Ramadasu (1964 film)

Ramadasu is a 1964 Telugu biographical film from India, telling the story of Kancharla Gopanna. V. Nagayya both produced and directed it, and also starred in the lead role. The cast includes Gummadi, Relangi, Ramana Reddy, and N. T. Rama Rao, with cameo appearances from Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, and Anjali Devi. Ashwathama composed the music. The film was a major success, winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu that year, along with several state awards.

The plot follows Gopanna, who loses his father as a child in Nelakondapalli. Later, while his mother is dying, he meets a devoted servant named Dhammakka who tends to the Rama idols at Bhadrachalam. After his mother’s death, Gopanna encounters Kabirdas, a man who lives by chanting Rama’s name. Kabirdas guides him toward spiritual understanding. Gopanna then goes to Golconda, where his uncles Madanna and Akkanna are trusted ministers of the ruler Tanisha. Gopanna gains the emperor’s trust. Despite astrologers predicting that anyone who marries Madanna’s daughter Kamala will end up in jail, Gopanna marries her, and they have a son, Raghunatha.

Later, Gopanna returns to Bhadrachalam for a wedding ceremony of the Lord. Kabirdas arrives but is driven away by the corrupt Dharmakarta Pratap Giri Panthulu and Tehsildar Allaudin. Kabirdas proves his divine power. Gopanna stops their illegal activities, making enemies of them. He holds a sacred food offering at his home, but tragedy strikes when Raghunatha falls into a well. Kabirdas miraculously revives the boy. Kabirdas then gives Gopanna the Srirama Taraka Mantram and names him Ramadasu. Ramadasu vows to build a temple at Bhadrachalam. Tanisha, noticing his popularity, appoints him Tehsildar of Bhadrachalam. Ramadasu collects taxes owed to the emperor, but the villains plot against him.

Years pass, and Ramadasu completes the temple. The villains forge accusations that he misused government funds, and he is imprisoned. In jail, he carves idols of Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana and prays fervently. When his prayers go unanswered, he appeals to Sita. This moves Lakshmi, who asks Vishnu to help. Vishnu explains that Ramadasu’s punishment is for caging a parrot for seven days in a past life. Vishnu, as Rama, and Adiseshu, as Lakshmana, appear in Golconda and settle the debt. Tanisha, confused, is enlightened by Kabirdas. He learns of