Laila Majnu (1949)

Interesting facts

Laila Majnu is a 1949 Telugu-language historical romance film, based on the Sufi legend of Laila-Majnu. It is produced and directed by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao under the Bharani Pictures banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Bhanumathi, with music composed by C. R. Subburaman. The film was simultaneously dubbed and released in Tamil with same title. The film was successful at the box office.

Production

Laila Majnu, an ancient epic of love, is an integral part of classic Sufi literature. Hashmet Shah has told it, so has Amir Khusro. Nizami Ganjavi's 12th century version in scintillating verse filled with allegorical flourishes has been translated into numerous languages. Mian Mohammad Bakhsh's interpretation of the epic is held as an acclaimed treatise in Pakistan till this day.

With his first film, Rathnamala, turning a box office hit, studio owner and director Ramakrishna was on the lookout for a suitable subject for Bharani's next venture. Fascinated by the first Hindi talkie version of Laila Majnu (1945), which he had seen in Bombay, he made the choice. His production chief D. L. Narayana agreed with him.

The sandstorm scene especially is worth mentioning. Instead of veteran cameraman Jiten Banerjee, who cranked for Rathnamala, Ramakrishna took B. S. Ranga as the cameraman without even knowing how efficient his work was. Ranga who bagged this assignment thanks to his brother Garudachari, a close friend of Ramakrishna, proved his worth and it was the turning point in his future life and career. Besides excellent photography, sound designing (by V.

Vedantam Raghavayya choreographed the songs. Samudrala Sr gave the story, dialogue, and lyrics. Cinematography is performed by B. S. Ranga. The film is presented by P. Bhanumathi under Bharani Pictures.

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