Tenali Ramakrishna (H.M. Reddy) 1941

Tenali Ramakrishna (1941)

Director: H.M. Reddy; Writer: Sadasiva Brahmam; Cinematographer: P. Sridhar; Cast: Master Raju, S.P. Lakshmanaswamy, P. Subba Rao, K.V. Subba Rao, L.V. Prasad, T. Hanumantha Rao, P. Koteshwara Rao, Baby Rohini, Kumari Sarala, Thilakam, Ansuya, Gangarathnam, Subbulu

Tenali Ramakrishna (aka Tenali Raman, the hero of many popular morality tales) was a jester in the court of Krishnadeva Raya, who ruled over the Vijayanagara empire at its pinnacle (1509-30). The rather wordy film opens with the child Ramakrishna (Master Raju) being admonished for telling unpalatable truths exposing the duplicity of the elders: when the old and twice-married widower Karanam wants to marry 9-year-old Saubhagyam, Ramakrishna masquerades as the child bride and prevents the marriage. His reputation as a principled prankster grows and as an adult (Lakshmanaswamy) he wins a seat in Krishnadeva Raya’s court as a poet by dressing up as a folk entertainer. In the court he comes up against the scheming Brahmin Tatacharya, who interprets divine signs to enhance his own wealth. When the king’s aged mother dies leaving an uneaten mango, Tatacharya foretells that her soul will never find peace unless all the Brahmins are given mangoes made of gold. Ramakrishna replies that his own mother died with an unfulfilled desire to be branded with a hot iron, and he arranges to have all the Brahmins branded instead. Ramakrishna’s ready wit also saves the king from losing his empire. L.V. Prasad played two roles in the film: the minister Timmarasu and the corrupt matchmaker who arranges the marriage of the 9-year-old girl with the aged Brahmin. Tenali Ramakrishna stories were extensively filmed (e.g. B.S. Ranga’s Telugu/ Tamil/Kannada trilingual, Tenali Ramakrishna/Tenali Raman, 1956).

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