Navata Arts
Nalugustambalata(1982)

Cast:

Naresh .. Naresh
Pradeep....pradeepkumar
Purnima... sharada
Tulasi.. kamala
rohini.. gayatri
Sutti Velu... gurnadham
Sutti Veerabadra Rao.. Verabhadram
Vijji babu, shankar, Janaki, Kakinada Shyamala, Annapurna, Sundaralaxmi, Balaji, Krishnachiatanya, Vallam Narasimha Rao,Master Ali
Music : Rajan - Nagendra
Camera : S.Gopal Reddy
Asst. Cameraman : M.V.Raghu, Divakar, Subbarao
Editing: G.G.Krishna Rao, Gautam Raju
Lyrics: Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy
Playback: S.P.Balasubramyam, P.susheela, S.Janaki
Art: Kaladhar
Associate Director : E.V.V.Satyanarayana, Battula Ramakrishna
Dance : Siva Subramanyam
Producer: N.Krishnam Raju
Story, Screenplay, dialogues, Direction: Jandhyala

Songs:
Raagamo anuraagamo geetamo sangeetamo
Playback: S.P.Balasubramanyam. S.Janaki
Cast: Poornima, Naresh

cinukula sagi naduluga sagi varadalyi pongu
Playback: S.P.Balasubramanyam, P.susheela
Cast: Poornima, Naresh

Kaliki cilakara uliki padakura hey
Playback: S.P.Balasubramanyam
Cast: Naresh

Kobbaraku gali mabbukesindi uliki padda mabbu urimi cusindi
Playback: S.P.Balasubramanyam
Cast: Vallam Narasimha Rao

Story:
Naresh, Pradeep are classmates. Naresh loves Sharada but due to the circumstances he marries Kamala. To save Sharada, as she is pregnant Pradeep marries Sharada. Naresh is unable to forget the past and cannot adjust his life with Kamala. What happens in the end is the rest of the story.

About the film:

The film was based on a novella written by Jandhyala for the Swathi monthly. (Swathi was not a weekly; it was a monthly magazine then, and had a short novel as a supplement every month.) The film was made with about 12 lakh rupees and made over 90 lakhs! The film was a phenomenal hit and ran over 100 days in 18-20 centers and 175 days in 3 centers. Though the film was awarded an 'A' certificate it was appreciated by all.

The film introduced Veerabhadra Rao as a comedian alongside Velu, who was already introduced in Jandhyala's mudda mandaaram. Starting this movie with which they got famous as the sutti janTa, both of them acted together in several films. All the lead artistes in the film were very young - Naresh was 17, Pradeep was 20, Poornima was 15, and Tulasi was 14 when the film started. The film was greatly appreciated for its real life portrayal of the characters, and songs and their picturization. Particularly, chinukalaa raali... song was shot with 165 frames in 65 locations! Navata Krishnam Raju used to chase the unit with their lunch for five hours before he could catch hold of them at 5:00 p.m. and get upset by then, but would feel happy when he saw the results on the screen!

I was just seventeen when the film started; I celebrated my seventeenth birthday on the sets of the film! Though I started my career with the film prEma sankeLLu, my mother wanted me to launch with outside banner. Jandhyala gaaru (I always call him as guruvu gaaru) first saw me at a dance class and remembered me. When there was a problem with the dates of Suresh, Jandhyala gaaru approached us for the film. We were really thrilled to work for Navata banner, a famous one at that time! It is an honor to work with them, and so we agreed right away!

I still remember the first shot of the film; they made me stand upside down for the shot. Seeing that, my mother was worried because my first shot was upside down and that can soon turn my career the same way. When I expressed the same to guruvu gaaru, he laughed at me and said that it was not just my career but also his and comforted me saying not to worry about it! They booked a hotel room for me to stay, while rest of the crew stayed in M.V.P. Colony (of Vishakhapatnam) in an independent house. When I got to know that, I insisted on staying with the rest of the crew. guruvu gaaru was very happy about it. I learned a lot while staying with the other cast and crew. They all came from the stage with some acting experience, while I was just a beginner.

