Chanakya Chandragupta
| Chanakya Chandragupta | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | N. T. Rama Rao |
| Written by | Pingali Nagendra Rao (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | N. T. Rama Rao |
| Story by | N. T. Rama Rao |
| Produced by | N. T. Rama Rao |
| Starring | N. T. Rama Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao Sivaji Ganesan Jayapradha Manjula |
| Cinematography | Kannappa |
| Edited by | G. D. Joshi |
| Music by | Pendyala Nageswara Rao |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 178 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
Chanakya Chandragupta is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language historical drama film, produced and directed by N. T. Rama Rao under his Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner. It stars Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, Jayapradha and Manjula, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao. The film is based on the 3rd century BC Maurya Emperor Chandragupta Maurya and his mentor Chanakya.[1]
Plot
 | This article needs an improved plot summary. (April 2022) |
The film is a historical story, based on the 3rd century BC Maurya Emperor Chandragupta Maurya and his mentor Chanakya. It begins with the Greek invader Alexander intruding on our borders, Magadha as his last step of sovereignty. Discerning it, fear-defying scholar Chanakya is under trace of the dynamic King to hinder it. Besides, Chandragupta is a strong fighter who flags rebellion against this foray. Indeed, he is the son of Mura, the discarded wife Mahapadma Nanda, classifying her as an underdog. Unbeknownst to it, Chandragupta moves to Pataliputra to alarm the trend.
Whereat, he bars haughty & idiotic 9 Nanda Princes that torment the public. Plus, intimidates Chief Minister Rakshasa, a man of wit & allegiance. Rakshasa detects him as the hidden prince and warrants his apprehension since he pledges to excel Nandas as the King. At that point, Chandragupta confronts his father when Mura frantically lands, who pleads pardon by divulging her son's birth secret. She is mortified by Nandas when Chandragupta outrages but surrenders to Mura's word.
Amid this, he falls for a beauty, Aasa, the daughter of Rakshasa, unconscious of her whereabouts, who aids him in fleeing prison. Besides, Chanakya stepped into Raj Mahal to arouse the bravery of Nandas with the sword of Damocles. In turn, he is grievously abused and cast off by them. Thus, Chanakya vows to destroy their clan, and this causes Rakshasa to assassinate him, whom Chandragupta secures. Chanakya declares him as the only one fit as Emperor, and the two fuse to seek their avenge.
From there, Chanakya moves the pawns. He solidifies Chandragupta's friendship with the tribal King Parvataka with a promise to mold his daughter Chhaya as the empress. Rakshasa also takes many steps to quash their mutiny, e.g., he makes Chandragupta the snakebite victim, digs a secret passage from the fortress to Chanakya's asylum, etc. He also heinously sculpts Aasa into a venomous beauty, sensing her amour on Chandragupta.
Parallelly, Alexander arrives when Chandragupta is engulfed in Aasa's love, so Chanakya ignites his valor via Mura. Forthwith, Chandragupta beats Alexander in a duel, who bows and retreats before the sacred bond between mentor & disciple.
Later, Chanakya tracks down Rakshana's intrigue in digging the secret tunnel. In line with his tactics, Chandragupta launches an opposite charge and conquers Magadha. Now, Chanakya callously decapitates Nandas for Chandragupta's imperialism and creates a new clan of Maurya Empire in the name of Mura. Infuriated, Mahapadma attempts to kill Chandragupta when Mura dies, and he, too, commits suicide.
Then Chandragupta is about to pleasure himself with Aasa on the same night, and Chanakya shields him, unveiling her identity, so she makes a self-sacrifice. At last, Chanakya safeguards Rakshasa and designates him as Chandragupta's Chief Minister as the knowledge applied to the true path. Finally, the movie ends happily, with Chanakya crowning Chandragupta.
Cast
- N. T. Rama Rao as Chandragupta Maurya[2]
- Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Chanakya[2]
- Sivaji Ganesan as Alexander the Great[2]
- Manjula as Chhaya
- Jaya Prada as Aasa
- Kaikala Satyanarayana as Rakshasa Mantri
- S. Varalakshmi as Muradevi
- Prabhakar Reddy as Parvathakudu
- Rajanala as Mahapadma Nandulu
- Mukkamala as Ambhi
- Raja Babu as Nandulu
- Padmanabham as Nandulu
- Rao Gopal Rao as Nandulu
- K.K. Sarma as Nandulu
- Chalapathi Rao as Kaapalika
- Jaya Malini as item number
- Halam as item number
- Sarathi as Nandulu
- Potti Prasad as Nandulu
- Chitti Babu as Nandulu
Soundtrack
Music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao. Lyrics were written by C. Narayana Reddy.[3]
| S. No | Song Title | Singers | length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chirunavvula Tholakarilo" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela | 3:38 |
| 2 | "Evaro Aa Chandrudevaro" | P. Susheela | 3:48 |
| 3 | "Idhe Tholireyi" | P. Susheela | 3:54 |
| 4 | "Okata Renda Thommidi" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki | 4:18 |
| 5 | "Sikandar Toone" | Vani Jayaram | 5:45 |
| 6 | "Siri Siri Chinnoda" | Vani Jayaram | 3:23 |
References
- ^ "Top 8 Telugu Movies Featuring NTR And ANR". Sakshi Post. 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- ^ a b c Devulapalli, Krishna Shastri (28 June 2015). "The pen-pushers of Retellpur: nine books waiting to be written". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "Chanakya Chandragupta (1977)-Song_Booklet". Indiancine.ma. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
