Poola Rangadu
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Adurthi Subba Rao
Written by	Ranganayakamma (dialogues)
Screenplay by	Adurthi Subba Rao
Story by	Mullapudi Venkata Ramana
Based on	Beyond This Place by A. J. Cronin
Produced by	D. Madhusudhana Rao
Starring	Akkineni Nageswara Rao Jamuna Sobhan Babu Vijaya Nirmala
Cinematography	P. S. Selvaraj
Edited by	T. Krishna
Music by	S. Rajeswara Rao
Production company	Annapurna Pictures
Release date	24 November 1967 (1967-11-24)
Running time	165 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Poola Rangadu is a 1967 Indian Telugu-language crime thriller film, produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under Annapurna Pictures and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao and produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jamuna, Sobhan Babu, Vijaya Nirmala, and music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. The film, loosely based on A. J. Cronin's novel Beyond This Place, was released on 24 November and became a box office success. It was remade in Tamil in 1970 as En Annan and in Hindi in 1972 as Jeet.^[1][2]

Plot

Ranga Rao, a breezy & jovial guy riding a horse cart as a livelihood titled Poola Rangadu, and is in love with Venkata Lakshmi. In childhood, his father, Veerayya, used to work as a manager at a mill owned by Purushotham, who was slaughtered by his sly partners Dharma Rao & Chalapati and incriminated him, leaving his children Ranga & Padma as orphans. However, Ranga stands alone and raises his sibling under the light of affection. Besides, Dharma Rao & Chalapati grow big shots and pose as respectable. Presently, Padma loves and espouses Dr. Prasad, who happens to be Purshotham's son. Hereupon, Narasimhulu, Venkata Lakshmi's younger, divulges the fact to Prasad's mother out of grudge since he aspires to knit Padma. Hence, Padma is necked out despite being pregnant. Being conscious of it, furious, Ranga assaults Narasimhulu and gets imprisonment. In jail, Ranga acquits his father, Veerayya, learns the truth, and decides to prove his innocence. Time passes, Ranga is acquitted, and by that time, Padma gives birth to a baby boy. Upon his release, Ranga plants himself in Dharma Rao's residence, cooking up a rift between Dharma Rao & Chalapati unveiling their hellish hue. At last, Veerayya is proven guiltless, and Prasad & Padma are reunited. Finally, the movie ends happily with the marriage of Ranga & Venkata Lakshmi.

Cast

• Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Ranga Rao^[2]
• Jamuna as Venkata Lakshmi^[2]
• Sobhan Babu as Dr. Prasad^[2]
• Vijaya Nirmala as Padma^[2]
• V. Nagayya as Veeraiah^[2]
• Gummadi as Dharma Rao^[2]
• Allu Ramalingaiah as Police Punaiah
• Padmanabham as Bujji
• Chalam as Narasimhulu
• Bhanu Prakash as Chalapathi^[2]
• Suryakantham as Baby
• Malathi as Prasad's mother^[2]
• Geetanjali as Lilly
• Radha Kumari as Punaiah's wife^[2]

Production

Producer D. Madhusudhana Rao sought to work on the adaptation of the A. J. Cronin novel Beyond This Place, on the suggestion of Gollapudi Maruti Rao. He hired Mullapudi Venkata Ramana to write the story taking a basic plot point from the novel while Ranganayakamma provided the dialogues. Prisons scenes were shot at real locations at Chanchalguda and Musheerabad Central Prisons in Hyderabad with the permission of the state government. Though the film was predominantly filmed in black-and-white, the "Nee Jilugu Paita" song sequence alone was in colour.^[2]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by S. Rajeswara Rao.^[3]

Release and reception

Griddaluru Gopalrao of Zamin Ryot, in his review dated 1 December 1967, criticised the film for its poor direction and performances.^[4] The film ran for more than 100 days in 11 centres in Andhra Pradesh.^[5]

Awards

• Mullapudi Venkata Ramana won the Nandi Award for Second Best Story Writer (1967).^[6]