Seetha Rama Kalyanam (1961)

Interesting facts

Sita Rama Kalyanam is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by N. T. Rama Rao in his directorial debut. It stars Rama Rao, Haranath, Geetanjali, B. Saroja Devi, Kanta Rao, Sobhan Babu. The film was produced by N. Trivikrama Rao under the National Art Theatres banner. The music was composed by Gali Penchala Narasimha Rao.

Production

N. T. Rama Rao's portrayal of the demon king Ravana (the antagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayana) in Bhookailas (1958) earned him critical acclaim. However, after the release of its Kannada-language version Bhookailasa in the same year which featured a different cast and crew, Rama Rao's portrayal was often compared with that of Rajkumar who played Ravana.

Rama Rao's brother N. Trivikrama Rao decided to produce the film for his company National Art Theatre and approached the former's mentor K. V. Reddy to direct the film. Reddy declined the offer, saying that he could not envision Rama Rao playing a demon. Rama Rao then decided to direct the film himself, marking his directorial debut. He, however, refrained from crediting himself as the director and instead paid homage to his parents.

Rama Rao approached M. A. Rahman, the cinematographer of the former's acting debut Mana Desam (1949), to collaborate for this film as the director of photography. When Rahman was unavailable, he signed Ravikant Nagaich for the job, marking the latter's debut in Telugu cinema. S. P. S. Veerappa edited the film and I. N. Murthy served as the co-director.

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