60 years for Telugu cinema's classic, Lava Kusa

HYDERABAD: In 90 years of Telugu cinema's existence, we have seen many classics and blockbusters. One of them is the 1969 release, Lava Kusa. It is not only a classic but also a film that is etched in the memory of almost all Telugu-speaking people. Audiences still watch this movie whenever it gets telecasted on television. This film celebrates 60 years of its release today.

Lava Kusa was released on March 29, 2023. Directed by C. Pullayya and CS Rao, this movie featured NT Rama Rao, Anjali Devi, Kanta Rao, Master Nagaraju and Master Subrhamanyam in the lead roles. Lava Kusa happens to be the first colour film in Telugu.

Two years after playing the role of Ravansura in Seetharama Kalyanam, NTR got a chance to play Rama's role in this movie. Initially, people criticised the choice of selecting Anjali Devi as the lead heroine. They questioned how can a vamp actress pull off a goddess role. But the directors didn't care about that criticism. They went ahead with their choice and Anjali Devi gave a phenomenal performance.

Upon its release, Lava Kusa got a thumping repose from the audience. Theatres were houseful for many weeks. It ran for 100 days in 26 centres. After this movie, people started treating NTR and Anjali Devi as Lord Rama and Sita. Whenever Lava Kusa's names pop up, Master Nagaraju and Master Subrhamanyam's figures come into Telugu people's minds. Such is the impact of that movie. Very few movies were able to make a mark in every generation's audience's hearts and Lava Kusa is one of them.