Kadiri Venkata Reddy (1 July 1912 – 15 September 1972), commonly known as K. V. Reddy, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer, primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema. Renowned as one of the most influential filmmakers in South Indian cinema, he directed 14 feature films during his career. His contributions earned him several prestigious accolades, including three National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award South.
His filmography includes films based on itihasa-puranas like Mayabazar (1957), Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddhamu (1962), Sri Krishna Satya (1972); fantasy films like Gunasundari Katha (1949), Pathala Bhairavi (1951), Jagadeka Veeruni Katha (1961); historical biopics like Bhakta Potana (1942), Yogi Vemana (1947), and drama films like Pedda Manushulu (1954), Donga Ramudu (1955), Pellinaati Pramanalu (1959).
Pathala Bhairavi was the only South Indian film to be screened at the first International Film Festival of India in 1952. Donga Ramudu was archived in the curriculum of the Film and Television Institute of India. Mayabazar is widely regarded as one of the greatest Indian films ever produced. On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, CNN-IBN included Pathala Bhairavi and Mayabazar in its list of "100 greatest Indian films of all time". In an online poll featuring the films in the list, Mayabazar was voted by the public as the "greatest Indian film of all time."
Early life Kadiri Venkata Reddy was born on 1 July 1912 in a Telugu family in Tellamitta Palle near Tadipatri in Anantapur district in present-day Andhra Pradesh. His parents were Konda Reddy and Venkata Rangamma. His mother was a devotee of Venkateswara. His father died when K. V. Reddy was two years old. Later, he and his mother moved to his maternal uncle's home.
He performed well in academics and actively took part in sports like football and hockey. He was good at mathematics and painting. Actor Moola Narayana Swamy was a close friend of Reddy's from his school days.
He completed his B.Sc degree in Physics from Madras Presidency College. While living in Madras, he was fascinated with the cinema industry which was still in its nascent stage. He started regularly watching films and would watch three films on Sundays. P. Pullayya was one year senior to him in college. P. Pullayya entered the film industry while K. V. Reddy was still in college. Both of them would frequently discuss about stories suitable to be made as films.
K. V. Reddy graduated in 1935. He wanted to enter the film industry after the completion of his graduation. He started reading various books on filmmaking. He studied and analysed films and books by Russian and Japanese filmmakers.
Career After graduation, K. V. Reddy started a business named "The Standard Scientific Instruments Company" with his friend A. V. V. Krishna Rao. Started with an initial capital of 250, the company manufactured scientific instruments that are used in schools and colleges. He ran the business for one year during 193637 and it was successful.
19371941: Early career K. V. Reddy was invited by his childhood friend Moola Narayana Swamy to work in the production department of a film he was co-producing. K. V. Reddy joined as a cashier for Rohini Pictures in 1937 for the film Gruhalakshmi. The film released in 1938 and was commercially successful.
Rohini Pictures was formed by the partnership of H. M. Reddy along with B. N. Reddy and Moola Narayana Swamy. The latter two had differences with H. M. Reddy and split themselves from Rohini Pictures and established Vauhini Pictures. Narayana Swamy was the Chairman and B. N. Reddy was the Managing Director of the company. K. V. Reddy joined Vauhini Pictures along with them. He was also made a partner in the company. He worked as a Production Manager for Vauhini films like Vande Mataram (1939), Sumangali (1940), Devatha (1941). While working as a cashier and a production manager, K. V. Reddy developed understanding of various aspects of filmmaking. While working at Vauhini Pictures, he became acquainted with Kamalakara Kameswara Rao, who was an assistant to B. N. Reddy. They made a pact that the first one to become a director among them would work as an assistant to the other.
19421950: Directorial debut and breakthrough
Bhakta Pothana (1943) While working as a production manager at Vauhini, K. V. Reddy prepared the script for a film based on the life of 15th century Telugu poet Pothana. Though it was opposed by various people in the company for K. V. Reddy's lack of directorial experience, Narayana Swamy greenlit the project. The film was titled Bhakta Pothana and featured V. Nagayya in the title role. Kamalakara Kameswara Rao assisted him as was previously agreed upon. The production of the film was interrupted by the second world war. But Bhakta Pothana completed its production and was finally released on 7 January 1943. The film was successful all over South India including Mysore state and Kerala.Bhaktha Potana (1943), M. L. Narasimham, Blast from the past, The Hindu, 11 December 2011.
After the huge success of Bhakta Pothana, Narayana Swamy who had interests in other business ventures focused on film production. He made a proposal to the board to confine Vauhini Pictures to film distribution and start Vauhini Productions for film production. The proposal was approved, and Narayana Swamy invested 2 lakh out of the total capital of 2.5 lakh. Rest of the 50,000 was provided by the family of B. N. Reddy and K. V. Reddy. Thus, K. V. Reddy became a partner in Vauhini Productions. It was decided that B. N. Reddy and K. V. Reddy would alternately direct films for the production house. When Vauhini Productions made Swargaseema (1945) as its first production under the direction of B. N. Reddy, K. V. Reddy worked as a production manager for the film. Though the film faced troubles due to the shortage of film stock due to the world war, it became successful. K. V. Reddy also made a cameo appearance in the song "Oho Tapodhana".
