Mayura

<p>The film opens in with Mayura, a youth challenging an arrogant wrestler and defeating him. Mayura had never been formally trained and had only learned techniques of wrestling by observing other wrestlers. As a Brahmin, he was required to study , yet he was deeply interested in martial arts and after this wrestling encounter, Ranga Jetti ( ), the premier wrestler in Kanchi, takes him under his wing and trains him. After becoming proficient in all the martial arts, one day, while observing the training of Pallava princes, Mayura accidentally gets into a fight with and gives a thrashing to Vishnugopa ( ), the prince, thereby earning his enmity. After this, Mayura has to flee Kanchi as per the advice of Ranga Jetti, to escape from pursuing Pallavas. He also then learns that he is in fact the son of Raja Chandravarma, the king who was killed through deceit by the Pallava king, Sivaskandhavarma. Upon learning from his father’s minister about his Kshatriya antecedents and his illustrious lineage, Mayura dedicates himself to throw the Pallava (foreign) yoke and liberate his motherland. Returning to in the guise of a merchant called Nilakanthagupta, Mayura builds a following and an army. Through clever strategies, he conquers both Banavasi and the speaking regions around , thus building a vast kingdom. While the film builds the rivalry between Vishnugopa and Mayura, it also throws light on the mutually admiring friendship between Mayura and the Pallava crown prince ( ) and also on the growing love between Mayura and the Pallava princess Premavati ( ). In the end, Vishnugopa overcomes his anger and hatred towards Mayura, who marries Premavati, with the blessings of Sivaskandhavarma himself. The soundtrack of consists of three tracks, all composed by , with its lyrics written by and sung by P. B. Sreenivas, Rajkumar and . Mayuravarma is the earliest known native ruler to rule over areas which now form Karnataka. Before the rise of the Kadambas, the centers of power ruling the land were outside of the Karnataka region. But with the Kadambas’ ascent to power, Kannada language and culture was brought into the mainstream and attained the status of majority, due to which Mayuravarma’s reign, and his depiction in the film, is regarded with pride by present-day .</p>