Mayabazar (1957)

Interesting facts

Mayabazar is a 1957 Indian Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. The epic was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. Produced by Telugu cinema, it was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, with a few differences in the cast. The story is an adaptation of the folk tale Sasirekha Parinayam, which is based on the characters of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. It revolves around the roles of Krishna and Ghatotkacha, as they try to reunite Arjuna's son Abhimanyu with his love, Balarama's daughter Sasirekha (Savitri). The Telugu version features Gummadi, Mukkamala, Ramana Reddy, and Relangi in supporting roles, with D. Balasubramaniam, R.

Production

After the success of Pathala Bhairavi (1951), the production company, Vijaya Productions, selected the film's technical crew for an adaptation of Sasirekha Parinayam (1936), also known as Mayabazar. The eighth adaptation of the folk tale Sasirekha Parinayam, it was the studio's first mythological film.

K. V. Reddy wrote and directed Mayabazar, assisted by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, and it was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions. Nearly a year was spent on pre-production and casting. Pingali Nagendrarao assisted with the story, script, and lyrics. Ghantasala composed the film's score, and Marcus Bartley was the cinematographer. Mayabazar was edited by C. P. Jambulingam and G.

The film was produced in Telugu and Tamil versions, with a slightly different cast for each. Gemini Ganesan appeared as Abhimanyu in the Tamil version, which was portrayed by Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Telugu. Savitri was retained as the female lead in Tamil also, where her character was named Vatsala instead of Sasirekha. Sachu played the younger version of the character in Tamil. N. T.

In the Telugu version, Gummadi and Mikkilineni were cast as Balarama and Karna, respectively, whilst Sita had a supporting role as Sasirekha's maid. Relangi portrayed Lakshmana Kumara, Duryodhana's son; his popularity inspired a song with him and Savitri. Allu Rama Lingaiah and Vangara Venkata Subbaiah enacted the parts of Shakuni's lackeys, Sarma and Sastry.

During rehearsals, K. V. Reddy timed his actors with a stopwatch, calculating the length of each scene (including songs) to determine the film's length. D. S. Ambu Rao, Bartley's assistant, said that Mayabazar was shot according to the screenplay and Bartley's lighting. The song "Lahiri Lahiri" was shot at Adyar River, Chennai. Its outdoor filming lasted for 10 to 15 seconds.

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