Rudraveena

Rudraveena (; referring to the instrument of the same name) is a 1988 Indian Telugu-language musical-drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. Produced by Nagendra Babu Anjana Productions, the film stars Chiranjeevi and Shobana alongside Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan which marked one of his only appearance in Telugu cinema. It also marked the acting debut of Kannada actor and filmmaker Ramesh Aravind in Telugu cinema. P. L. Narayana, Prasad Babu, Sumithra, Devilalitha, and Brahmanandam play supporting roles. Rudraveena focuses on the ideological conflicts between 'Bilahari' Ganapathi Sastry, a reputed carnatic musician and his younger son Suryanarayana "Suryam" Sastry. Sastry's discrimination towards the people belonging to lower castes is criticised by his son, Suryam, who believes in society's welfare and walks out for good later. The events that led to the change in Sastry's views form the remaining part of the story. Ganesh Patro wrote the film's dialogue and worked on the script with Balachander for two months, though it was tweaked many times during the shoot. Ilaiyaraaja composed the soundtrack and background score. R. Raghunadha Reddy was the director of photography. Ganesh Kumar edited the film and Mohanam was the art director. Filmed in and around Chennai, Kanchipuram, Courtallam, and Srinagar for 70 days, Rudraveena was produced on a budget of 80 lakh. Released on 4 March 1988 to critical acclaim, the film was a commercial failure, resulting in a loss of 60 lakh. It gained cult status later and is considered one of the best films made by Balachander. The film won three National Film Awards: Best Feature Film on National Integration, Best Music Direction, and Best Male Playback Singer (for S. P. Balasubrahmanyam). It also won four Nandi Awards, including a Special Jury award for Chiranjeevi. Later the same year, Balachander later remade the film into Tamil as Unnal Mudiyum Thambi with Ganesan reprising his role, and Kamal Haasan reprising Chiranjeevi's role. Plot Satyanarayana, an aged MP, visits Ramapuram. After talking to the locals, Satyanarayana finds that Ramapuram is well-developed and civilised due to the activities of a man named Suryam. He meets Suryam and asks him what inspired him to take up the task of developing Ramapuram. After learning of Satyanarayana interest in Ramapuram's development, Suryam agrees to relate the village's story in the parliament.