Swarnakamalam
Encyclopedia
Swarna Kamalam or Swarnakamalam is a 1988 critically acclaimed Telugu film written and directed by K. Viswanath. It stars Venkatesh
and Bhanupriya
in the lead roles. The original soundtrack of the film was composed by Ilayaraja. Swarna Kamalam is rated as the 9th best film of Dr.K.Viswanath by Telugu film website Fresh and Rotten.
) and Savitri (Devilalitha) are two daughters of a Kuchipudi
doyen, Seshendra Shastry. While a highly accomplished artiste in his field, Seshendra Shastry is not well-off, and so has not been able to afford his daughters a conventional education. Both of them have achieved a respectable degree of proficiency - Savitri in Carnatic Classical Music, and Meenakshi in classical dance.
Savitri is grateful for her knowledge and interest, and looks forward to a life that will require her to hone her skills in the same art. Meenakshi, on the other hand, is bitter about the lack of opportunity that she feels in the field of classical dance in India, saddled with, and resolves to make a simpler and more pleasurable life for herself as soon as possible, while confiding her ambitions only to her sister at this stage.
Chandrasekhar (Venkatesh
) is a tenant who has just moved in next door. He is a painter by profession, and is shown to be handling movie promotions as a large chunk of his work. He develops an interest in the neighbours and tries to help them in whatever way he possibly can, partly because of his (unconfessed) interest in Meenakshi, and partly because of his interest in the art which seems to be slowly fading away from public life. The rest of the film is largely built around on Meenakshi's personal journey from skepticism to devotion in her pursuit of dance. Chandrasekhar is shown to be an important catalyst in this transformation. Meenakshi becomes an accomplished dancer and gets an opportunity to go abroad. She comes to know of Chandrasekhar's love for her. She doesn't go abroad and finally unites with Chandrasekhar, confessing her love for him as well.
The locations include Puri
in Orissa, The Himalayas
, the Stupa at Sanchi
, Vishakapatnam, and others.
Daggubati Venkatesh
Venkatesh Daggubati is an Indian film actor who stars in Tollywood films. He is the son of veteran Tollywood film producer, former MP, Dr. D. Ramanaidu. He is often credited as Victory Venkatesh in films and is one of the lead actors in Telugu Cinema. He has won seven Nandi Awards and four...
and Bhanupriya
Bhanupriya
Bhanu Priya is an Indian actress. She was a former leading actress of the Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam film industries from 1980 to 1993...
in the lead roles. The original soundtrack of the film was composed by Ilayaraja. Swarna Kamalam is rated as the 9th best film of Dr.K.Viswanath by Telugu film website Fresh and Rotten.
Plot
Meenakshi (BhanupriyaBhanupriya
Bhanu Priya is an Indian actress. She was a former leading actress of the Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam film industries from 1980 to 1993...
) and Savitri (Devilalitha) are two daughters of a Kuchipudi
Kuchipudi
Kuchipudi is a Classical Indian dance form Andhra Pradesh, India. It is also popular all over South India. Kuchipudi is the name of a village in the Divi Taluka of Krishna district that borders the Bay of Bengal and with resident Brahmins practicing this traditional dance form, it acquired the...
doyen, Seshendra Shastry. While a highly accomplished artiste in his field, Seshendra Shastry is not well-off, and so has not been able to afford his daughters a conventional education. Both of them have achieved a respectable degree of proficiency - Savitri in Carnatic Classical Music, and Meenakshi in classical dance.
Savitri is grateful for her knowledge and interest, and looks forward to a life that will require her to hone her skills in the same art. Meenakshi, on the other hand, is bitter about the lack of opportunity that she feels in the field of classical dance in India, saddled with, and resolves to make a simpler and more pleasurable life for herself as soon as possible, while confiding her ambitions only to her sister at this stage.
Chandrasekhar (Venkatesh
Daggubati Venkatesh
Venkatesh Daggubati is an Indian film actor who stars in Tollywood films. He is the son of veteran Tollywood film producer, former MP, Dr. D. Ramanaidu. He is often credited as Victory Venkatesh in films and is one of the lead actors in Telugu Cinema. He has won seven Nandi Awards and four...
) is a tenant who has just moved in next door. He is a painter by profession, and is shown to be handling movie promotions as a large chunk of his work. He develops an interest in the neighbours and tries to help them in whatever way he possibly can, partly because of his (unconfessed) interest in Meenakshi, and partly because of his interest in the art which seems to be slowly fading away from public life. The rest of the film is largely built around on Meenakshi's personal journey from skepticism to devotion in her pursuit of dance. Chandrasekhar is shown to be an important catalyst in this transformation. Meenakshi becomes an accomplished dancer and gets an opportunity to go abroad. She comes to know of Chandrasekhar's love for her. She doesn't go abroad and finally unites with Chandrasekhar, confessing her love for him as well.
Locations
The high quality of the choreography in the song sequences demanded a set of locations that were spread across the country.The locations include Puri
Puri
Puri is district headquarter, a city situated about south of state capital Bhubaneswar, on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian state of Orissa. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the Jagannath Temple . It is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham pilgrimages...
in Orissa, The Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, the Stupa at Sanchi
Sanchi
Sanchi is a small village in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the location of several Buddhist monuments dating from the 3rd...
, Vishakapatnam, and others.
Awards
Nandi AwardsNandi Awards
The Nandi Awards is the most Prominent award ceremony for Telugu films, Telugu Theater & Television, presented annually in Andhra Pradesh, India. "Nandi" means "bull", the awards being named after the big granite bull at Lepakshi — a cultural and historical symbol of Andhra Pradesh.Nandi...
- Nandi Award for Best Feature Film - (Gold) - 1989
- Nandi Award for Best ActressNandi Award for Best ActressThe Nandi Award for Best Actress winners:-See also:* Nandi Awards* Cinema of Andhra Pradesh...
- BhanupriyaBhanupriyaBhanu Priya is an Indian actress. She was a former leading actress of the Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam film industries from 1980 to 1993...
- 1989 - Nandi Special Jury AwardNandi Special Jury AwardThe Nandi Special Jury Award is given by the state government as part of its annual Nandi Awards for Telugu films....
- Daggubati VenkateshDaggubati VenkateshVenkatesh Daggubati is an Indian film actor who stars in Tollywood films. He is the son of veteran Tollywood film producer, former MP, Dr. D. Ramanaidu. He is often credited as Victory Venkatesh in films and is one of the lead actors in Telugu Cinema. He has won seven Nandi Awards and four...