Draupadi Vastrapaharanam (1936 film)

Draupadi Vastrapaharanam
Directed by	Hanumappa Vishwanath Babu
Produced by	Parupalli Seshaiah Kurukuri Subba Rao
Written by	Pasumarthi Yagna Narayana Sastry Malladi Achutha Ramana Sastry
Starring	Kannamba Yadavalli Suryanarayana Chilakalapudi Seetha Rama Anjaneyulu Nellori Nagaraja Rao Vemuri Gaggaiah
Music by	Bhimavarapu Narasimha Rao
Cinematography	S. C. Shinde
Editing by	Baburao Bhadorkar
Release date(s)	February 29, 1936
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Draupadi Vastrapaharanam (Telugu: ద్రౌపదీ వస్త్రాపహరణం) is a 1936 Telugu film.^[1] It was made to compete with Draupadi Manasamrakshanam (1936). This film was a major boxoffice success, whereas the Manasamrakshanam failed. The film is remembered for the rendition of poems with acting performances by C. S. R. Anjaneyulu and Yadavalli Suryanarayana.

Plot

The story is based on the Mahabharata episode of Draupadi Vastrapaharanam. It depicts the episode in which Draupadi is publicly humiliated by the Kauravas. It occurs after Yudhisthara and other Pandavas loses her in a game of dice to Duryodhana. As the Kauravas try to insult her by removing her clothes, she prays to Lord Krishna. He comes to her aid by making her Sari longer and longer.

Cast

Character	Actor/Actress
Draupadi	Kannamba
Duryodhana	Yadavalli Suryanarayana
Krishna	Chilakalapudi Seetha Rama Anjaneyulu
Sakuni	Nellori Nagaraja Rao
Dharmaraja	Choppalli Suryanarayana Bhagavathar
Dussasana	Lanka Krishna Murthy
Bhima	Dommeti Suryanarayana
Sisupala	Vemuri Gaggaiah
Narada	P. Suri Babu
Vidura	Arani Satyanarayana
Aswathama	Kadaru Nagabhushanam
	Dommeti Satyanarayana
Satyabhama	Dasari Ramatilakam
	Vemuri Parabrahma Sastry
	Katari Shakantala
	Puvvula Nagarajakumari

Production

The production of this film has some historical importance in Telugu film industry, wherein two production houses competed for the same theme of Draupadi Vastrapaharanam in Mahabharata to produce films in 1936.

Kurukuri Subbarao of Saraswati Publishing House and Parupalli Venkata Seshaiah launched Saraswati Talkies Ltd. with Gudavalli Ramabrahmam as the production controller. They have decided to produce the film version of Draupadi Vastrapaharanam, a popular stage play. Kavali Gupta of Sri Lakshmi Films already acquired the rights and signed Bellary Raghava to play the key role. Subbarao and Seshaiah has decided to go ahead with their project. They signed the famous stage actor of Vijayawada Yadavalli Suryanarayana for playing Duryodhana.

When Kavali Gupta saw their announcement, he changed his film title as Draupadi Manasamrakshanam and hurried the production. However it was released three weeks after Saraswati Talkies venture and failed at the boxoffice.

Subbarao and Seshaiah approached H. M. Reddy to direct their film. Since he was busy, Reddy agreed to be the supervisory director with his brother-in-law H. V. Babu as the director. Pasumarthi Yagna Narayana Sastry, editor and publisher of the famous Telugu film magazine Chitrakala was chosen to write the screenplay and additional lyrics and poems. Yadavalli Suryanarayana has clean diction, expressive rendition of poems and natural acting was his forte. He made his screen debut in 1932 with Paduka Pattabhishekam. They signed C.S.R. Anjaneyulu for Sri Krishna's role as he showed variance in each role he played. The other actors were chosen selectively for the film characters.

The sequence Dussasana pulling Draupadi's Sari was shot by throwing a bundle of tied saris from a height by a man away from the camera sitting on a plank and were shot separately by Cinematographer S. C. Shinde. They were joined at the editing table by Baburao Bhadorkar.

References

1. ^ Draupadi Vasthrapaharanam, Blast from the past by M. L. Narasimham, in The HIndu.

External Links

• Audiotrack of the film at Raaga.com.