On the occasion of Superstar Krishna’s 80th birth anniversary today, one of his biggest hit films Mosagallaku Mosagadu was re-released in 4K in theatres across Telugu states. Released on August 27, 1971, Mosagallaku Mosagadu was an important film in Krishna’s long career. But Krishna is also credited with the first telugu cinemascope film – Alluri Sitaramaraju (1974), first telugu Eastman color film – Eenadu (1982), the first 70 MM film – Simhasanam (1986), first DTS film – Telugu Veera Levara (1995). He was also responsible for popularising the spy genre in Telugu cinema with films like Gudhachari 116, James Bond 777 and others. Then why is Mosagallaku Mosagadu the right choice to bring back to the big screen a year after Krishna’s demise? Among all his traits, Krishna is perhaps best known for his daring choices throughout his five-decade-long career spanning over 350 movies as an actor, producer and director. And on that count, Mosagallaku Mosagadu was perhaps his most daring decision – a Western in India largely fed with family-oriented movies, agrarian village setups, mythological films, musicals etc. That too after having delivered a flop movie with his newly launched production house the previous year. Krishna’s decision to produce Mosagallaku Mosagadu appears foolhardy and rife with risk even today.
Mosagallaku Mosagadu was the first ever Western on the Indian screen. One or two dacoit themed films in Hindi and elsewhere may have been released before 1971, but Mosagallaku Mosagadu was undoubtedly the first proper Western to be made in India.
Having starred in over 40 films already after making his debut in 1965 with Thene Manasulu, Krishna had just established his own production banner Padmalaya Studios in 1970, and produced Agni Pareeksha the same year. Despite being a big-budget venture, the film failed forcing Krishna to rethink his strategy. The plethora of ‘cowboy movies’ running to packed houses in Madras around the time inspired Krishna and he asked well-known writer and lyricist Arudra to come up with a story having For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and Mackenna’s Gold (1969) as the basis. Arudra took the Bobbili region of the 18th century pre independence era during the British–French wars for his story universe and added the fictional story of the search for the hidden Amaraveedu treasure. Krishna plays a bounty hunter who has become a thorn in the flesh for feared robber Nakkajittula Naganna played by Nagabhushanam, based on Ugly character from The Good the Bad and the Ugly.
The story came out so well that Krishna insisted Arudra should direct it also. When Arudra expressed his unwillingness, Krishna and his brothers chose KSR Das to helm the film. Das had successfully presented Vijaya Nirmala in an action avatar in Rowdy Rani (1970). He had also directed Takkaridonga Chakkani Chukka with Krishna and Vijaya Nirmala playing the leads in 1969. So, Krishna and his brothers had full confidence in Das as a director for this unique, big-budget venture. Films around that time usually had about Rs 3-4 lakhs for budget. Krishna decided to spare no cost and was ready to spend double the amount for Mosagallaku Mosagadu. The ensemble cast was required to undergo horse riding lessons, learn handling guns, pistols etc. Female lead Vijaya Nirmala recalled later that the riding lessons in Madras Merina beach would give her, Krishna and Nagabhushanam body aches for many days.
The film was shot mostly in Rajasthan, Tattapani, Shimla, Tibet, Pakistan-China border areas etc. The whole unit was taken to Rajasthan in a specially booked train. Other producers in Madras predicted dire future for Padmalaya Studios looking at the extravagance.
“Mosagallaku Mosagadu was finished with a budget of Rs 8 lakhs, shot in 28 days, and collected Rs 32 lakhs in the first release itself,” Krishna had said in an interview. “My purpose to give myself a new image and status was so successful that I could not make time to do another movie in my own banner till after 12 more movies,” the actor added. Mosagallaku Mosagadu was released in Tamil as Mosakkaaranukku Mosakkaaran, in Hindi as Gunfighter Johnny and in a truncated version in English as Treasure Hunt in over 80 countries. The genre was soon picked up in Hindi by actors like Feroze Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Shatrughan Sinha, Danny Dengzoppa and others. Krishna himself made about 15 films in this genre. His imprint on the Western genre was so strong that neither NTR nor ANR ventured into this genre ever. Much later, Chiranjeevi did Kodama Simham (1990) in this genre. Krishna’s son Mahesh Babu himself did Takkari Donga in 2002. Sholay (1975) is perhaps the biggest Indian film in this genre ever.
While walking into the theatre to watch Mosagallaku Mosagadu, all this history was playing in my mind. I may have caught Mosagallaku Mosagadu in bits and pieces during TV re-runs, but this would be the first time to watch it in its entirety, that too in an improved theatre version. Scratch that a little bit…19 minutes of the original film have been cut. Couple of songs, a fight sequence etc. are gone.
Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of the Western, who also made his own Westerns, talking about Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1969), to Spectator Australia during the 50th anniversary of the film, said that apart from the costumes, the set pieces, the guns and violence, it is the music of the Westerns that had an enormous share in making them a different class of films altogether. He praised Sergio Leone for cutting his scenes to Ennio Morricone’s music, bringing an operatic feel to the action sequences.
