Keelu Gurram

Keelu Gurram is a 1949 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film produced and directed by Raja Saheb of Mirzapuram under the Sobhanachala Pictures banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi, with music composed by Ghantasala. The film marks the debut of Ghantasala as a composer who would later become a noted composer and playback singer.

Fascinated by the commercial success of folklore films, Raja of Mirzapuram asked his writers to come up with a similar subject. Tapi Dharma Rao assisted by the noted story-teller Sadasivabrahmam (uncredited) wrote the story of the film which is inspired by Kasi Majili Kathalu. Chitrapu Narayanamurthy, who had earlier directed all of Raja’s productions wrote the screenplay. Narayanamurthy also ghost directed most of the scenes for the Raja.

The film released on 19 February 1949. Keelu Gurram was a big hit and celebrated a 148-day run at Maruthi Talkies in Vijayawada and hundred-day run at 10 other centres. It was also the first Telugu film dubbed into Tamil. After Balaraju (1948), Keelugurram established Nageswara Rao as the much sought-after hero.

Plot
The film begins with Pranena, the emperor of Vidarbha while hunting, spotted & enticed by a demon who yearns to knit him. So, she transfigures into a gorgeous Yakshini Bhuvana Sundari when Pranena lusts & splices her. Soon after, they walk to the kingdom where his Queen Prabhavati welcomes them and nears Sundari as her own. Later, Sundari devours her meals with elephants & horses at night, and the root cause remains mysterious. Prabhavati senses it as a bad omen and attempts to bar it via her devotion. Frightened, Sundari incriminates Prabhavati for the deeds. Ergo, the King mandates the decapitation despite her being pregnant, and soldiers carry her to the forest. Being pitiful, they get her out therein, plucking the eyes. Next, they hand over the eyes to Sundari, who preserves them with her elder sister, Yogini, a malignant demon. Consequently, blind Prabhavati delivers a baby boy, Vikrama Simha, and the forest dwellers shelter them. Besides, 5-year-old Sugunavati, the princess of Anga, is abducted by a demon, Yogini. Hence, her father announces far & wide to bestow his kingdom with his girl, one that retrieves her. Converting it, 3 intellects, an Engineer, an Astrologer, & his assistant belonging to Vidarbha, detect Suganavati's whereabouts behind the seas. So, they plan to sculpt a "Keeluguram," the magic horse that flies and starts their trails.

Years roll by, and Vikram rises as a gallant, but he is humiliated by his fellows that he is unbeknownst to his parentage. Thus, Vikram seeks his mother's actuality, whom she divulges the past, and he heads by aiming to erase his mother's disgrace. By then, the Engineer had succeeded in his experiment but could not employ it, so he presented the horse before Pranena, who was searching for a dynamic. Vikram arrives & triumphs when his courage enthralls Pranena, delegates him as his chief commander, and shows affection. Now, the Engineer endowed the horse to Vikram, saying he would give him a chance for thanksgiving. Indeed, his ploy is to gain Suguna. From there, Vikram hinders Sundari's preying since he turns a tough nut, and she wiles to slay him. Accordingly, she forges, ailing, for which they should obtain a medicinal herb from her sister beyond the three seas. Pranena assigns Vikram, who moves with Sundari's letter, stating to knock him out, which he is unfamiliar with. Currently, Vikram is starting his adventurous journey. Midway, he shields Vidyavati, the princess of Amaravati, from a wizard when they crush. Promptly, he drops her in their kingdom and rests the night. Being a scholar, Vidya reads Sundari's letter, so she rewrites it in favor of Vikram, gazing at the danger. Ultimately, Vikram lands at his destination, where Yogini provides hospitality through Vidya's phony letter. Parallelly, the 3 intellects keep Vikram under surveillance and await the shot.

Once, Vikram listened to music where he viewed Suguna, comprehended her situation, and the two fell in love. Following this, Vikram tactically gets the sibling demon's life secret amalgamated in two worms at a banian tree. Vikram valorously wins it, eliminates Yogini, and procures his mother's eyeballs with the medicine to restore them. On their back, they halt halfway, where the Engineer traces Vikram and orders him to surrender Suguna, which he denies. Therefore, he lifts Suguna with the horse by backstabbing Vikram. After a struggle in the sky, fortuitously, they land at Amaravati, where Suguna stamps out the Engineer and the judiciary accuses her. At this, Vidya also familiarizes Suguna as Vikram's wife, and they hunt for their husband, boarding the horse. Anyhow, hard luck makes them captured by a band of bandits. Simultaneously, Prabhavati arrives in the capital, sensing some premonition about her son when Sundari imprisons her and decrees to hang publicly. Vikram is guarded by a saint succeeding; he relieves an angel's curse. With her aid, Vikram knows the status quo, winds up at his horse, and skips with his wives, including the box of worms & eyeballs. On the verge of enforcement, Vikram fetches at the palace. At last, he recoups his mother's vision, breaks out Sundari's devilish side, and ceases her. Finally, the movie ends happily with Vikram's crowing ceremony.

Cast

 * Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Vikrama
 * Anjali Devi as Guna Sundari, a Yakshini
 * A. V. Subba Rao as Prachanda Maharaju
 * Relangi as Govindudu
 * D. Satyanarayana as Mahamantri Sumantha
 * V. Koteswara Rao as Pratapa Shilpa
 * Pucha Viswanatham as Vasudeva
 * K. V. Manikya Rao Naidu as Sishya
 * M. Kondayya as Rudra
 * Ramanatha Sastry as Maharaju
 * Suryashree as Vidyavathi
 * Balamani as Prabhavathi
 * Lakshmirajyam Jr. as Sugunavathi
 * T. Kanakam as Keekini
 * Surabhi Kamalabai

Soundtrack
Music was composed by Ghantasala. Lyrics were written by Tapi Dharma Rao. Music released on HMV Audio Company.

Box Office

 * The film ran for more than 100 days in 11 centers in Andhra Pradesh.