Thene Manasulu (1965 film)

The story revolves around the intertwined lives of four main characters: Sita, Bhanumathi, Chittibabu, and Basavaraju. Sita is the daughter of Narasaraju, and Bhanumathi is the daughter of Srinivasa Rao. Chittibabu agrees to marry Sita on the condition that her father sends him to the United States for higher studies. However, after Chittibabu leaves, Srinivasa Rao's office money is stolen by Narasaraju, and he flees, leaving Bhanumathi behind. Basavaraju, who was originally supposed to marry Bhanumathi, rejects her without even seeing her. Bhanumathi moves to the city with her mother and starts working, unaware that Basavaraju falls in love with her. Meanwhile, Chittibabu returns from the U.S. and neglects Sita, instead falling for Bhanumathi. Bhanumathi, realizing the situation, enacts a drama to reunite Chittibabu and Sita. In the end, she marries Basavaraju, and the film concludes with both couples finding happiness. == Cast ==

Development In the mid-1960s, director Adurthi Subba Rao wanted to make a film with newcomers as the stars. It was decided to adapt K. R. K. Mohan's novel Vakrinchina Sarala Rekhalu with the title Thene Manasulu. The film was produced by C. Sundaram under Babu Movies, Krishna and Rammohan were selected from thousands of applicants to play the two male leads. Sukanya and Sandhyarani, hailing from Rajahmundry and Vijayawada respectively, were cast as the female leads. This was Krishna's first film in a major role, after he appeared as an extra in the 1962 releases Padandi Munduku and Kula Gotralu. Krishna's remuneration for the film was ₹2,000. == Soundtrack ==

The soundtrack was composed by K. V. Mahadevan, while the lyrics were written by Aatreya and Dasaradhi. == Release and reception ==

Thene Manasulu was released on 31 March 1965. On 2 April 1965, another review from the same newspaper wrote, "". On 1 April, Andhra Jyothi wrote, "". Visalaandhra wrote on 2 April, "". Andhra Prabha wrote on 4 April, "". The reviewer from Zameen Raitu wrote on 9 April, "". --> The film became a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres. Critics praised the film for its fresh cast and technical achievements, particularly the cinematography and music. == Legacy ==

Adurthi Subba Rao remade the film in Hindi as Doli (1969) which was also successful. Recognizing his potential, they cast him in the spy thriller Gudachari 116 (1966), which became a major success and a turning point in Krishna's career. == Notes ==