Dharma Daata

Dharma Daata
Directed by	A. Sanjeevi
Produced by	Tammareddy Krishnamurthy
Starring	Akkineni Nageswara Rao Kanchana Nagabhushanam B. Padmanabham Jhansi
Music by	T. Chalapathi Rao
Cinematography	S. Venkataratnam
Studio	Saradhi Studios
Release date(s)	1970
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Dharma Daata (Telugu: ధర్మదాత) is a 1970 Telugu film directed by A. Sanjeevi and produced by Tammareddy Krishna Murthy of Ravindra Art Pictures.

The plot

Raghupathi (Sr.ANR) is a generous Zamindar of Sripuram. He is the person who never says no to any one who asks for a charity. He is blessed with wife (Shaukar Janaki), sister Laxmi (Jhansi). He falls into debts after getting his sister, Laxmi, married to Raju, son of Zamindar Bhujangam (Nagabhushanam). Raghupathi mortgages his home 'Srinilayam' to give dowry for his sister and is bankrupt. Raja wife dies after delivering a baby girl. After the death of his wife, he takes his two sons, Shekar (Jr.ANR) and Chakravarthy (Padmanabham) and daughter Jaya (Anitha), and leaves the village for the city. They all work hard and make some money. After that, Laxmi tries to get close to her brother's family, as it is her husband's last wish. Laxmi's daughter Padma gets friendly with Shekar. Meanwhile, Bhujangam tries to keep Srinilayam all for himself, but Shekar puts a stop to his evil designs. Finally, Shekar and Padma get married, while Jaya marries Padma's brother Ishwar. How Raja's gets his property along with the help of his sons and teaches the lesson to Bhujangam is the rest of the story.

Cast

Actor	Character
Akkineni Nageshwara Rao	Zamindar Raghupati and Shekar
Nagabhushanam	Zamindar Bhujangam
Kanchana	Padma
Jhansi
B. Padmanabham	Chakravarthy
Iswara Rao
Anita
Geetanjali
Sowcar Janaki	Wife of Zamindar Raghupati (guest)
Allu Ramalingayya
Sakshi Ranga Rao
Suryakantham	(guest)
Relangi Venkata Ramaiah	(guest)

Crew

• Direction: A. Sanjeevi
• Story: Balamurugan
• Screenplay: Tammareddy Krishnamurthy, Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani
• Dialogues: Pinisetty
• Lyrics: C. Narayana Reddy, Kosaraju Raghavaiah
• Playback Singers: Ghantasala, P. Susheela, Jayadev
• Dance: K. S. Reddy
• Music Director: T. Chalapathi Rao
• Camera: S. Venkataratnam

Songs

• chinnaari bullemmaa siggeMduku lEvammaa (Lyrics: Dr. C. Narayana Reddy; Music: T. Chalapathi Rao; Singers: Ghantasala and Kanchana;)
• evarivi neevevarivo neeveveravo korika teerche kalpataruvu (Music: T. Chalapathi Rao; Singers: Jayadev and Geetanjali; Cast: Padmanabham and Geetanjali)
• evvarikOsaM evaDunnaaDu poMDiraa poMDi (Lyrics: Kosaraju; Singer: Ghantasala; Music: T. Chalapati Rao; Actor: Akkineni Nageswara Rao)
• hellO engineer my dear come here (Lyrics: Dr. C. Narayana Reddy; Music: T. Chalapathi Rao; Singer: P. Susheela)
• jO laali jO laali ? laali naa chiTTitaMDri (Lyrics: Dr. C. Narayana Reddy; Music: T. Chalapathi Rao; Singer: Ghantasala)
• O dharmadaata ? evaru neevaaru kaaru (Lyrics: Dr. C. Narayana Reddy; Music: T. Chalapathi Rao; Singer: Ghantasala)
• O naannaa nee manasE venna amRtaMkannaa (Lyrics: Dr. C. Narayana Reddy; Singers: Ghantasala, Jayadev and P. Susheela; Music: T. Chalapathi Rao; Cast: ANR, Padmanabham, Kanchana, Anitha)
• OM paramESwari jagadESwari raajESwari kaaLESwari (Lyrics: Dr. C. Narayana Reddy; Music: T. Chalapathi Rao; Singers: Ghantasala and P. Susheela)

Boxoffice

The film ran for 100 days in 12 centers in Andhra Pradesh.

Awards

• Akkineni Nageswara Rao won the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) for his versatile duel role in 1970.

External links

• Dharma Daata at IMDb.
• Dharmadata review at Cinegoer.com
• Dharmadata review at Telugu Cinema.com