Maya Bazaar

Mayabazar (English: Market of Illusions) is a 1957 Indian epic fantasy film directed by Kadiri Venkata Reddy. It was produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani for their production banner, Vijaya Vauhini Studios. The film is bilingual, shot in both Telugu and Tamil with the same title, but with slight differences in the cast. The story is an adaptation of the folktale Sasirekha Parinayam, which in turn is based on the Mahabharata. It revolves around the roles of Krishna (N. T. Rama Rao) and Ghatotkacha (S. V. Ranga Rao), as they try to reunite Arjuna＇s son, Abhimanyu (Telugu: Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Tamil: Gemini Ganesan) with his love, Balarama＇s daughter (Savitri). The Telugu version stars Gummadi Venkateswara Rao, Mukkamala, Ramana Reddy and Relangi Venkata Ramaiah in supporting roles, replaced in that order by D. Balasubramaniam, R. Balasubramaniam, V. M. Ezhumalai and K. A. Thangavelu in the Tamil counterpart.

The film marked a milestone for Nagi Reddy and Chakrapani, being the first mythological film produced by their studio. In addition to the technical crew, 400 studio workers − including light men, carpenters and painters − participated in the development of Mayabazar. Director Reddy was meticulous with the pre-production and casting phases, which took nearly a year to complete. Rama Rao was initially reluctant to play the lead role, but his portrayal of Krishna received acclaim and turned out to be the first of many such performances. The soundtrack features 12 songs, with the musical score primarily composed by Ghantasala, and the lyrics by Pingali Nagendrarao (Telugu) and Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass (Tamil). Four of the songs were composed by S. Rajeswara Rao prior to his departure from the project, the reason for which is not known. One of them features the first illusion of moonlight in Indian cinema, shot by cinematographer Marcus Bartley.

Made on an estimated budget of ₹200,000 (valued at about US$4175 in 1957), Mayabazar had a final film-reel length of 5,888 metres (19,318 ft). The film＇s Telugu version was released on 27 March 1957; the Tamil version was released nearly a month later, on 12 April. Both were critically and commercially successful, with a theatrical run of 100 days in 24 theatres, and it became a silver-jubilee film. Mayabazar was also dubbed into Kannada. The film is considered a landmark of Telugu and Tamil cinema, with praise for its lead cast, and for its technical aspects despite the technology available at the time. Mayabazar received the Filmfare Award for Best Film in Telugu, and was featured at the 1957 International Film Festival of India and the Indonesian Film Festival. The film was screened at the Public Gardens in Hyderabad for its 50th anniversary on 7 April 2007. A May 2013 CNN-IBN poll listed Mayabazar as the greatest Indian film of all time.

Mayabazar became the first Telugu film to be digitally remastered and colourised after a Hyderabad-based company, Goldstone Technologies, acquired world negative rights to fourteen films (including Mayabazar) in late November 2007. The cost of its digitalisation was estimated at ₹75 million (valued at about US$1663000 in 2010). The digitally remastered and colourised Telugu version was released on 30 January 2010 in 45 theatres in Andhra Pradesh. It was a commercial success with positive critical reviews, although one of them recommended the original instead.