It was a stormy night on May 9, 1990. The unified state of Andhra Pradesh was being lashed by heavy rains. There was a power cut as producer Ashwini Dutt sat for dinner with his family — wife, three children and his father — in the dark. There was a storm brewing inside him as well. His most ambitious film Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari had released that morning but most roads and theatres were flooded and the Howrah Express that was carrying the film prints to Vijayawada had got stuck midway as the rail tracks got washed away. “Will this be my last film?” he wondered, feeling utterly dejected.
Defying the adversity, the socio-fantasy film went on to become a blockbuster hit and one of the biggest successes for Ashwini Dutt.
The Chiranjeevi and Sridevi-starrer completes 30 years on May 9 and remains one of the biggest hits from the Vyjayanthi Movies banner.
It was an idea that writer Srinivas Chakravarti came up with while travelling in a car with director K Raghavendra Rao. The daughter of Lord Indra comes down to earth and loses her ring, and cannot return to Indraloka without it. Her search for it leads her to Raju, a tourist guide and guardian to four children. While trying to retrieve her ring, she falls in love with him.
Producer C Ashwini Dutt | Photo Credit: By arrangement
Raghavendra Rao liked the story and following a series of meetings and story discussion sessions with writer Yandamoori Veerendranath, Jandhyala, Satyanand and Crazy Mohan, developed it into a socio-fantasy drama filled with humour, romance and action. Raghavendra Rao bounced back with this film after a lean period.
- Chiranjeevi spent almost 25 days with the core team that was developing the story, informs Ashwini Dutt. Initially, it was decided that the hero goes to the moon in a rocket and meets the heroine there. But everyone felt the barren surface of the moon would not have any scope for song picturisation. Then Chiranjeevi suggested Manasarovar, where the ‘devakanya’ lands and the hero goes to bring the magical herb that would heal the injured leg of the little girl. This was liked by all and approved immediately.
- Beginning with O Seetha Katha in 1974, at the age of 21, Chalasani Ashwini Dutt had made up his mind that Telugu film industry would be his destination, and to make as many films as possible with his idol NTR. He shares that NTR was the one who named his production house as ‘Vyjayanthi Movies’. The first film under that banner was Eduruleni Manishi starring NTR and Vanisree. Vyjayanthi Movies, known for big budget and lavish productions had a successful run, till it hit a rough patch with Shakti in 2011. After this Ashwini Dutt took a seven-year hiatus. With Mahanati’s success in 2018, the banner is back in the reckoning. His daughters Swapna and Priyanka, with the talented Nag Ashwin, are set to bring back the banner’s glory with a line-up of movies that befit its run up to the Golden Jubilee year in 2024. “I’ll always be there to guide them and lend my advice in financial matters, but am confident that with their talent and exposure, my daughters will take Vyjayanthi Movies banner forward,” smiles Ashwini Dutt.
Seasoned lyricist Veturi Sundararama Murthy proved his mettle once again, winning applause even for the massy number ‘Amma nee teeyani debba’. Ilaiyaraaja, with his score for this film, cemented his place in the hearts of the Telugu audience. (He also bought rights and dubbed the film in Tamil as Kadhal Devathai.) S P Balasubrahmanyam, S Janaki and Chitra helped the song tracks soar to the top.
Chiranjeevi and Sridevi were grace personified in the Sundaram and Prabhudeva-choreographed dance moves.
With the digital era yet to begin, cinematographer Ajay Vincent painted magic with his lens; who can forget the scene where the roof of the house opens and Sridevi ascends along with a moonbeam?
A sequel
“It was a dream team,” acknowledges Ashwini Dutt who confirms that his plan to do a sequel to Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari is still on. “Raghavendra Rao’s son Prakash is working on the story and he along with Nag Ashwin will take it forward. The story will be about the offspring of Indraja and Raju. Once Nag finishes Prabhas’ film, he will begin work on this,” he says. Did he think of the cast? Not really, he says. Is Sridevi’s daughter Jahnavi and Ram Charan being considered? He laughs out loud and says it’ll be wonderful if it can happen.
