But for Viswanath, Sankara Sastry, SPB were unthinkable in Sankarabharanam

HYDERABAD: Kalatapasvi Viswanath’s ‘Sankarabharanam’ remains immortal in the annals of Telugu film history. The reasons are one too many. Till then, no one would have ever imagined that a film, themed on Indian classical music while poking at the rigidity of culture and customs, would captivate filmgoers and reap a rich haul of honours including the national film awards.

Here are two aspects that would make the success of the film really sweet, even when it is reminisced now, many decades after its release. The film ‘Sankarabharanam’ stands for Viswanath’s immense self-belief and the power of master story-telling even while treading on complex and not-so-popular storylines.

One of the biggest gambles that Viswanath took with Sankarabharanam was his decision to cast J V Somayajulu, a little known name on the silverscreen till then, as the main lead. That Somayajulu was swayed by a wave of overnight recognition which ironically made him struggle post-Sankarabharanam is a different story.

In the hindsight, it seems that only Viswanath could have ever taken such a bold decision to revolve the entire film around a novice and have him play ‘Sankara Sastry’, the protagonist of a scrupulous classical vocalist-cum-teacher who is ostracised for living by his convictions. But, Viswanath left the audiences awe-struck with his mesmerising on-screen narration of intricate aspects. He proved the pundits and his skeptics wrong even as the film turned out to be one of Telugu film industry’s all time classics.

There is yet another awe-inspiring back-stage anecdote surrounding Sankarabharanam that makes Viswanath truly a class apart. This incidentally is the film that catapulted SP Balasubrahmanyam from being the most sought-after to a highly respected playback singer. But, did you know that SP Balasubrahmanyam was not the original first choice to sing for the film?

Themed on Indian classical music, the film demanded the rendition by no less than a maestro and of the stature of Carnatic vocal exponent Mangalampalli Bala Murali Krishna. But the idea of Viswanath and music director K V Mahadevan came a cropper after the legendary vocalist kept playing hide and seek. This is when Viswanath, together with Mahadevan, took a monumental decision that would soon trash some notions attached to the classical abilities of one of India’s legendary playback singers.

The duo of Viswanath and Mahadevan decided to replace the great Mangalampalli with SPB. But, the move had its own pitfalls as SP Balasubrahmanyam – already the most popular playback singer in South – was never trained in classical music. With Kalatapasvi ably supporting them, Mahadevan and his assistant Puhalendi took it upon themselves to train Balasubrahmanyam over a month with all the required classical singing nuances. And rest was history.

Sankarabharanam virtually turned SPB’s life on its head as all the songs became ever-green classics. The film scripted the beginning of a cult status for the singer himself. Derided till then by the purists of classical music, SP Balasubrahmanyam also began earning the respect of the greatest singing pundits including Balamuralikrishna himself.

Until his demise a few years ago, SPB always acknowledged the one Sankarabharanam factor in his life and expressed his gratitude to Viswanath, his distant cousin by relation, for being the reason for it.