I used a Honda bike in the film and I did several tricks in that film - it was probably first time on the screen - which caught the attention of the youth at that time. As I was brought up in Madras, my Telugu was initially mixed with a lot of Tamil and it had Tamil slang in the modulation. So guruvu gaaru decided to get Balu gaaru to dub for my role. My mother was not at all happy with that. But guruvu gaaru said that it was for the good of the film that he had to get it dubbed and convinced my mother. He promised her that he'd make me dub for myself in his next film, and my mother agreed to it with much difficulty. Later, when I met Balu gaaru after a couple of years, he came to me and congratulated me saying that my Telugu was very good, which made me very happy.

One sad thing is that I worked with sutti Veerabhadra Rao gaaru for his first and last films. In fact, he did the last shooting with me for his last film! (choopulu kalasina SubhavELa). I think that the title song of the movie is the only duet between two males in the whole film history. He's a very nice person. ...Today, if I look back, I am really grateful to Navata Krishnam Raju gaaru, my guruvu gaaru who gave me a wonderful debut film, and Veerabhadra Rao gaaru with whom I acted in several memorable movies; all these have passed away now.

Pradeep speaks on the film:

After the first exciting assignment of acting in mudda mandaaram as a hero, my guru Jandhyala gaaru asked me to act in naalugu stambhaalaaTa, the producer being great Navata Krishnam Raju gaaru. The story was narrated to me by the director gaaru and I was thrilled to hear the story line. After a romantic, soft-boy character in the first film, here was a character that had everything in it - sacrifice for friendship, empathy for a girl who is being cheated by another hero, lots of comedy, an enthusiastic student life in the first half... In fact, it was the first film in Telugu which had disco dance! I was asked to rehearse the song for seven days, and dance master Siva Subrahmanyam taught me the basics of disco dancing. The song was a big hit and had created a sensational craze in the youth. Even today, after 23 years since the movie, people recollect my song!

Camera work of Gopal reddy gaaru, especially picturizing our own Araku so beautifully in the songs (chinukulaa raali... and raagamO anuraagamO... songs). I shared a lot of fun with my co-stars Naresh (Initially, Suresh was selected for the same role but due to his preoccupation, he could not make it and the opportunity went Naresh's way), Poornima (my first heroine), Tulasi (the youngest and talented), Rohini (another much-accomplished child artiste) and, of course, the great duo Veerabhadra Rao and Velu who, all through their life, were called as sutti janTa, starting this movie. Young Ali also was with us.

The shooting was at Vizag and all of us again shared houses in M.V.P. Colony for over 60 days. Apart from Vizag, the movie was also shot in Araku and Ramchandrapuram. I was disappointed when the shoot was happening that all romantic scenes were with Naresh and two best songs were picturised on him too. But, when I had seen the first copy, I thought that my character was the best portrayed in the film. Thanks to my mentor Jandhyala!

It was a pleasure working with the team! Navata Krishnam Raju gaaru, the producer, was not only experienced but also artistic and poetic. Though there was a big gap between us in age, I used to enjoy his company and he was fond of me. His son Achibabu is a well-wisher of mine even today. The director’s team was with full of creative youngsters - Sastry (the director of many TV shows today, to name a few paaDutaa teeyagaa, paaDaalani undi etc.), E.V.V. Satyanarayana, the star director today, camera team under the leadership of S. Gopal Reddy consisting of M.V. Raghu, Diwakar, Srinivasa Reddy, Raju and Veerraju, all of whom later became successful men behind lenses.... naalugu stambhaalaaTa, if one could see even now, can see four main characters running to touch the four pillars and a man in disguise of vidhi (the Fate) trying to stop them. The man in disguise was the assistant director E.V.V. Satyanarayana, who later became a much-celebrated director. People, especially in Telangana, still call me as the hero of naalugu stambhaalaaTa - such was the influence of the movie on my career!

Comments: The DVD was released by KAD has the subtitles, songs menu, chapters with no cuts and jerks. A must for the movie lovers who love good songs and good films.

Acknowledgements : Sri Naresh, Sri Pradeep for thier wonderful contributions