Classics : Missamma

Vijaya Productions, helmed by the great producer duo Nagireddy and Chakrapani, was a powerhouse rather than a production house, for Telugu films of the finest evergreen quality. Beginning with the 1950 social drama Shavukaru, Vijaya productions belted out a slew of great movies through the 50s and the 60s. The credit for this is shared by the producer duo themselves, Writer Pingali Nagendra Rao, Directors L.V.Prasad, B.N.Reddy and Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao, Musicians Ghantasala, Pendyala and S.Rajeshwara Rao and the great actors of that time. But, the most striking piece of film making coming from this studio is the 1955 evergreen cross culture romantic comedy - Missamma. This film had an enviable crew. Director L.V.Prasad, a frequent associate of Vijaya, who was already well known as a director of high calibre owing to his previous directorial ventures like Vijaya’s Maiden venture Shavukaru and the silver jubilee hit Pelli Chesi Choodu(also from Vijaya), was roped in as the director. Pingali Nagendra Rao, known for his exceptional wit, satire and inimitable coinage of words (Dimpaka, Dingari etc being some of them) was roped in to pen the dialogue and write the lyrics for the screenplay written by Chakrapani himself. Saluri Rajeshwara Rao set the music for this film with a line up of sterling singers like A.M.Raja, P.Leela and P.Susheela. Cinematography was by the camera magician Marcus Bartley (yet another Vijaya Regular).  While the movie was a huge financial success and spurned remakes in various other Indian languages, its success endures till date because of all the subtle elements that are deftly weaved together to form a clean and wholesome family film. Starring Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao, Savitri, Relangi Venkataramaiah, S.V.Ranga Rao, Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, Jamuna Rani, Ramana Reddy, Allu Ramalingaiah, Rushyendramani and a host of other popular supporting characters actors of that time, Missamma is a film that is as enduring, as evergreen and as great as its huge star billing.

The Plot:

The film follows two simple story lines that are intricately connected to each other in a complex manner :

One story line follows an affluent family of a village called Appapuram consisting of a very respected man in the village(S.V.Ranga Rao), his wife, Daughter(Jamuna Rani) and Brother in law(ANR). The elderly man’s wife is passionate about a school run by the family as it is named after their long lost daughter Mahalakshmi. But bad times plague the school as the teachers of the school, one being the village physician(Allu Ramalingaiah) and the other being the Brother in law, a wannabe detective, are more interested in their alternate professions rather than teaching. Thus, a search for a new teacher couple is launched alongside a search of the long lost daughter.

The second Story line is that of Miss Mary(Savitri), a staunch Christian graduate and M.T.Rao(NTR) a graduate of secular thought. Both of them lose their jobs as tutors and are in dire straits when they come across the advertisement in the wanted columns given for a married couple as teachers. Cowed down by their despicable financial position, they engage reluctantly, in a charade by becoming the couple, with Devayya (Relangi), a clever and care free beggar,  as their servant. But Miss Mary is pursued relentlessly by a suitor and Creditor David(Ramana Reddy) who also happens to be a petty thief.

As the game of charade proceeds, the detective Brother in Law looks for the long lost daughter. All these threads run parallel to each other only to be intersected at one person, Miss Mary herself.

The Performances:

The movie is full of solid acting talent :-

NTR delivers a charmingly understated performance as a meek bachelor who is on the downside of life. It is possibly the most mature role played by NTR who was already known for his performances in social films. His dialogue delivery changes in tone to suit a bevy of different on screen situations from comedic to serious. He never lets his lead actor status to act as an obstacle for the movie (which is titularly and content wise oriented on a woman).

Savitri, as the titular Missamma, is fabulous. She gets to act as a fierce and independent woman which she does with her signature panache. Her character, being the main one, carries a lot of meat and plenty of scope for her to display histronics galore and she does justice to it. Her character’s quick temper outbursts and jealous  reactions are a treat to watch.

Relangi gives one of his best comedic performances. He is effervescent through out. His two man conversations with NTR and ANR leave one in splits.

Character Actor Ramana Reddy gets to play the comedic villain. His comedy sequences with Relangi are side splitting too.

