Chinnari Papalu

<p>Mahesh, a wealthy man, enters a forest. Over there, he meets a tribal girl named Garika and is smitten by her. After learning of his mother’s illness, he leaves the forest, but promises Garika he will marry her upon returning. But his mother fixes his marriage with a woman named Parvathi. Mahesh tells his mother about the promise he made to Garika. When he returns to the forest, he finds the entire hamlet has been washed away due to floods and is informed that Garika died. Distraught, he returns home and marries Parvathi. Unknown to Mahesh, Garika has survived and she gives birth to Mahesh’s son Nagaraju. Parvathi gives birth to a daughter named Nandini. Garika comes to the city in search of Mahesh and meets Parvathi, who tells her not to disturb her family life. Garika dies the same day and Nagaraju is put in Mahesh’s care, much to Parvathi’s dislike. But when Nagaraju battles for his life after saving Nandini, she repents and prays for him. The gardener tells Mahesh that Nagaraju is his son. In the 1960s, women of the used to meet frequently on festive occasions or simply for get-togethers. During one such meeting, director ‘s wife Veeramachaneni Sarojini suggested they make a film with an all-women team. This suggestion was met with instant support from the other members. It was decided to approach actress to be the director. Sarojini met Savitri and revealed the idea of an all-women production. Savitri was hesitant to accept the offer of turning director, but after consulting her husband who encouraged her to accept Sarojini’s offer, she promptly did so, making her directorial debut. Shortly thereafter the production company Sri Mata Pictures was established and its inaugural production was launched. Besides producing, Sarojini also wrote the film’s story. was assigned as the dance choreographer, as the music director, and Mohana as the art director. Despite Sarojini’s initial desire to make the film an all-women production, some of the crew were men: Mullapudi Venkata Ramana who wrote the dialogues alongside Sarojini, Singh and Sekhar who handled the cinematography, and M. S. N. Murthy who was the editor. Principal photography began on 12 October 1967 at . Though Savitri was initially signed on only to direct the film, she soon found herself having to manage its financial matters. was released on 21 June 1968. wrote, “Jamuna is comely as the “wild” heroine. But it is Sowcar Janaki, Jaggaiah and S. V. Ranga Rao, who impress with intense performances. These few scenes, with reactions flying between the three, are the life of the film.” Although the film became a since it failed to recover even one fourth of its investment, it received critical acclaim and won the in 1968. The film was later remade in as (1969) with Savitri returning as director.</p>