Pathala Bhairavi

Pathala Bhairavi (transl. The Goddess of the Netherworld) is a 1951 Indian bilingual fantasy film written by Pingali Nagendrarao and directed by Kadiri Venkata Reddy. The film was produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani under the banner Vijaya Vauhini Studios. It was co-written by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and features N. T. Rama Rao, S. V. Ranga Rao and K. Malathi in the lead roles. The film focuses on a gardener's son who has to amass wealth equal to that of the king of Ujjain to marry his daughter, and a sorcerer who has to sacrifice an intelligent and brave young man to Goddess Pathala Bhairavi to gain access to a statuette which can grant any wish. Pathala Bhairavi is based on Kasi Majilee Kathalu, written by Madhira Subbanna Deekshitulu, though it was also partially inspired by the story of Aladdin. The entire production lasted for a whole year starting from 5 February 1950 until 8 February 1951, due to the film being shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages. Ghantasala composed the film's music and Marcus Bartley served as the cinematographer. The film was edited by the duo C. P. Jambulingam and M. S. Money, while Madhavapeddi Gokhale and Kaladhar were the film's art directors. The Telugu version was released on 15 March 1951, and the Tamil version on 17 May 1951. Upon release, Pathala Bhairavi received critical acclaim and was commercially successful, becoming the first Telugu film to have a direct run of 200 days. It is considered to be a breakthrough film for both Rama Rao and Ranga Rao, and was also the only South Indian film to be screened at the first International Film Festival of India held at Mumbai on 24 January 1952. On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, CNN-News18 included Pathala Bhairavi in its list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time".