Malliswari (1951 film)

Malliswari is a 1951 Indian Telugu historical romance film produced and directed by Bommireddy Narasimha Reddy under his banner Vauhini Studios. N. T. Rama Rao and Bhanumathi Ramakrishna star as a couple Nagaraju and Malliswari who are separated by Malliswaris greedy mother. Malliswari is sent to the kings palace according to the custom of Rani Vasam, a tradition during the Vijayanagara Empire wherein young women were fetched to the palace with an offering gold and jewellery to their parents. The rest of the film focuses on the consequences faced by Nagaraju when he, against all rules, surreptitiously enters the palace to meet Malliswari.

During the reign of the Vijayanagara Empire, Rani Vasam was a common tradition that was considered a boon for young women. According to the tradition, young women were made the official residents of the palace when palanquins were sent to fetch them from their homes, offering large quantities of gold and jewellery to the parents in exchange. While the families of these women continue to cherish their daughers, these women were prohibited from having any contact with any male or letting any male visit them without permission. The ones who violated the rule were beheaded.Nagaraju and Malliswari of Veerapuram are maternal cousins who became close friends in childhood. This angers Malliswaris mother Nagamma, who criticises Nagaraju and his mother Govindamma, mainly for their economic status. Malliswaris father Narappa, also the village head, is a silent spectator, and her uncle Hanumanthappa is a minister in the court of Krishnadevaraya, the king of the Vijayanagara Empire. Once, Nagaraju and Malliswari visit the nearby village and take shelter in a mandapa at night during a rainfall. Krishnadevaraya and Allasani Peddana, along with a few soldiers, enter the same mandapa where there are impressed with Malliswaris talent as a singer and dancer. Nagaraju and Malliswari, unaware of their true identity, converse with them, and Nagaraju asks them to recommend the Malliswari to Krishnadevaraya for Rani Vasam. ........

Source: Wikipedia