Telugu film industry can be segregated into pre and post-Sankarabharanam (1980). An unconventional cast in the lead roles in a story centred around classical music and dance, K Viswanath’s classic belied the myth that only formulaic stories and star-oriented subjects are the safe bet for box office success.
A retired government employee Somayajulu and an artiste Manjubhargavi, who primarily played minor roles, as a dancer or a negative character, portrayed the roles of Shankara Sastry and Tulasi respectively in Sankarabharanam, the movie that changed the course of Telugu cinema and revived interest in and respect for Indian classical arts among the young generation.
Somayajulu in ‘Sankarabharanam’ | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
With the success of Sankarabharanam, K Vishwanath set himself a standard so high that nothing less than a compelling script, good music and talented actors in his subsequent films would ensure their success.
His association with producer Edida Nageswara Rao began with Sankarabharanam and went on to create several films that not only had Indian arts and culture at their core but also titles that began with ‘S’— Siri Siri Muvva, Saptapadi, Sagarasangamam, Swathi Mutyam, Sirivennela, Suthradarulu, Swarnakamalam, Swayamkrushi, Swati Kiranam and more.
When stars became actors
K Vishwanath achieved the unimaginable when he cast the action stars of Telugu cinema in roles that were mellowed and realistic, but compensating by designing strong characters that gave them ample scope to display their close-to-life emotions. In the 80s, Chiranjeevi was the reigning action superstar but did the contrasting characters in Viswanath’s films Swayamkrushi and Apathbandhavudu. Venkatesh played a painter who eggs on a dancer (Bhanupriya) to respect her talent in Swarnakamalam. Kamal Haasan played the roles of an aspiring dancer and an alcoholic-turned-guru in Sagarasangamam and a simpleton Swatimutyam. Dr Rajashekar played a classical musician who, after straying from his goal, comes back to fulfil his foster parents’ dream in Srutilayalu. Mammootty played a classical musician who envies the talent of a child prodigy in Swati Kiranam. The late thespian Akkineni Nageswara Rao along with veteran actor Murali Mohan played Gangireddulavaallu in Suthradharulu.
All these roles became landmark films for the actors in their careers.
Foray into Bollywood
Some of Viswanath’s successful Telugu films were remade into Hindi with moderate success. After the Hindi film Sargam (1979, a remake of Telugu hit Siri Siri Muvva) became a huge success, he remade Sankarabharanam in Hindi (Sur sangam) with Girish Karnad and Jayaprada in the lead, surprising his critics who felt that the original version had already acclaimed worldwide fame and classic status.
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He followed it up with more remakes of his Telugu hits Saptapadi with Sridevi and Mithun Chakraborty as Jaag Utha Insaan, Shubodayam with Rakesh Roshan and Jayaprada as Kaamchor, Swati Mutyam as Eshwar with Anil Kapoor and Vijayashanti, Jeevana Jyothi as Sanjog with Jeetendra and Jayaprada, Subhalekha as Sangeeth with Rakesh Roshan and Rati Agnihotri, and many more.
Discipline and dedication
Viswanath who started as a director with ANR-starer Atma Gouravam (1965) entered the industry as a sound engineer. As a director, he made a series of wholesome family dramas, with strong plots and aesthetic filming being his forte. He always wore khaki clothes on the set and would often mention that it symbolises and reminds him of the discipline required at work. Bitten by the acting bug, Viswanath played the role of a patriarch in the movies Santosham, Vajram, Kalisundaam Raa, Mr Perfect and many more; his characters mostly represented what he stood for in his films — family values and the Indian culture.
