It's 90 years since first Telugu talkie film Bhakta Prahlada hit silver screen

HYDERABAD: Bhakta Prahlada is Telugu's first talkie film, released nine decades ago. September 15 marks the release of the movie in 1931.

It is a Hindu mythological film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Film Company. Producer Ardeshir Irani wanted to expand his career to the South, and it was then, Irani approached HM Reddy to do Bhakta Prahlada in Telugu.

HM Reddy adapted the story of a famous play of the same name, written by Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu. The film features Sindhoori Krishna Rao in the titular role of Prahlada. Surabhi Kamalabai played the character, Leelavathi and became the first Telugu heroine. Doraiswamy Naidu essayed the character Indra. LV Prasad essayed Prahlada's friend's character. LV Prasad later went on to become a famous director in Telugu.

Adi M. Irani worked as the film's cinematographer while HR Padmanabha Sastry composed the soundtrack. The film was released on 15th September 1931, with a runtime of 108 minutes. The cast and crew back then worked for almost 20 hours a day. The makers spent around 20,000 rupees on the film's budget. It became a big hit after its release.

Apart from using the proses from the original Bhakta Prahlada play, the makers also created new songs for the film, penned by Chandala Kesavadasu. He became the first Telugu lyricist.

Later, Sobhanachala Productions produced another film on Bhakta Prahlada, dubbed as the second Telugu motion picture on Bhakta Prahlada, with advanced technology in those days. In 1967, Chitrapu Narayana Murthy directed a film titled Bhakta Prahlada, which gained public attention. Roja Ramani played the titular role and SV Ranga Rao essayed the character of Hiranyakasyapa.