After an introduction of the film universe through maps and graphic paintings, the title sequence of Mosagallaku Mosagadu begins. With Krishna traversing the raw, rugged landscape on his horse, “Ra… hu… ha…hu” booms a voice with guitars in the background, creating a Morricone feel. The typical wide brimmed cowboy hat, pistol, a long barrel rifle, spotless white horse, leather shoes, a whip, double belts, a neck kerchief… Krishna is a cowboy indeed! As the other characters are introduced and the story is woven around them, the lawlessness of the chaotic period convinces us to imagine the existence of a culture like the Westerns on the fringes of Telugu dynasties sometime during the late 18th century or early 19th century.
The odd names of the characters are also meant to reinforce the idea that a place like this could exist. As the idea of a hidden treasure emerges through a drunkard played by Sakshi Rangarao, the predominant framework of a Western gets firmly established. The women in this universe are not stereotypes. While Radha (Vijaya Nirmala) is looking for revenge for her father’s murder, Bijili (Jyothi Lakshmi) is a self reliant, scheming woman working solely for her own benefit. Both women look to Krishna to reach their goals. Krishna’s goals, entirely selfless and democratic, are something else. Krishna’s working relation with bandit Naganna is of a unique kind.
As the search for the hidden treasure intensifies, the fight with other gangs gets personal for Krishna as both his parents are killed by Sathyam (Sathya Narayana) and Chinnayya’s (Prabhakara Reddy) gangs. Krishna, Radha, and Naganna work towards peeling off layers of secrets surrounding the hidden treasure, while Sathyam and Chinnayya work towards grabbing the treasure for themselves by cheating Krishna and team.
The desert sequence in the first half is perhaps the first such depiction of the brutality and endlessness of the harsh sands. Papam Pasivadu (1972), another movie that featured an extensive desert sequence, was yet to be made. Krishna’s father Kotwal Komurayya, played by Gummadi, is killed by five goons using five ropes tied to him and pulled in different directions by them on horses. Later Krishna takes five pieces from these ropes and uses them as motifs during his revenge against them. This motif keeps the long revenge episode well tied and interesting even now. Despite the fact that India has many aboriginal tribes with quaint ritual practices, the episode featuring red Indians feels excessive and out of place. The notion of recreating a Western with such blind imitation feels utterly out of place. The final sequence of finding and retrieving the treasure is pure Mackenna’s Gold, one of the major influences on this movie.
Mosagallaku Mosagadu features several iconic actors. Sakshi Rangarao surprises in a drunkard’s character. Rao Gopala Rao is hard to recognise in the role of the casino owner. Yes, there is a casino sequence with a very badly made roulette table. It is an entirely wooden house just like in the American West. Shantha Kumari, S. Varalakshmi, and Dhulipala play minor characters. Jyothi Lakshmi, who featured in few good movies in Tamil, had appeared in a song in Krishna’s Thaali Bottu released in 1970. She holds her own in Mosagallaku Mosagadu against all others, in a swash buckling, conflicted role of a woman looking to get ahead in life.
At today’s screening, I spoke to a few elderly film lovers, who have seen Mosagallaku Mosagadu in theatres when it was originally released in 1971. They feel the impact of 4K projection is not felt so much. The conversion is not free of pitfalls. A part of the movie appears discolored, probably due to the poor condition of the original film. The sound quality during dialogues is okay, but the effect of bullets flying around feels comical now. Regardless of such problems, the novelty of Mosagallaku Mosagadu and the magic of the film on the big screen are still intact, felt one of the viewers.
Despite being an imitation of the many Westerns released during the late 60’s, Mosagallaku Mosagadu still stands as the daring, successful representation of a foreign tradition with the meager resources available, solely depending on the daring of persons like Superstar Krishna, cameraman VSR Swamy, musician P Adi Narayana Rao, writer Arudra and director KSR Das. If Indian cinema is finally reaching the stage of Oscars, it is possible due to the daring footing films like Mosagallaku Mosagadu have provided.
Of late, many Telugu films are getting re-released. After watching Mosagallaku Mosagadu, I came to the conclusion that iconic films older than 25-30 years definitely find new audiences and also offer previous generations a chance to relive their memories growing up with movies.
Imtiaz Ali’s Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra-starrer Amar Singh Chamkila will premiere on Netflix on April 12. The film is based on the life of the tit
Apple TV+The fifth episode of Apple TV+'s star-studded drama The New Look dropped on Wednesday. The series explores what life was like in Paris during the Nazi
TV Newsmakers Today: Gashmeer Mahajani Resumes Work Post His Sabbatical; BB 15's Shardul Shifts Base To Dubai (Credit- Instagram)Indian TV celebs always share i
Multiple conspiracy theories have been floating around regarding the Princess of Wales' health in recent days. Middleton underwent abdominal surgery last mont