Sankarabharanam

Sankarabharanam ("The Jewel of Shiva") (1979) is a musical film in the Telugu language, directed by Dr. K. Vishwanath and produced by Poornodaya Art Creations. It is widely considered to have caused a renaissance in both Telugu and Indian films.

Viswanath gained national acclaim for this film, which triggered a sequence of other art movies in Telugu, including Thyagayya (by Bapu), Meghasandesam (by Dasari N. Rao), and Viswanath's own follow-ups to Sankaraabharanam: Saagara Sangamam, Sruthi Layalu, Swarna Kamalam, Sirivennela, and Swathi Kiranam.

The movie is about a maestro of Carnatic music who dedicates his life to music. He becomes a victim of western on-slaught of Indian culture and tradition. However he succeeds in passing on the priceless tradition to a worthy inheritor.

Contents

1 Plot 2 Credits 3 See also 4 External link

Plot

Sankaraabharanam Sankara Sastry, popularly known as Saraswathi Putra (abode of all knowledge), is the doyen of Carnatic music. He has mastered the raga Sankaraabharanam. He is a sage when he sits to perform in a kutcheri. He bathes in the Rasa Ganga with his nirantara saadhana (uninterrupted practice - riyaaz). He wins accolades across all barriers. Wealth has always been a by-product of all the sanmanas. (Saraswathi and Lakshmi were together !).

Tulasi (daughter of a pimp), as the name suggests, is a real gem of a girl. She remains chaste in the most maculate of environments. She has an intense propensity for dance and music along with some professional training too. She has also been gifted with an innate laya.

The movie starts with an introduction by Viswanath,

"'SiSurvEtti paSurvEtti, vEtti gAna rasaM phaNihi' (Music is enjoyed equally by babies, animals and even snakes) We hope you appreciate our effort in bringing you the Jeeva Dhara of the Indian classical music."

followed by a song by Sankara Sastry(sung by SP Balasubramanyam) in a packed auditorium.

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Omkaara Naadaanu samdhaana mavu gaaname Sankaraabharanamu [That which is congruential with the primordial sound AUM is Lord Siva's ornament....]

.....

Advaita Siddhi ki, amaratva labdhi ki gaaname sopaanamu [Music is the means by which one can achieve the goals of Advaitha. It is also the road to immortality.] Satwa saadhanaku satya sodhanaku sangeetame praanamu. [It is the means by which one can minimize one's entropy.]

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{Sankara Sastry (predicatbly) chose Music for his salvation}

Sankara Sastry is distracted by some unwanted chatting (by Tulasi's mother and her client !! ) in the hall, which results in his leaving the hall.

Sankara Sastry is pacified by his 7 yr. old daughter's sruthi on the tambura. He starts training her too beside a river bank. It so happens that Tulasi keeps listening to this training session and so Sankara Sastry gets to know abt Tulasi and her disposition towards the art. This gradually grows into a strong bond of Guru-Sishya.

Tulasi, is one day subjected to sexual abuse by her mother's client(a Zamindar). She is taken to an yield point, where she has to murder the zamindar. Sankara Sastry requests his friend, Madhava(by Allu RamaLingayya), a lawyer by profession to redeem her off the crime. Sankara Sastry turns into her redeemer. But sooner, Sankara Sastry has to batter a few existing social customs to incorporate her into his house, which he does. But not able to tolerate all the criticism her Guru is facing, she decides to maroon herself.

Ten long years pass by...

in the mean while Sankara Sastry is reduced to a pauper, unable to withstand the onslaught of western music over India.

Tulasi returns to Sankara Sastry's place to admit her son (biological father: the Zamindar) into Sankara Sastry's house.Her Son manages to sneak into his house and starts learning music under his aegis. Madhava helps Sankara Sastry in getting his daughter married. Tulais comes to know thru Madhava that she has inherited a large amount of mproperty from her mother. She utilizes all that money in reviving the dying art forms. The movie ends as Sankara Sastry passes over his gandapendera (his heritage) to Tulasi's son.

Credits

• Cast: JV Somayajulu, Manju Bhargavi and Allu Ramalingayya.
• Dialogues: Jandhyala
• Music: KV Mahadevan
• Lyrics: Veturi Sundarama Murthy
• Story, Screenplay & Direction: Dr.K.Viswanath
• Producer: Edida Nageswara Rao for Poornodaya Films.

See also

• List of Telugu films

External link

• Sankara Bharanam (http://www.idlebrain.com/nosta/sankarabharanam.html) - a review of the film from the Telugu film site idlebrain.com (http://www.idlebrain.com/)

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Sankaraabharanam (usually spelt Sankarabharanam) is also a raga of Carnatic music. It is the 29th of the Melakarta ragas.