Dharma Daata is a 1970 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by Tammareddy Krishna Murthy under the Ravindra Art Pictures banner and directed by A. Sanjeevi. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Kanchana, with music composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. It is a remake of the Tamil film Enga Oor Raja (1968), and was a box office success.[1][2][3]

Dharma Daata
Theatrical release poster
Directed byA. Sanjeevi
Written byPinisetty (dialogues)
Screenplay byTammareddy Krishnamurthy
Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani
Story byBalamurugan
Based onEnga Oor Raja (1968)
Produced byTammareddy Krishnamurthy
StarringAkkineni Nageswara Rao
Kanchana
CinematographyS. Venkataratnam
Edited byBalu
Music byT. Chalapathi Rao
Production
company
Ravindra Art Pictures
Release date
  • 7 May 1970 (1970-05-07)
Running time
189 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu

Plot

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The film begins with Raja Raghupathi Rao, a generous Zamindar of Sripuram, well-renowned for his charity & humanity, who leads a happy family life with his wife, Susheela, sister Lakshmi, and two sons, Shekar & Chakravarthy. Meanwhile, Bhageswaram Zamindar Bhujangam Rao, envious of Raghupathi Rao, wants to grab his property by coupling his son Raju with Lakshmi. During the wedding, Raja Raghupathi Rao cannot pay some part of the dowry as he is bankrupt for the charities. Right now, Raghupathi Rao mortgages his palace Srinilayam which he adores as a temple. Knowing this, Bhujangam Rao contempts him by pulling his shoulder cloth. Enraged, Raghunatha Rao challenges to regain his Srinilayam and make Bhujangam Rao touch his feet. Afterwards, Susheela passes away after giving birth to a baby girl, Jaya. Lakshmi refuses to attend the funeral and is bullied by Bhujangam. From there, Raghupathi Rao & sons develop hatred towards her. Grief-stricken Raghupathi Rao reaches the city and takes an oath from his children that they will retrieve Srinilayam.

Years roll by, and Shekar, Chakravarthy, and Jaya grow up. They all work hard and make three-quarters of the money. Besides, Lakshmi tries to get close to her brother's family, as it is her husband's last wish. So, her daughter Padma makes acquaintance with Shekar and cleverly accommodates herself in their house, hiding her identity. Meanwhile, Lakshmi moves with the marriage proposal of her son Prasad with Jaya, which Shekar refuses. Parallelly, a glimpse loves track of Chakravarthy with the princess of Vijayapur Rani. After a while, Shekar learns the truth regarding Padma and necks her out. Being mindful of it, Lakshmi's intention Bhujangam Rao becomes furious when Padma lets him know that Raghupathi Rao is almost on the edge of winning. So, he ploys to snatch Srinilayam, makes the money vendor Seth Dayaram threaten Raghupathi Rao, and steals their hard-earning.

At that moment, Raghupathi Rao's sons accuse and leave him alone, who turns lunatic. After that, through Padma, Shekar finds the evil design of Bhujangam Rao and retrieves their money. By then, insane Raghupathi Rao reaches Sripuram to protect his Srinilayam when Bhujangam Rao intrigues to blast the building. At last, Raghupathi Rao teaches the lesson to Bhujangam Rao with the help of his sons and gets back his property. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the marriages of Raghupathi Rao's progeny.

Cast

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Music

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Dharma Daata
Film score by
Released1970
GenreSoundtrack
Length34:08
ProducerT. Chalapathi Rao

Music was composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. Music released on Audio Company.

S. No Song Title Lyrics Singers length
1 "Hello Engineer" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala 4:41
2 "Chinnari Bullemma" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala, P. Susheela 3:48
3 "Om Parameswari" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala, P. Susheela 4:24
4 "Evarivo Neevevarivo" C. Narayana Reddy Jayadev, P. Susheela 3:43
5 "Jo Laali Jo Laali" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala 3:59
6 "Yevvadi Kosam Yevadunnaadu" Kosaraju Ghantasala 4:06
7 "O Nanna Nee Manase Venna" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala, Jayadev, P. Susheela 5:01
8 "O Dharma Daata" C. Narayana Reddy Ghantasala 4:26

Box office

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The film ran for 100 days in 13 centres and the celebrations were held at Shanti Talkies, Hyderabad.[1]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b Narasimham, M L (19 August 2019). "Remembering 'Dharma Daata' (1970)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  2. ^ Sri (15 February 2005). "Dharmadata (1970)". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  3. ^ APK (18 September 2007). "Dharmadata (1970)". CineGoer. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
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