Lakshadhikari

Lakshadhikari is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language thriller film directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao and Krishna Kumari, with V. Nagayya, Gummadi, Relangi, Ramana Reddy, Mikkilineni, K. V. S. Sarma, Suryakantham, Girija and Rushyendramani in supporting roles. It is the debut production of Tammareddy Krishna Murthy and D. Venkatapathi Reddy's company Ravindra Art Pictures. It was released on 27 September 1963, and became a commercial success.

Plot
Rangaiah is a tycoon whose most confident & intimate insider is Manager Seetaiah. He quarters his family with him, and Seetaiah's wife, Lakshmi, dears Rangaiah's motherless son Prasad with her daughter Padma. Sivam, Rangaiah's sly brother-in-law, pesters him for investment in the trade of smuggled gold, which he denies. Once, Rangaiah bargains the most valuable diamonds from a jeweler and guests with him. The same night, Sivam steals it and slaughters the jeweler by mingling with Rangaiah's servant Panakalu. Now, Rangaiah is posed as guilty and penalized for 20 years. So, he appoints Seetaiah as guardian of his son & wealth. Tragically, Sivam abducts the child, who mandates Panakalu to slay him, and Lakshmi becomes dumb in that mishap. A childless couple, Pichaiah & Achamma, shields Prasad and rears him. Later, God blesses a baby girl, Leela to them.

Years rolled by, and Prasad, a research scholar, discovered a medicine for heart disease. Seetaiah is raised in high esteem in society and is waiting for his master's arrival. Sivam grows into a deadly gangster and still sidekicks Panakalu, who works for Seetaiah. Prasad & Padma are acquainted in a brawl and fall in love. Seetaiah currently offers Prasad a high ranking and establishes a pharmaceutical company. Prasad acolytes Panakalu's son, SS Rao / Sanyasi Rao, is a good soul and crushes on Leela. Panakalu detects Prasad through his mole and blackmails Pichaiah, divulging the totality. Parallelly, Achamma fixes an affluent alliance for Leela, which Prasad bars learning about her love affair. Hereupon, enraged Achamma curses him, exposing his birth secret. Following this, Prasad is aware of his parentage via Pichaiah and rushes to Rangaiah, but he acquits till then. Fortuitously, the father & son come across each other often, but in avail.

After a struggle, Rangaiah lands at Seetaiah but collapses, knowing the loss of his son. That night, Sivam's henchmen attack Rangaiah; Prasad secures him and is injured. At the hospital, Rangaiah identifies Prasad but quiets down on Pichaiah's plea and silently serves him. Recognizing the heir's existence, Sivam appoints Panakalu to eliminate Prasad. In that combat, Panakalu is backstabbed by Sivam when Rangaiah charges himself, misinterpreting Prasad as the culprit. Now, Prasad affirms to prove his father's innocence and senses the mystery revolves around Seetaiah's bungalow. Ergo breaks it in various disguises and with Rao & Padma's aid. Here, as a flabbergast, Seetaiah is unveiled as an actual killer in the mask of Sivam by imprisoning the original. At last, Prasad frees Rangaiah when Seetaiah implores, and he accepts Padma as daughter-in-law. Finally, the movie ends happily with the marriages of Prasad & Padma and SS Rao & Leela.

Cast

 * N. T. Rama Rao as Prasad
 * Krishna Kumari as Padma
 * V. Nagayya as Rangayya
 * Gummadi as Seethayya
 * Relangi as S. S. Rao
 * Ramana Reddy as Pichayya
 * Mikkilineni as Panakalu
 * K. V. S. Sarma as Sivam
 * Suryakantham as Achamma
 * Girija as Leela
 * Rushyendramani as Lakshmi

Development
After working as a production controller at Sarathi Studios for years, Tammareddy Krishna Murthy established his own production company Ravindra Art Pictures (named after the poet Rabindranath Tagore) with his friend D. Venkatapathi Reddy as partner. For the company's debut production, which would eventually become Lakshadhikari, Krishna Murthy signed V. Madhusudhana Rao to direct and Narla Chiranjeevi as writer.

The original story was simply a family drama, which did not fully satisfy Krishna Murthy. When Krishna Murthy met producer Parvathaneni Gangadhara Rao, the latter advised him to include an element of suspense in the story, and Krishna Murthy liked the idea. Heeding to Krishna Murthy's wishes, Narla Chiranjeevi rewrote the story to make it look more like a thriller. Cinematography was handled by C. Nageswara Rao, and the editing by Akkineni Sanjeeva Rao.

Casting and filming
N. T. Rama Rao was cast as the male lead Prasad; the fact that he and Krishna Murthy bonded during the making of Palletooru (1952), which was Krishna Murthy's cinematic debut as production manager, helped him get Rama Rao's dates for Lakshadhikari. Krishna Murthy initially chose Nagabhushanam to play the character Seethayya, but later replaced him with Gummadi as he felt he could "conceal villainy behind his soft demeanour and mislead the audience."

One scene filmed at the swimming pool of the College of Engineering, Guindy had Padma (Krishna Kumari) in a swimsuit, but it was edited out by the Censor Board who declared that "the heroine should not wear a swim suit". The exterior portions of Chandamama Buildings in Vadapalani stood in for the college where Padma and Leela (Girija) study. The end of the song "Mabbulo Yemundi" required that Rama Rao and Krishna Kumari walk holding each other's hands on the seashore. As they were walking, a giant wave swept them away. Krishna Kumari did not know swimming and almost drowned, but Rama Rao held her hand tightly and saved her. Peketi Sivaram created the film's revolver sound effects.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by T. Chalapathi Rao.

Release and reception
Lakshadhikari was released on 27 September 1963. The film performed well at the box office, and became a trendsetter for more suspense-filled films in Telugu.