Dharma Daata

Dharma Daata is a 1970 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by Tammareddy Krishna Murthy under the Ravindra Art Pictures banner and directed by A. Sanjeevi. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Kanchana, with music composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. It is a remake of the Tamil film Enga Oor Raja (1968), and was a box office success.

Plot
The film begins with Raja Raghupathi Rao, a generous Zamindar of Sripuram, well-renowned for his charity & humanity, who leads a happy family life with his wife, Susheela, sister Lakshmi, and two sons, Shekar & Chakravarthy. Meanwhile, Bhageswaram Zamindar Bhujangam Rao, envious of Raghupathi Rao, wants to grab his property by coupling his son Raju with Lakshmi. During the wedding, Raja Raghupathi Rao cannot pay some part of the dowry as he is bankrupt for the charities. Right now, Raghupathi Rao mortgages his palace Srinilayam which he adores as a temple. Knowing this, Bhujangam Rao contempts him by pulling his shoulder cloth. Enraged, Raghunatha Rao challenges to regain his Srinilayam and make Bhujangam Rao touch his feet. Afterwards, Susheela passes away after giving birth to a baby girl, Jaya. Lakshmi refuses to attend the funeral and is bullied by Bhujangam. From there, Raghupathi Rao & sons develop hatred towards her. Grief-stricken Raghupathi Rao reaches the city and takes an oath from his children that they will retrieve Srinilayam.

Years roll by, and Shekar, Chakravarthy, and Jaya grow up. They all work hard and make three-quarters of the money. Besides, Lakshmi tries to get close to her brother's family, as it is her husband's last wish. So, her daughter Padma makes acquaintance with Shekar and cleverly accommodates herself in their house, hiding her identity. Meanwhile, Lakshmi moves with the marriage proposal of her son Prasad with Jaya, which Shekar refuses. Parallelly, a glimpse loves track of Chakravarthy with the princess of Vijayapur Rani. After a while, Shekar learns the truth regarding Padma and necks her out. Being mindful of it, Lakshmi's intention Bhujangam Rao becomes furious when Padma lets him know that Raghupathi Rao is almost on the edge of winning. So, he ploys to snatch Srinilayam, makes the money vendor Seth Dayaram threaten Raghupathi Rao, and steals their hard-earning.

At that moment, Raghupathi Rao's sons accuse and leave him alone, who turns lunatic. After that, through Padma, Shekar finds the evil design of Bhujangam Rao and retrieves their money. By then, insane Raghupathi Rao reaches Sripuram to protect his Srinilayam when Bhujangam Rao intrigues to blast the building. At last, Raghupathi Rao teaches the lesson to Bhujangam Rao with the help of his sons and gets back his property. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the marriages of Raghupathi Rao's progeny.

Music
Music was composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. Music released on Audio Company.

Box office
The film ran for 100 days in 13 centres and the celebrations were held at Shanti Talkies, Hyderabad.

Awards

 * Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) – Tammareddy Krishnamurthy (1970).