Tenali Ramakrishna (film)
Tenali Ramakrishna is a 1956 Indian Telugu-language political drama film produced and directed by B. S. Ranga based on Ch. Venkataramaiah's stage play of the same name. Produced for the banner Vikram Productions, it stars NTR, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, V. Nagayya, Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, and Jamuna in key roles. Ranga handled the cinematography with his brother-in-law B. N. Haridas while P. G. Mohan edited the film. Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy composed the soundtrack and background score. Written by Samudrala Sr., Kannadasan, and Murugadasa, Tenali Ramakrishna narrates the story of the 14th century Telugu and Sanskrit poet and scholar of the same name, and his life as a member of the court of Krishnadevaraya, the king of the Vijayanagara Empire. Using his wits, Ramakrishna manages to save Krishnadevaraya from attacks by the Bahmani Sultanate, which tries to invade the Vijayanagara Empire. The rest of the film is about Ramakrishna's efforts to save Krishnadevaraya from courtesan Krishnasani, a spy, and convincing Emperor Babur against extending support to the Sultanate in the war. Produced as a bilingual film shot simultaneously in the Telugu and Tamil languages with a slightly altered cast, Tenali Ramakrishna was filmed in and around Revathy Studios at Madras. It was released on 12 January 1956 to mixed reviews from critics who criticised the historical inaccuracies portrayed in the film. Tenali Ramakrishna was a commercial success, won the President's Silver medal for the Best Feature Film in Telugu and the All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film at the 4th National Film Awards. Its Tamil version, titled Tenali Raman, featured Sivaji Ganesan as the protagonist and was released on 3 February 1956. Tenali Ramakrishna was later remade in Kannada as Hasyaratna Ramakrishna in 1982 by Ranga himself but it was a commercial failure. Plot 
Ramakrishna is a poet and scholar in the Telugu and Sanskrit languages whose talent is not recognised in his hometown Tenali. To earn a living, he migrates to Hampi with his wife Kamala and son Madhava. On his way to Hampi, he stops at a Kali temple. He is initially terrified looking at the goddess' idol and the animal sacrifices made to please her. That night, Kali appears before him and grants a boon: he must choose either wisdom or wealth. Ramakrishna opts for both, which angers Kali. She warns him that he might end up as a Vikatakavi (clownish poet) whose wisdom is useful solely for entertaining others. Ramakrishna accepts this as a blessing and asks Kali to save him from further dangers. The goddess agrees and disappears. Ramakrishna reaches Hampi and approaches Tatacharya, the royal priest of the Vijayanagara Empire, to find employment in the court of King Krishnadevaraya. Neither Tatacharya nor his assistants help him, and he leaves dejected. However, he finds an opportunity when Krishnadevaraya is unable to distribute 17 elephants among three brothers as instructed in their deceased father's will. Ramakrishna solves the problem and Krishnadevaraya appoints him as a member of court. With his wit and loyalty, Ramakrishna soon earns the respect of all the court's members with the exception of Tatacharya who sees him as a problem. The Deccan sultanates of Berar—Ahmednagar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda—decide to wage a war on the Vijayanagara empire with united military forces. They send Kanakaraju, a spy, to Hampi where he meets Ramakrishna, who happens to be a distant relative. A few days later, Kanakaraju tries to assassinate Krishnadevaraya, and Tatacharya blames Ramakrishna for giving shelter to a spy. As Ramakrishna is about to be executed on the King's orders, he overhears a conversation between another spy and the court's astrologer. The spy bribes the astrologer to influence Krishnadevaraya to postpone the war on Bijapur so they have time to make proper preparations. Ramakrishna escapes and meets Prime Minister Timmarusu who helps him reveal the astrologer's intentions. The astrologer is killed, and Tatacharya, who believed in him in good faith, is accused of trying to backstab the king. Ramakrishna intervenes and Tatacharya is saved, improving their relationship. The Bahmani Sultanate then sends the courtesan Krishnasani to Hampi. With her acclaimed dancing skills, she manages to attract the attention of Krishnadevaraya, who finds himself besotted by her wit and sensuousness. He issues orders that anyone who enters his private chamber will be beheaded and spends time with Krishnasani for months. Timmarusu and Ramakrishna learn that the Sultans are planning to take advantage of the King's inaccessibility and will soon launch a combined attack on Hampi. Worried about the state of affairs, Ramakrishna ignores the King's order and enters his abode dressed as a woman, but is ignored and expelled from the kingdom. Meanwhile, Krishnadevaraya's wife Tirumala Devi falls seriously ill, and he finally realises his mistakes. Once the King is back at his palace, Ramakrishna manages to enter Krishnasani's chamber again, this time under the guise of a saint. He catches her red-handed with her gang of spies, and signals to the hidden soldiers to surround her. She kills herself preferring a dignified death. Ramakrishna wishes to leave for Delhi to convince Emperor Babur not to send his elephantry to support the Sultanate in the war. Ramakrishna reaches Delhi and meets Babur in the guise of an aged fakir. He sings his praises until he empties all the gold coins Babur has. Babur invites him to his palace to gift him properly. Ramakrishna goes to Babur's palace. He introduces himself as one of the innocent citizens of the Vijayanagara empire who will suffer if Babur extends his support to the unjust Sultanate. Babur is convinced and calls his elephantry back. Dismayed at the sudden turn of events, the Sultanate calls off the war. Krishnadevaraya learns about Ramakrishna's efforts in stopping the war from Timmarusu. Remorseful, Krishnadevaraya invites Ramakrishna to rejoin the court; he gladly agrees. 