Ashwini Dutt cites this film as his most favourite among all the films he produced. Going down memory lane, he recalls being fascinated by the socio-fantasy films made by the Vijaya banner, specially the KV Reddy-directed NTR-starrer Jagadeka Veeruni Katha, which was an inspiration for this film.
The late Jandhyala, who Ashwini Dutt informs, was his classmate from Kindergarten to SSLC, worked wonders with his trademark humour in the dialogues. When Sridevi adresses Chiranjeevi as ‘Maanava...’, he retorts, ‘Aa pilupu maa”nava?’ — vintage Jandhyala touch. He made the hero call the heroine ‘tingarabuchi’ (an endearing term for a girl who acts crazy), and no one took offence. The comedy track involving Allu Ramalingaiah and Tamil veteran Janagaraj worked well too.
In the last scene of the film, when the ring is flung into waters, a fish swallows it — indicating that the story has not concluded, thus keeping the plot open for a sequel!
Winning formula
A fantasy story lends unlimited scope to explore music, costumes, dialogue, visuals and lots of drama, Jagadeka... had all these factors in abundance. What else worked for this movie?
The brilliant screen presence of the lead pair — Chiranjeevi was at the peak of his popularity, Sridevi was this glamour queen from Bollywood, their coming together after almost a decade, generated enough excitement. It was Chiranjeevi’s first movie with Vyjayanthi Movies banner. Sridevi had previously done Akhari Poratam (Yandamoori Veerendranath’s novel) for the banner, with hero Nagarjuna.
Director Raghavender Rao and producer Ashwini Dutt with Sridevi and Chiranjeevi on the sets of ‘Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari’ | Photo Credit: By arrangement
Ashwini Dutt shares that Chiranjeevi and Sridevi had been planning a movie together, to be produced by Sridevi. Since that venture didn’t take off, they became part of Jagadeka... project. “Despite being busy stars, their commitment to the project was commendable. For the song ‘Priyatama...’, we just had two days from Sridevi’s dates left, after that she was flying off abroad. Chiranjeevi was running 104 degrees temperature at that time. To bring the temperature down, we would sponge his body with ice and he’d come for the shot, such was his commitment. After the song was completed, he was taken straight to the hospital where he stayed for a week till he recovered fully,” shares Ashwini Dutt.
Amrish Puri played ‘Mahadrashta’ a sorcerer who’s after the devakanya. He dubbed his dialogues making his villainous character more engaging.
The Sridevi factor
The entry song for Sridevi ‘Andala lo aho mahodayam’, befitting her ethereal beauty and grace of the ‘devakanya’ character she portrays, makes her way to the earth. From thereafter it was Sridevi all the way. Agrees Ashwini Dutt the film belonged to Sridevi. “In fact, Chiranjeevi said that he wanted to portray a down-to-earth rustic common man so as to highlight the ‘out of the world’ angelic character of Sridevi.”
Fresh from the success of Mr India, Chandini and Chaalbaaz, Sridevi was well on her way to becoming the numero uno of Bollywood. She brought with her the grooming, the sensibilities and the stylised mannerisms that she acquired in Bollywood to the film. Her child-woman innocence, the oomph in her dance moves, her comic timing, all contributed in a big way in creating the film’s magic. The premise of Mr India — a regular guy in the company of a bunch of children, seemed to have factored in by the writers. “Yes, Mr India was definitely at the back of our minds. It was very clever of our writers to bring children into the story fold,” says Ashwini Dutt.
Child’s play
Three child actors were picked from one family. The siblings — Shalini, Shamili and Richard — displayed extraordinary talent. “Their parents of course would accompany them on the set and Raghavendra Rao was excellent in the way he handled the children. There was another boy from Bengaluru and he got along well with the team,” recalls Ashwini Dutt.
Set display
For Jagadeka...Vijaya Vauhini studios in Chennai witnessed perhaps the biggest set ever for a Telugu film, after Premnagar. Ashwini Dutt shares that for a fantasy film like this, not a single graphic shot was used. “It was the sheer brilliance of Raghavendra Rao and Vincent. Polythene sheets smeared with vaseline were used to replicate a snow-filled Manasarovar,” he informs and recalls fondly that the owner of Vijaya Vauhini studios, the legendary B Nagi Reddy, who’d come for a walk, impressed by the set, offered to overlook the work.