Yogi Vemana (1947) While working on Swargaseema, K. V. Reddy started preparing the script for his next directorial venture. Along with Samudrala Sr., he gathered information on Vemana from historical and folklore sources and prepared the script for Yogi Vemana (1947). K. V. Reddy collaborated once again with Nagayya who played the lead role. The film was critically acclaimed but underperformed commercially. Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen in Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema note, "Bhakta Pothana and Yogi Vemana, contributed to Chittor V Nagaiah’s image as South Indian cinema’s most famous actor in the saint film genre".
Around the same time, Vauhini Productions' films were getting delayed due to lack of studio facilities. And so, they decided to build a studio of their own. Narayana Swamy invested the capital required for building the studio while B. N. Reddy took up the responsibility of managing the construction work. Even though B. N. Reddy was to direct the next film for Vauhini as per the agreement, it fell upon K. V. Reddy to direct the next film as B. N. Reddy was busy in the construction work of the studio.
Gunasundari Katha (1949) K. V. Reddy wanted to make a film that was distinct from his previous films and any of the films produced till then by Vauhini. He chose William Shakespeare's play King Lear as the inspiration for the core plot. But K. V. Reddy and his writers Pingali and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao changed the tone from the tragedy of King Lear to a more entertaining one for the film. Titled Gunasundari Katha (1949), the film was successful at the box-office. The film had a scene where the protagonist turns into a bear due to a curse. K. V. Reddy remembered a kind-hearted bear in his childhood which spared him his life and made it a character in the film. The film was later remade in Tamil as Gunasundari (1955) by Vijaya Productions under the direction of Kamalakara Kameswara Rao.
19501963: Further critical and commercial success
Pathala Bhairavi (1951) Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani signed K. V. Reddy in 1950 to direct Pathala Bhairavi. The film was based on a story from Kasi Majilee Kathalu, written by Madhira Subbanna Deekshitulu. Pingali adapted the content and wrote the film's story. Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and Reddy worked on the screenplay. Pingali was also inspired from the story of Aladdin. Pathala Bhairavi was made as a bilingual film, shot in Telugu and Tamil simultaneously with both the versions having the same title.
The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, S. V. Ranga Rao and K. Malathi. The film focuses on a gardener's son who has to amass wealth equal to that of the king of Ujjain to marry his daughter and a sorcerer who has to sacrifice an intelligent and brave young man to Goddess Pathala Bhairavi to gain access to a statuette which can grant any wish. As the film is shot as a bilingual, production lasted for a whole year starting from 5 February 1950 until 8 February 1951.
The Telugu version of Pathala Bhairavi was released on 15 March 1951, and the Tamil version on 17 May 1951. Both versions were commercially successful. Pathala Bhairavi became the first Telugu film to run continuously for 175 days, and the first Telugu film to have a direct run of 200 days. The 1952 Hindi version was also successful. Pathala Bhairavi is considered to be a breakthrough film for both Rama Rao and Ranga Rao. The success of the film established Vijaya Productions as a prominent production house in South Indian cinema. It was also the only South Indian film to be screened at the first International Film Festival of India held at Mumbai on 24 January 1952.
Pedda Manushulu (1954)
After the success of Pathala Bhairavi, Nagi Reddi asked K. V. Reddy to make another fantasy film for Vijaya Productions. But, after directing two historical films (Bhakta Pothana, Yogi Vemana) and two fantasy films (Gunasundari Katha, Pathala Bhairavi ), K. V. Reddy wanted to make a drama film this time. As B. N. Reddy and K. V. Reddy previously agreed to alternately direct films for Vauhini, K. V. Reddy planned to make his next film on Vauhini Productions banner.
K. V. Reddy was interested in western literature and films. The Pillars of Society, a 1877 play by famous Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen attracted him. He wanted to direct a film based on the play. He collaborated with D. V. Narasaraju and D. B. G. Tilak and prepared the script. Only two characters from the play were retained and rest of the story was newly developed by the writers.
The film titled Pedda Manushulu portrayed corruption among so called respectable persons of the society. It released on 11 March 1954 and was commercially successful. It became the first Telugu film to win the National Film Award. The film became a trendsetter for many later films with a similar theme. It showed that those who are considered Pedda Manushulu ( or ) by the society are corrupt. After the film's release, the term Pedda Manushulu had negative connotations in Telugu culture for a long time. The film proved K. V. Reddy's capability in directing not only fantasy and mythological films, but also social dramas.
Donga Ramudu (1955)
After Akkineni Nageswara Rao became a major movie star in the early 1950s, his friend and mentor Dukkipati Madhusudhana Rao wanted to launch their own production company. They established Annapurna Pictures, named after Madhusudhana Rao’s stepmother. Madhusudana Rao, Nageswara Rao, and few others were its partners. They wanted K. V. Reddy to direct the first film for their banner and waited for more than two years for him.