Unique and outstanding…..

This gem and an all time outstanding example of creative genius was a frequently asked question during my quizzing days. The song first. https://youtu.be/tqtG3xtyXW8

For the quiz question, it would be either of two: 1) Identify the movie and 2) Identify the music director. The answers were Suvarnasundari, and Adi Narayan Rao.

We have been brought up to believe (undoubtedly due to the cultural hegemony of Bollywood) that movies made in the Hindi Language are original and are then remade into several other languages. The Film industry based in the south has been dominated by Bollywood and subjected to much derision for “seeking inspiration” from the latter. This is of course far removed from the truth and this is a fabulous example to illustrate this point.

This movie was first made in Telugu language, by the same name before it was remade by the same producer in Hindi. The Telugu version was directed by Vedantam Raghavayya, who directed the Telugu lead pair of Akkineni Nageshwara Rao and Anjali Devi, the latter happened to be the wife of the producer, P Adinarayana Rao, who also contributed to the story and composed the musical score. Adinarayana Rao shot the movie simultaneously in Tamizh with the same leading lady but Gemini Ganesan as the male lead. It was called Manaalane Mangaiyin Baakkiyam. While this was being done, Lata Mangeshkar suggested that the movie be remade in Hindi, rather than just dubbing it. Adinarayana Rao then became Producer and Director for the Hindi version (this is the only Hindi movie he ever made). With more than a dozen songs, this movie (in its Hindi form) shared the lead pair from the original Telugu film, and was highly acclaimed. This song has Rafi saab and Lata Mangeshkar in tandem executing a technically challenging Raagmala with four different raags for the mukhada and the other antaras, so beautifully and seamlessly bonded to make a unique gem of a duet. Sohoni, Bahar, Jaunpuri and Yaman. The only other composer to pull off such a creation was, to me the Bhishmapitamah of Hindi Film Music, Anil Biswas.