Laila Majnu is a 1949 Telugu-language historical romance film, based on the Sufi legend of Laila-Majnu. It is produced and directed by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao under the Bharani Pictures banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Bhanumathi, with music composed by C. R. Subburaman. The film was simultaneously dubbed and released in Tamil with same title. The film was successful at the box office.
The film is a portrayal of an iconic Arab origin love tale Laila Majnu. It begins with Qais & Laila, who grow as a single soul from infancy. Their respective parents, Ameer Umri & Ameer Sarvaar, also share cordial relations. However, a rift arises between the families who are conscious of their progeny's fondness. Sarvaar rebuke Umri to restrain Qais. By not dissuading his daughter from seeing Qais, Sarvaar forcibly carries Laila to Mecca. Qais behind her and roams on the street in a lunatic state, uttering his darling's name. The public mocks him titling as Manju by casting the rocks. Laila & Manju are devastated just by a mere glance. So, Manju dares to intrude covetously but is caught and subjected to torment.
Meanwhile, the Iraq Emperor visits the town, who is startled by the knowledge of this love story. He covets Laila after noticing her and forces his acolyte, Anwar, to make it feasible. Besides, Umri implored Sarvaar to secure his son, which he accepted, stipulating that Manju be evidence that he was not insane. Though Manju triumphs in it, Sarvaar must bow his head down before the Empire's bridal connection. Ergo, the nuptial is conducted, Laila walks to Iraq with the Emperor, and Manju turns into a desert rover. The arrival of Laila irks the Emperor's mistress, Zarina, who harshly forwards but pacifies, mindful of her shattered story. Hence, she decides to aid her and pleads with the Emperor to quit her, which he denies. Now, the Emperor attempts to subdue Laila with utmost but in vain. Ultimately, he repents and honorably sends off Laila, adopting her as a sibling. At last, the catastrophe struck before them through a fierce sandstorm, but the estranged two united at hard-earned. Finally, the movie ends with Laila & Manju leaving their breath together, showing them as immortal.
Cast according to the opening credits of the film:
Laila Majnu, an ancient epic of love, is an integral part of classic Sufi literature. Hashmet Shah has told it, so has Amir Khusro. Nizami Ganjavi's 12th century version in scintillating verse filled with allegorical flourishes has been translated into numerous languages. Mian Mohammad Bakhsh's interpretation of the epic is held as an acclaimed treatise in Pakistan till this day. The tragic tale of Majnoon and Laila is said to have its foundations in true events that occurred in the 7th century.
With his first film, Rathnamala, turning a box office hit, studio owner and director Ramakrishna was on the lookout for a suitable subject for Bharani's next venture. Fascinated by the first Hindi talkie version of Laila Majnu (1945), which he had seen in Bombay, he made the choice. His production chief D. L. Narayana agreed with him. A screening of the Hindi version was arranged for his actress-wife Bhanumathi and Akkineni Nageswara Rao, whom he had thought of for the protagonist's role. Samudrala Raghavacharya was assigned the job of writing the script and the dialogue.
The sandstorm scene especially is worth mentioning. Instead of veteran cameraman Jiten Banerjee, who cranked for Rathnamala, Ramakrishna took B. S. Ranga as the cameraman without even knowing how efficient his work was. Ranga who bagged this assignment thanks to his brother Garudachari, a close friend of Ramakrishna, proved his worth and it was the turning point in his future life and career. Besides excellent photography, sound designing (by V. Srinivasa Raghavan under whom later day's popular director K. Viswanath worked as an assistant), the period sets created by art directors Goadgoankar and K. Nageswara Rao.
Vedantam Raghavayya choreographed the songs. Samudrala Sr gave the story, dialogue, and lyrics. Cinematography is performed by B. S. Ranga. The film is presented by P. Bhanumathi under Bharani Pictures.
Music composed by C. R. Subburaman. All the tunes for all the songs and singers for both languages are the same. Singers are P. Bhanumathi & Kasturi Siva Rao. Playback singers are Ghantasala, S. Dakshinamurthi, Madhavapeddi Satyam R. Balasaraswathi Devi, P. Leela & Jikki.
Music released on AVM Audio Company.
Lyrics by Samudrala Sr. The song "Preme Neramouna" is an evergreen blockbuster.
Lyrics by S. D. Sundharam.
The film was dubbed into Tamil and released simultaneously with the Telugu version. S. D. Sundharam wrote the dialogues and lyrics for the Tamil version. F. Nagoor made another Laila Majnu in 1950 under the banner Balaji Pictures and shot at Newtone studios with T. R. Mahalingam and M. V. Rajamma . The story was again made in 1953, 1976 (in Hindi and Bengali), and later in 1982.
An article published in the Hindu wrote about this movie, "While the opulent palace, garden and other sets were put up in the floor, the desert set with a pond, palm trees (to resemble date trees found in deserts) and sand dunes were created in the open space between the studio and the recording theatre and the scenes were shot there during the nights for the right effect. The result of this entire effort was reflected in audience's appreciation of the movie."