S.V.Ranga Rao delivers a respectable yet spunky performance.

Jamuna Rani is effective as the young daughter of the house.

Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, the tragic hero then, shows his lighter side in this movie. He is the third pure comedian in this movie and is as good as any comedian in his role. A bevy of sequences featuring him leave smiles galore in one’s face.

The rest of the supporting cast like Allu Ramalingaiah and Rushyendramani is perfect.

To put it very briefly, Missamma features one of the most perfect ensemble performances in the history of Telugu films, period.

The Screenplay and the Direction:

The Screenplay is an adaptation of a Bengali Short story “Manmoyee Girls School”. It was adapted by Chakrapani himself. His adaptation is deft and crisp. The story is a very simple one and Chakrapani lets it remain that way. The strength of his screenplay lies in the situations that have been created by him. The movie is filled with diverse characters, each of which have been etched sharply into the screenplay. Right from a meek male graduate to a fierce female graduate, a bumbling wannabe detective to a despicable petty thief, a carefree beggar to a kindly rich landlord and a funnily robotic assistant to the detective, the movie contains every such character. Yet, this acts as the mainstay of the film. The ultimate success of Chakrapani is that he was able to craft a cross culture romance by limiting references to any particular culture and focusing more on the people. While the story is essentially that of a romantic comedy, the larger social message and social satire are beautifully embroidered into it. The story also unfolds beautifully with the various characters following their own track till finally, the conclusion brings them to one common point. All through, the screenplay is one of optimum quality. Pingali Nagendra Rao wrote the dialogues and the lyrics. The effervescence of Pingali’s dialogue is evident throughout the film. One can find every bit of his dialogue laced with a generous dose of humour, especially the sequences featuring Relangi along with other actors. The dialogue not only helps the narrative, but also sets the delightful setting to the narrative. There is no inadvertent use of heavy language of any kind, making this movie, a masterpiece of simplism. Definitely one of Pingali Nagendra Rao’s best works.

The Music and Lyrics:

The music of Missamma is as evergreen as the movie itself. Saluri Rajeshwara Rao set some very mellifluous tunes which have stood every test of time without withering in the slightest. The music is very typical of the 50s era. From traditional, festive, devotional, romantic and satirical, the music covers ample ground. The songs have aptly been woven into the screenplay to provide emphasis to the situations in which they have been placed. Simple instrumentation, which was a characteristic of the songs that Rajeshwara Rao used to tune, is apparent throughout. Pingali Nagendra Rao, a master of the telugu word, has written lyrics that range from the spiritual to the quirky. Be it the romantic duets by A.M.Rajah and P.Leela (Who hasn't heard the classic – Raavoyi Chandamama?), the sparkling dance duets between A.M Rajah and P.Suseela(Brundavanamadi Andaridi), the sarcasm laden songs performed by Relangi(Dharmam Cheyyi and Seetharaam) and the quirky philosophical ones(Aunante Kaadhanile and Thelusukonave Chelli). In fact, Pingali’s lyrics are so popular that one liners from them have become the titles of many subsequent Telugu films(Aaduvari maatalaku ardhale verule, Brundaavanam, Andarivaadu, Raavoyi Chandamama to name a few). The score only elevates the narrative of the film rather than being a hamper to its smooth flow. Marcus Bartley, a magician of the camera, provides some picture perfect visuals to the songs and the movie as a whole. His use of bright lighting on Savitri's face in the various song sequences makes one feel her character's expressions and emotions with mere sight(Special note for Emito ee maya, the effect of moonlight on Savitri's face is superb).

Thanks to its honest devotion to the very grassroot of Indian cinema, Missamma is an unqualified classic which transcended the cultural barriers of its era and set an example for cross cultural movies. While the movie in itself is L.V.Prasad’s piece-de-resistance, one cannot deny that romantic comedies have never been as clean and as true as this movie. Missamma has every element of good cinema and they are pieced together ever so subtly. The commendable ensemble performance, the melodies and the very quirkiness all around are some things that one will never see outside of this movie.

 

!!! An unqualified classic !!!