Bhakta Kuchela (1961 film)
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Budget 1.5 million INR Country India | Director P. Subramaniam Duration Language Malayalam | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date November 15, 1961 (1961-11-15) Genres Malayalam Cinema, World cinema Cast Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair , Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair , Kanta Rao , Chilakalapudi Seeta Rama Anjaneyulu , Miss Kumari Similar movies Related P Subramaniam movies |
Bhakta Kuchela is a 1961 Malayalam mythological film directed by P. Subramaniam, based on the Tamil film of the same name. The film was an unusual collaboration between a Malayalam producer and an array of Telugu-Tamil film stars. The key roles were handled by Telugu actors. The success of this film encouraged Malayalam producers to invite Telugu and Tamil stars, noted for their mythological roles, to act in their films of similar themes.
Contents
- Malayalam evergreen film song nale nale bhakta kuchela kamukara
- Plot
- Soundtrack
- Reception
- Deviations from Bhagavad Gita
- Trivia
- Songs
- References
Malayalam evergreen film song nale nale bhakta kuchela kamukara
Plot
It tells about sage Sandipani’s hermitage where Krishna and Kuchela are students and close friends. The difference in social status, caste or creed does not come in the way of their friendship. After leaving the hermitage they lose contact with each other. Krishna becomes the king of Dwaraka, while Kuchela struggles to make ends meet with a huge family. His worship of Krishna causes enmity with the king Sisupala. As requested by his wife Suseela, Kuchela decides to visit his old friend. For him it was a chance to renew their friendship than asking for assistance. Kuchela gets a warm welcome at Dwaraka but forgets to ask what he actually wanted. To his astonishment Krishna sends him back empty handed. But when Kuchela returns home he finds that his modest hut has miraculously been turned into a palace. The Lord had showered prosperity on his family even without asking for it.
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Br Lakshmanan and lyrics was written by Traditional, and Thirunayinaarkurichi Madhavan Nair.
Reception
This film released on 9 November 1961. It was a huge success across Kerala.An advertisement technique adopted for this film was distribution of small packets of ‘avil’ (beaten rice) along with the notices of the film. The film ran to packed theatres for many weeks in all centres.
Another attraction of the film was the brilliant performance of the Telugu singing star C. S. R. Anjaneyulu as Kuchela. CSR, as he was affectionately known, was noted for his mythological roles. His performance in the film has been compared to that of Papanasam Sivan, as Kuchela, in the Tamil hit Bhaktha Kuchela in 1936.
Miss Kumari as Kuchela’s wife Suseela virtually made the audience weep. Other Telugu stars, Kantha Rao as Krishna and Kusalakumari as Devaki also did well. Thikkurissi as Kamsa, Kottarakkara as Sisupala, T. K. Balachandran as Narada, Aranmula Ponnamma as Yashoda, Jose Prakash as Nandagopar, Guru Gopinath as Roudra Poothana and Sisters Baby Vilasini as the Child Krishna Baby Vinodini as the baby Krishna were also impressive. Ambika and Shanthi as the consorts of Krishna added star value to the film.Sasikumar, Kaduvakkulam etc. were other actors.
Deviations from Bhagavad Gita
The film included some sequences which one may not find in versions of the Bhagavatha. For example, when Krishna leaves the hermitage after studies the grief-stricken Kuchela runs after Krishna and falls down a mountain peak but is saved by his friend.
Trivia
Songs
Bhakta Kuchela had 15 songs penned by Thirunainar Kurichi Madhavan Nair and music composed by Brother Lakshmanan. Most of the songs were based on classical music. The hit solo by Kamukara Purushothaman - "Ishwara chinthaithonne manujanu" has stood the test of time, a favourite even today. The other songs like "Naale naale ennayittu"' (Purushothaman), "Maya Madhava Gopala" (P. Leela-Kamukara Purushothaman), "Karuna aarna deva Gopala"' and "Kanna thamarakanna" (A. P. Komala) were all super hits.
References
Bhakta Kuchela (1961 film) WikipediaBhakta Kuchela (1961 film) IMDb