Punyavathi

Punyavathi
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	V. Dada Mirasi
Produced by	Vasu Menon
Written by	D. V. Narasa Raju (dialogues)
Screenplay by	V. Dadamirasi
Story by	Dr. Nihar Ranjan Gupta
Based on	Nai Roshni (1967)
Starring	N. T. Rama Rao Krishna Kumari Shobhan Babu
Music by	Ghantasala
Cinematography	Jagirdar
Edited by	K. Narayanan K. Sankunni
Production company	Vasu Studios[1]
Release date	3 November 1967 (1967-11-03)
Running time	148 mins
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Punyavathi is a 1967 Telugu drama film, produced by Vasu Menon under the Vasu Studios banner^[2] and directed by V. Dadamirasi.^[3] It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Krishna Kumari and Shobhan Babu in the lead roles,^[4] with music composed by Ghantasala.^[5] The film was a remake of the Hindi movie Nai Roshni (1967).

Plot

Professor Krishna Rao (S. V. Ranga Rao) is a great educationist. During his youth, he loves a woman named Parvathi (Pandaribai) and gets married to her. The couple has a son Prakash (N. T. Rama Rao) and due to some dire circumstances, their family gets separated. After the sincere search for his lost wife and son, Krishna Rao marries another woman Padmavathi (Bhanumathi Ramakrishna) eventually. This couple has two children Shekar (Shobhan Babu) and Chitra (Jyothi Lakshmi). Along with these kids, Krishna Rao adopts a friend’s daughter Shanti (Krishnakumari). Padmavathi is an irresponsible woman who neglects family life and goes to clubs and parties. To make things worse, she makes Chitra accustomed to this lifestyle. As a result, Chitra falls for a wrong man Ramesh (Haranath), gets pregnant and commits suicide when she gets cheated. Sekhar gets shattered with his sister’s unfortunate demise and becomes a heavy drunkard in the rice mill where he works. He roams around with fellow industry workers in search of affection and love. Meanwhile, Parvathi takes care of her son well and he becomes a lecturer, but he grows up with hatred towards his father. Incidentally, Prakash takes guidance from Professor Krishna Rao not being aware that the latter is his father. Prakash even falls for Shanthi who stays in the Professor’s house and as time passes by, a great bonding of respect forms between Prakash and Krishna Rao. The saddened parents Krishna Rao and Padmavathi become bedridden with Chitra’s death and with Shanti’s good words, Sekhar comes to the family’s rescue. He unites the family with great difficulty and the film ends happily when Krishna Rao and Padmavathi realize the greatness of Punyavathi- none other than his first wife Parvathi.^[6]

Cast

• N. T. Rama Rao as Prakash
• Krishna Kumari as Shanti
• Shobhan Babu as Shekar
• S. V. Ranga Rao as Professor Krishna Rao
• Bhanumathi Ramakrishna as Padmavathi
• Chittor V. Nagaiah
• Haranath as Ramesh
• Allu Ramalingaiah
• K. V. Chalam
• Pandari Bai as Parvathi
• Jyothi Lakshmi as Chitra
• Radha Kumari

Soundtrack

Music composed by Ghantasala. Lyrics were written by C. Narayana Reddy. Music released by Audio Company.

References