled that Vedantam, being a Kuchipudi dance exponent and an experienced stage actor, used to enact the scenes before the actors, thereby making their job easy. He recalled that the director shot him only at night so that he could give the character a "drunken, droopy" look.[11] Those night-time shots were filmed over 50 days. The final length of both versions was 17,260 feet (5,260 m).[12] Devadasu and Devadas are regarded as among the most successful films in Telugu and Tamil cinema respectively. Both versions were critically and commercially successful. It has since achieved cult status, with terms and phrases from the film being widely cited.[13] In April 2013, CNN-News18 included the film in its list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time".[14]

Theater and dance
  • Usha in Ushaparinayam
  • Sita in Ramanataka Yakshaganam
  • Leelavathi in Prahallada Yakshaganam
  • Chandramathi in Hrischandra nataka Yakshaganam
  • Sasirekha in Sasirekhaparinaya Yakshaganam
  • Mohini in Mohini Rukmangada Yakshaganam
  • Satyabhama in Bhamakalapa Yakshaganam
  • Bala Gopala Tarangam[5]

Personal life

Raghavaiah was born in Kuchipudi, Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh on 8 June 1919 to Vedantam Ramayya and Annapurnamma. He had six daughters and a son including, actress Shubha. He was married to actress Suryaprabha, the sister of actress Pushpavalli who was partner to Gemini Ganeshan, and their daughter Rekha is a Hindi actress.[5]

Selected filmography
As actor and choreographer
  • Mohini Rukmanigada (1937) (actor in the Balagopala Tarangam)
  • Raitu Bidda (1939) (dancer and choreographer)
  • Seeta Rama Jananam (1942) (choreographer)
  • Panthulamma (1943) (choreographer)
  • Garuda Garvabhangam (1943) (actor and choreographer)
  • Swargaseema (1945) (choreographer)
  • Tyagayya (1946) (choreographer)
  • Palnati Yudham (1947) (choreographer)
  • Yogi Vemana (1947) (choreographer)
  • Vande Mataram (1948) (choreographer)
  • Laila Majnu (1949) (choreographer)
  • Raksharekha (1949) (actor and choreographer)
As director
  • Stree Sahasamu (1951) (producer and director)
  • Shanti (1952) (producer and director)
  • Devdas (Telugu and Tamil) (1953) (producer and director)
  • Annadata (1954) (director)
  • Anarkali (1955) (director)
  • Chiranjeevulu (1956) (director)
  • Bhale Ramudu (Telugu, 1956) (director)
  • Prema Pasam (Tamil, 1956) (director)
  • Suvarna Sundari (1957) (screenplay writer and director)
  • Bhale Ammayilu (Telugu, 1957) (director)
  • Iru Sagodarigal (Tamil, 1957) (director)
  • Manalane Mangayin Bhagyam (1957) (director)
  • Raja Nandini (1958) (director)
  • Intiguttu (1958) (director)
  • Bala Nagamma (1959) (director)
  • Jai Bhawana (1959) (director)
  • Adutha Veetu Penn (1960) (director)
  • Mamaku Tagga Alludu (1960) (director)
  • Runanubandham (1960) (director)
  • Swarnamanjari (1962) (director)
  • Mangayir Ullam Mangada Selvam (1962) (director)
  • Aada Brathuku (1965) (director)
  • Nanna Kartavya (1965) (director)
  • Badukuva Daari (1966) (director)
  • Sati Sakkubai (1965) (director)
  • Rahasyam (1967) (director)
  • Sati Sumati (1967) (director)
  • Kumkumabharina (1968) (director)
  • Sapta Swaralu (1969) (director)
  • Ulagam Ivvalavuthan (1969) (director)
  • Bhale Ethu Chivaraku Chittu (1970) (director)
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References
  1. Narasimham, M. L. (31 October 2010). "Ramadasu (1933)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  2. Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (10 July 2014). "Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema". Routledge – via Google Books.
  3. bggnp. "The Hindu : Memories of the Southern Devadas". www.hinduonnet.com.
  4. Vedantam Raghavaiah on IMDb
  5. ""Bharata Kala Prapurna" Sri Vedantam Raghavaiah «  Kuchipudi Yakshaganam". kuchipudiyakshaganam.org.
  6. Gulazāra; Nihalani, Govind; Chatterjee, Saibal (9 November 2017). "Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema". Popular Prakashan – via Google Books.
  7. "A tribute to legend Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma - Sridharachari". www.narthaki.com.
  8. M. L. Narasimhan (28 August 2014). "Anarkali (1955)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  9. Narasimham, M. L.; Narasimham, M. L. (3 March 2013). "STREE SAHASAMU (1951)" – via The Hindu.
  10. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 331; Baskaran 1996, p. 116.
  11. "The Hindu : The immortal lover". The Hindu.
  12. "1953 வெளியான படங்களின் விபரம்- Lakshman Sruthi - 100% Manual Orchestra -". www.lakshmansruthi.com.
  13. Sastry, K. N. T. (1986). Alanati Chalana Chitram. Cinema Group. Archived from the original on 16 May 2000.
  14. "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time". CNN-News18. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
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