Though K Vasu is today well known for directing comedies, he had started his career, following in the footsteps of his illustrious father, K Pratyagathma, by making offbeat movies on social topics. It was his second assignment when producer Krantikumar signed him to direct Praanam Khareedu (1978), which was based on noted writer C S Rao’s popular play with the same name. The producer-director duo along with C S Rao expanded the 40-minute play into a two-hour movie script by bringing in new characters and extending a few.
“In the stage play, one finds the characters of only Kanakaiah, Cheviti Devudu, Kanakaiah’s second wife and Bullabbay, the munsif, a role which we expanded. The other characters such as the farm-hand Narasaiah, Bangari and Peddodu (elder) were introduced,” recalls Vasu.
Jaladi
“When the story was narrated to music director Chakravarthy, he suggested the name of a promising new lyricist, Jaladi, whom we invited to write one song. However, after going through the lyric, we were so impressed that we assigned him to pen all the songs in the movie. Such was his versatility. Of course, I just gave him one suggestion. I was a fan of short lyrics called mini kavithalu , which were popular at that time. I asked him to write the lyrics in that fashion.”
Jaladi Rajarao had made his debut in films with Palle Seema (1976), directed by P Chandrasekhara Reddy. Prior to entering movies, Jaladi was a drawing teacher in remote village schools in the agency areas. During this phase, he came in contact with local tribes and took deep interest in folk songs. Drawing inspiration from his earlier sojourn, he penned one of his most popular lyric, Yethamesi thodinaa yeru yendadu, for Praanam Khareedu.
Vasu
“The story is set in pre-Independence days. There is a very special character, Peddodu. A ripe old man, he has seen life enough, living in poor hamlets. This song is filmed on him. Kaikala Sathyanarayana essayed the role with such self-possession that you cannot but admire him,” says Vasu. Equally self-assuring was the rendition of S P Balasubrahmanyam, who, while singing the song, almost becomes the character himself.
Yethamesi thodinaa yeru yendadu/ Pogili Pogili edchinaa pontha nindadu/ Devudi gudilodainaa poori gudiselodainaa/ Gaali isiri kodithe… aa deepamundadoo…aa deepamundadu/ Yethamesi…/ Paluputhaadu medakesthe paadi aavuraa/ Pasupu thaadu mudulesthe aadadaayeraa/ Kudithe neellu posinaa adi paalu kudupu thundee/ Kadupu kotha kosinaa adi manishike janma isthadee/ Boddu pegu thegipadda roju thelusuko/ Goddukaadu aadadane gunam thelusuko/ Yethamesi…/ Andaroo nadisochhina thova okkate/ Seemu nethurulu pare thoomu okkate/ Medamiddelo vunna… Settu needa thongunnaa/ Nidura mudara padinaakaa paade okkate vallakaadu okkate/ Koootha nerchinolla kulam kokilantaraa/ Aakalesi arisinollu kaakulantaraa/ Yethamesi thodinaa yeru yendadu…
The scene
Sathyanarayana
Widower Kanakaiah (played by Rao Gopala Rao) remarries. His second wife (Jayasudha) enters the room bejewelled and in the bridal attire, with a glass of milk in hand. But she is upset when she finds her husband fast asleep and snoring. Dejected, she sleeps on the floor. In the midst of night, Kanakaiah gets up, wakes up his wife and asks her to sleep on the cot. As she looks perplexed, he says that the room is too stuffy for him and, for cool breeze, he will sleep outside. As the bride wails silently, he goes out. And the scene follows with Peddodu singing the song to convey her feelings and the life in his own hamlet.
The song was filmed during the night at Salt House in Ennore, near Madras, which was a famous film shooting location at that time.
Interestingly, Praanam Khareedu , also turned out to be Chiranjeevi’s first released movie. Though Punaadiraallu was his debut movie, it was stalled for some time, due to financial problems. “In fact, we were thinking of signing Sathyendra Kumar and Sarita for the characters of Narasaiah and Bangari. At that time, Sarita got an offer to act in Maro Charitra . Since it was a K. Balachandar movie, we advised her to take it. We then took Reshmi Roy, an Oriya actress, in Sarita's place. Later, we felt Sathyendra Kumar might look a bit elderly for the role. It was then that our associate director Prem Kumar showed me the photograph of this young actor. His eyes attracted me. After a screen test, we signed Chiranjeevi. He did the role like a seasoned actor,” compliments Vasu. Today, Praanam Khareedu is remembered more as Chiranjeevi’s first film to hit the theatres, besides for the song, Yethamesi thodinaa.
