Peddamanushulu or Pedda Manushulu (Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

: పెద్దమనుషులు) is a 1954 Telugu film directed by Kadiri Venkata Reddy. D.V. Narasa Raju

D.V. Narasa Raju

D.V. Narasaraju or Datla Venkata Narasaraju was a writer and director of South India films and playwright. He has written stories such as Gundamma Katha, Yamagola, and Donga Ramudu....

, who wrote the dialogues, is said to have been inspired by Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...

's The Pillars of Society

The Pillars of Society

The Pillars of Society is an 1877 play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen....

, but Narasa Raju denied this. The film is themed on corruption, and portrays all peddamanushulu (influential people) as corrupt. Because of this film, the term peddamanushulu has negative connotations in Telugu culture.

The plot

The main characters in the film are in the public service, most of them in corrupt, negative roles, and there are many villains instead of one main villain. Dharma Rao (Gowrinatha Sastry) is the Chairman of the municipality. The municipal contractor, a local businessman, and his associates make up the rest of the corrupt cast. They use their influence for their own personal ends in secret. The municipal counsellor, however, Ramadasu (Lingamurthy), who is also a newspaper editor, is honest and uncorrupted. What happens to all these characters makes up the plot of the movie.

Soundtrack

• Nandamaya Guruda Nandamaya Ananda Deviki Nandamaya (Singer: Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao)