Vedantam Raghavayya | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 8 June 1919 Kuchipudi, Krishna district, India |
| Died | 1971 (aged 51 or 52) |
| Occupations | |
| Spouse | Suryaprabha |
| Children | 7, including Shubha |
Vedantam Raghavayya (Telugu: వేదాంతం రాఘవయ్య) (8 June 1919 – 1971) was an Indian film director, dance choreographer, Kuchipudi exponent, actor, producer, and musician known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and Tamil cinema.[1][2][3][4][5] Raghavayya was an accomplished Kuchipudi dancer, who was awarded "Bharata Kala Prapurna" in dance by the Andhra Pradesh government.
Starting his career as a dance choregrapher,[6] Raghavayya choreographed for films such as Raithu Bidda (1939), and Swarga Seema (1945). He made his directorial and production debut with Stree Sahasamu (1951). He then directed successful films such as Devadasu (1953), Annadata (1954), Anarkali (1955), Chiranjeevulu (1956), Bhale Ramudu (1956), Prema Pasam (Tamil, 1956), Suvarna Sundari (1957), Rahasyam (1967).[7] As an actor he starred in Mohini Rukmanigada (1937), Garuda Garvabhangam (1943) and Raksharekha (1949).[8][9] He was the co-owner of the film production house "Vinodha Pictures".
Raghavayya served in the committee of the First General Council of the "Andhra Pradesh Sangeetha Nataka Academy" that represented Dance and was also nominated in 1964 as the President of the "National Dance Festival". Noted dancer, Bhagavathula Yagna Narayana Sarma, Sangeet Natak Akademi winner was trained under Raghavayya's Fellowship.[9][5]
His directorial film Devadasu (1953),[3] which was the first Telugu adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel, and Devadas was the second Tamil adaptation of the same, following the 1937 Devadas directed by and starring P. V. Rao.[10] During pre-production Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who portrayed the titular character, later recalled that Raghavayya, being a Kuchipudi dance exponent and an experienced stage actor, used to enact the scenes before the actors, thereby making their job easy. He recalled that the director shot him only at night so that he could give the character a "drunken, droopy" look.[11] Those night-time shots were filmed over 50 days. The final length of both versions was 17,260 feet (5,260 m).[12] Devadasu and Devadas are regarded as among the most successful films in Telugu and Tamil cinema respectively. Both versions were critically and commercially successful. It has since achieved cult status, with terms and phrases from the film being widely cited.[13] In April 2013, News18 included the film in its list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time".[14]
Raghavayya was born in Kuchipudi, Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh on 8 June 1919 to Vedantam Ramayya and Annapurnamma. He had six daughters and a son, including renowned Kuchipudi guru Vedantam Ramu, and actress Shubha. He was married to actress Suryaprabha, the sister of actress Pushpavalli who was married to Gemini Ganesan, and their daughter Rekha is a Hindi actress.[5]
