Bhakta Prahlada (1932 film)
| Bhakta Prahlada | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster in Madras | |
| Directed by | H. M. Reddy |
| Based on | Bhakta Prahlada |
| Produced by | Ardeshir Irani |
| Starring | Sindhoori Krishna Rao |
| Cinematography | Adi M. Irani |
| Music by | H. R. Padmanabha Sastry |
Production company | Imperial Film Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Budget | ₹15,000–18,000 |
Bhakta Prahlada (transl. Prahlada, the devotee) is a 1932 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Film Company. It features Sindhoori Krishna Rao as the titular Prahlada, along with Munipalle Subbayya, Surabhi Kamalabai, Doraswamy Naidu, Chitrapu Narasimha Rao, and L. V. Prasad. No complete synopsis of the film is known to survive, but it is an adaptation of a play of the same name.
Having achieved success in Hindi cinema by releasing India's first sound film Alam Ara in 1931, Irani wanted to expand his scope to South Indian cinema. Bhakta Prahlada was released on 6 February 1932, and was positively received by the audience but variedly by critics, who panned its resemblance to the stage version, poor sound recording, and low-quality images.
It is now lost; surviving artefacts include a few stills, advertisements, and reviews. It is believed to be the first sound film of Telugu cinema, until film historian Rentala Jayadeva found out that H. M. Reddy's debut film Kalidas had Telugu dialogues and was released much earlier on 31 October 1931.