Underplayed Gems

Jayasimha (1955)

Jayasimha poster
Directed by
Dasari Yoganand
Genre
historical film
Country
India
Runtime
2h 45m
Rating
10.0 of 10 from 1 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A crown prince fakes his death and joins a rival kingdom's army to escape his power-hungry uncle. He falls in love with a princess and befriends a general's daughter. The uncle eventually discovers his secret and hunts him down.

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What happens

Jayasimha is a 1955 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film directed by D. Yoganand and written by Samudrala Jr. It was produced by N. T. Rama Rao and his brother N. Trivikrama Rao for their production company National Art Theatre. The film features Rama Rao playing the eponymous protagonist along with Anjali Devi and Waheeda Rehman (making her debut as an actress in Indian cinema) in the lead roles, supported by an ensemble cast of S. V. Ranga Rao, Kantha Rao, Gummadi, Relangi and Rajanala Kaleswara Rao. Inspired from the Telugu novel Veera Pooja, the film tells the story of Jayasimha (played by Rama Rao), the crown prince of Malawa kingdom who escapes assassination attempts from his uncle Rudrasimha (Ranga Rao), who wishes to ascend the throne as the next king. Jayasimha leaves Malawa assuming a new identity and leads the life of a soldier in Magadha kingdom, falling in love with its princess Padmini (Waheeda) and befriending Kalindi (Anjali Devi), the daughter of an old disabled general Ranadheer (Gummadi). The rest of the film focuses on the aftermath of Rudrasimha finding out Jayasimha's new life in Magadha and seeking his life. D. V. S. Raju, who assisted Rama Rao during the production of Pichi Pullayya (1953) and Thodu Dongalu (1954), joined the film's crew as an associate producer. T. V. Raju composed the film's soundtrack and score; M. A. Rehman was signed as the cinematographer and G. D. Joshi edited the film. Jayasimha's principal photography was conducted at sets erected by Thota at Vijaya Vauhini Studios, Madras (now Chennai). Jayasimha was released theatrically on 21 October 1955, cashing in on the Vijayadasami festival holidays. Upon release, the film was a commercial success, completing a 100-day run in 6 centres, 169-day run in Vijayawada and Guntur, and a 175-day run in Bangalore. It was later dubbed into Tamil in the same year, with the title Jayasimman. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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