Santhanam (film)

Santhanam is a 1955 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced & directed by C. V. Ranganatha Das under the Sadhana Films  banner while  L. V. Prasad has taken care of direction supervision. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Savitri and music composed by Susarla Dakshina Murthy. The film is the debut of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar in the Telugu film industry. The song Nidura Pora Thammuda was a trend setter in being a theme song that unites lost siblings. The film was remade in Tamil as Marakka Mudiyuma?.

Plot
The film begins with Rangaiah, a laborer who has two children, and his wife passes away, giving birth to a third. Beyond that, Rangaiah loses his eyesight in an accident, and 3 children are left to fend for themselves by Rangaiah. Due to misfortune, the second one, Ramu, is lost on the train and joins a drama troupe. The eldest, Lakshmi, finds shelter at the wealthy Narahari Rao's residence with the help of his son Madhu. One day, unfortunately, the younger Babu is abducted by a thief for a locket when Mastan Baba, a wrestler, rescues and rears him. Years pass, Ramu becomes a stage artist, and his proprietor compels him to knit his daughter. Frightened, Ramu escapes and lands at a tycoon, Subbaraju's residence, where he acquires a cooking pot, and Sarada, the daughter of Subbaraju, falls for him. Parallelly, Madhu & Lakshmi share a bond beyond, who promises to espouse her. Knowing it, Narahari expelled Lakshmi immediately after he proceeded abroad. Before dying, Mastan Baba reveals Babu's birth secret and handovers the locket. After that, he saves Narahari's daughter Sarala from goons, and she crushes him. Here, Narahari angers as he aspires to perform at Sarala's wedding with his nephew Shakaram, so he detached them too.

Meanwhile, Subbaraju learns about Ramu & Sarada's love affair, approves their alliance, and promotes Ramu as General Manager. After returning, Madhu finds out about his father's violation of Lakshmi. Right now, she works as a daily worker at Subbaraju's factory, where Manager Kamayya tries to molest her when Babu rescues her. In the quarrel, she recognizes him by the locket. Following, to take revenge, Kamayya throws Lakshmi into debt and asks her to vacate the house. So, to repay the amount, Babu heists a beggar and its Rangaiah. Whereat, Lakshmi returns it, chiding Babu, and shelters Rangaiah. During that plight, Lakshmi moves for Ramu's help, but he is reluctant. Depressed, Lakshmi moves on to singing their childhood song when Ramu recognizes her. So, he rushes, pleads pardon, and narrates their story, which Rangaiah overhears. However, he is quiet out of contrition when Babu arrives, strikes Ramu, and unfortunately, Lakshmi is wounded. Immediately, they shift her to a hospital where Madhu treats her. Accidentally, Babu spots grief-stricken Sarala therein and consoles her. Discerning the situation, Subbaraju silently arranges the weddings of siblings. Determining it, Narahari lands at the venue when Rangaiah bars him and divulges the truth about where the children mingled with their father. Looking at their affection, Narahari also realizes. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the marriages of siblings with their respective love interests.

Soundtrack
Music composed by Susarla Dakshina Murthy. Lyrics were written by Anisetty & Pinisetty. Music released on Audio Company.

Tamil version
The film was dubbed into Tamil with the same title and released in 1956. Dialogues were written by Thanjai T. K. Govindan and the lyrics were penned by Kuyilan.