Whenever a discussion surrounding Akkineni Nageswara Rao’s films crops up, we can obviously sense a pattern in his choices, which he has often said, were made according to a personal assessment of his strengths. As he had often quoted in the past, masses found him apparently appealing in his tragic, socialist, mythological, detective and family-pleasing tales than the other populist genres during his times. From Devadasu to Rojulu Marayi to Maya Bazaar, while trying to be a regional Shammi Kapoor of sorts in his late 70’s, ANR played a lead actor for four consecutive decades alongside his on-screen rival NTR, an unequaled feat even in the history of Indian cinema.
His transformation as a character artiste was smoother than that of Amitabh Bachchan who waited till early 2000’s to play an elderly character in Mohabbatien, through the effervescent yet underplaying Sutradharulu besides Kranthi Kumar’s Seetha Ramaiah Gari Manavaralu, where audiences didn’t quite mind him going bald. He created the belief that the character or the film is any day bigger than the stardom that tries to encapsulate it. Here, we come to another film of his, Chakravarthy Chitra’s Maro Prapancham directed by Adurti Subba Rao starring Gumadi, Savitri and Jamuna. This remains a special film for many reasons. Primarily it has to be the anti-governmental nature of the same, marching close to Ayn Rand’s ‘objectivist’ theories mentioned in Atlas Shrugged. The discussion about it being a good film because it went beyond the commercial trends can still be a topic worthy of a fruitful debate.
The film’s first hour starts more like a spy-thriller. The hypocrisy of the political setup is mocked by the average citizen where the names of national figures are used to instigate personalized movements besides ideas such as the labeling of roads, cities, stadia, stations and schemes after them. The hints are very much present in the first sequence. We get to witness the apathetic dimension of the situation. A national alert is announced where instances of destitute children in slums being kidnapped are on the rise. Then arrives Akkineni, as an under-cover detective to keep track and decode the brain behind the series of unfortunate happenings. The clues are cleverly underplayed in the narrative which takes an unexpected dramatic turn in the latter part.
We are swayed with the criminal angle of the initial sequences and lose track of the title’s significance, ‘the parallel world’. There unfolds a flashback that an idealistic world can boast of. An environment where children have none among surnames, religions, castes or say, any possible barrier that categorizes them beyond humans. They are in fact defined by their futuristic ambitions. Most importantly, we’re introduced to the reason behind the creation of such a milieu. We now get to the most controversial part of the movie that takes it close to the league of Chiranjeevi’s Tagore and Shankar’s Sivaji, even if they were manipulative efforts to serve entertainment than the narration of a social evil. How is the total exercise funded? The thread of black-money being stolen for societal good, unfolds. Adurti, more or so takes sides here and justifies that going the anti-social way to cater to the betterment of a nation is necessary. Not only Nageswara Rao’s character, but the total film wants the law to consider them innocent. That’s where Maro Prapancham falls short of its inspirational value. How can you take an example of trafficking and black-money laundering as matters of social benefit? The film proposes poignant thoughts and questions to a larger extent. It’s an achievement that a 155-minute span can ensure such a wide spectrum of thoughts, where entertainment is ensured with the social-connect.
The title of the film brings us to another discussion of Sri Sri’s lines in Maha Prasthanam that read,’ Maro Prapancham Maro Prapancham, Maro Prapancham Pilichindi, Padandi Munduku Padandi Tosuku, Podaam Podaam Pai Paiki’. The maker rather took the lines personally for the result. Another film, on the minds that tries to capture the scenes behind crime and the judicial system, the critically acclaimed but commercially disastrous Sudi Gundalu, was made prior to this with noble intentions as well. Unfortunately with the colossal failures of both the films, especially the former, also starring big-time actors like Jamuna and Savitri didn’t ensure any similar efforts, leading to the closure of the banner, co-owned by ANR and the Mooga Manasulu maker. Co-incidentally, K Vishwanath served as an assistant director to both the films. Then came the 1970’s that kick-started the times of Prem Nagar and as they say, the rest is history.
By Srivathsan N. First published in Cinegoer.net
