We watch most of the movies after watching their trailers or teasers. We tend to research about them after watching and if we know that they have adapted from other language films or novels, we tend to watch or read them. This gives us a kick to compare between what we saw or read in our own language and other languages too. This article for those who want to know the source material, in this case, novels, from which very popular movies have been adapted. Let’s look at the long list of Best Telugu Movies Based on Novels.
Yaddanapudi Sulochanarani is one of the few Telugu women writers to become highly popular with her books and then adapt them successfully onto the screen as well. Her novel Meena has been adapted by Vijayanirmala first by the same name and later, Trivikram Srinivas adapted it as A…Aa. As both the films are made using the same novel theme, we did not count them as two separate films. Meena stars Krishna, Vijaya Nirmala, Jagayya, Gummadi, S. Varalakshmi in important roles. A…Aa stars Nithiin, Samantha Akkineni, Nadiya, Avasarala Sreenivas, Naresh in similar roles. Pellam Venkanna role was created by Trivikram Srinivas for his film.
Yaddanapudi Sulochanarani created history with her novel Jeevanatharangalu sales and that prompted producer D. Ramanaidu to buy rights of the book and adapt it for the screen. The movie became a classic in Telugu Cinema. It was one of the biggest hits of Sobhan Babu and Vani Sree. Krishnam Raju and Chandramohan earned a huge names for their performances too.
Koduri Kousalya Devi could not really survive the onslaught of Yaddanapudi Sulochanarani but her novel Prem Nagar became a trump card for Producer D. Ramanaidu when he was struggling. Prem Nagar changed his fate forever and helped him establish his Suresh Productions banner in different languages too. ANR and Vani Sree became a hit pair after this Industry Hit.
Yaddanapudi Sulochanarani came up with a beautiful love drama and ANR, Vani Sree starred in the film based on her Novel, Secretary. This film is also produced by D. Ramanaidu like most of the above and it became a good comeback hit for ANR after his brief hiatus from films due to a heart operation.
Yandamoori Veerendranath took over the 1980’s as a writer in literary space and even in films. The whole decade belongs to him as he came up with top sellers and then adapted them on-screen successfully too. His bestseller to date in the Fiction category is Tulasi Dalam and it was adapted to screen as Kashmora. Rajendra Prasad, Bhanupriya excelled with their performances in the film. Dr. Rajasekhar, Jayachitra, Sarath Babu, Subhalekha Sudhakar did their best too.
Yandamoori Veerendranath formed a great combination with Megastar Chiranjeevi and Kondadarami Reddy. Chiranjeevi after Khaidi needed different subjects to entertain his ever-growing base and Kondandarami Reddy knew how to adapt potential blockbuster subjects written in novels by Veerendhranath to screen. Challenge is still revered as their best film and Ilaiyaraja gave memorable music to the film.
Yandamoori Veerendranath always gave his characters a social responsibility and Abhilasha talks about abolishing Death by Hanging punishment, completely. Chiranjeevi and Radhika gave memorable performances in the film along with Rao Gopala Rao. Kondandarami Reddy again crafted a fun film out of a serious novel. The climax of this film is an inspiration for Jr. NTR’s Temper climax.
Yandamoori Veerendranath decided to change his hero character from a simple regular guy to a detective. The novel became a rage upon release and Megastar Chiranjeevi became Rudranethra on screen. A small change in the combination though K. Raghavendra Rao directed the movie instead of the usual Kondandarami Reddy.
Adi Vishnu is known for his simple middle-class-themed comedy novels and his Satyam Gari Illu attracted Hasyabrahma Jandhyala’s attention. The writer-director bought the rights and adapted it into a comedy classic, Aha Naa Pellanta for D. Ramanaidu. Brahmanandam and Kota Srinivasa Rao became star character actors after this movie release. Rajendra Prasad cemented his market as a bankable comedy hero too.
Vamsy wanted to become a film director but as a youngster, he did not know how to impress bigwigs in Industry. During the time, novels used to attract big producers and Vamsy with his Mahallo Kokila impressed Edida Nageswararao who produced Shankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam kind of classics. Vamsy joined his production house as an assistant director and later adapted his Mahallo Kokila as Sitaara, on-screen which won state awards.
Koduri Kousalya Devi broke the routine of Bengali novels being adapted to Telugu screen in the 1960s with Doctor Chakravarthy. Her Chakrabharamanam novel impressed Dukkipati Madhusudhan Rao so much that he immediately adapted it onto the screen with Adurthi Subbarao as director and ANR, Savitri as leads. The movie is regarded as one of the timeless classics of Telugu Cinema.
Yandamoori Veerendranath and K. Raghavendra Rao became a formidable pair on the Telugu screen and their films became blockbusters too. They are the 80’s biggest hit pair after Kodandarami Reddy-Yandamoori Veerendranath combination. Akkineni Nagarjuna and Sridevi paired for the first time for this film.
Yandamoori Veerendranath’s less popular but highly talked about book Thriller attracted the eye of director Raviraja Pinisetty who got tired of being asked to remake films from other languages. He adopted a very different romantic subject with Rajendra Prasad and Seetha as his lead pair. Even though the movie did not become a big hit, it is one of the best novel adaptations. One shocking surprise for those who did not watch it yet is that Brahmanandam acted as a villain in the film.
Potturi Vijayalakshmi’s Premalekha became a top seller beating Yandamoori’s craze and she attracted Jandhyala’s eye with her novel idea. He immediately made it into a memorable rom-com with Naresh and Poornima as lead pair. The comedy bits from this film are still very popular among Telugu youth.
Sri Ramana came up with a heart-touching story when books have become hard to seller commodity. Mithunam attracted many readers and inspired by the story, writer and actor, Tanikella Bharani crafted a memorable movie as a director on screen. Legendary singers SP Balasubramanyam and Lakshmi lived in their roles.
Malladi Venkata Krishna Murthy is among those rare writers who can mix comedy and investigation drama perfectly. Hence, his Chantabbai attracted Jandhyala to come up with a film like Chantabbai starring Chiranjeevi. The movie is revered as a comedy classic by youth, today.
Muppala Ranganayakamma became popular as a revolutionary writer with Ramayana Vishavruksham and Balipeetam is one of her most famous novels. Sarada and Sobhan Babu in the direction of Dasari Narayana Rao gave a memorable and socially important film.
Dr. Sridevi’s Kalaatheetha Vyakthulu was one of the top sellers when it released and hence it became a movie starring ANR, Savitri, Krishna Kumari in lead roles, in the direction of Adurthi Subba Rao. Chaduvukunna Ammayilu is revered as a classic by Telugu movie pandits even to date.
Gurajada Apparao is known for his ability to write dark comedy with social themes as Dramas and Novels. His drama/novel, Kanyasulkam was always felt a difficult one to adapt on screen due to Gireesham’s character, but NTR accepted the role, and even Savitri as Madhuravani did a role that is way progressive for the time.
Kallakuri Narayana Rao’s Drama/Novel, Chintamani is regarded as one of the best books in literature and social drama on stage. NTR and Bhanumathi performances from the film have attracted great praise from critics.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novels have been great subjects for box office performers and the popularity of Devdas cannot be described in words. ANR became a star hero early in Telugu Cinema because of this film, Devadasu and his portrayal earned him an image that will last forever.
Victor Hugo’s English novella has become a popular drama on stage and ANR tried to adapt to screen as Beedala Patlu. The movie did not become a big success but his performance in the film was highly revered.
Ayan Rand’s English books have developed a cult following over the years and in fact, they prompted new techniques to treat people with mental conditions that are not too severe. Maro Prapancham tried to adapt one of the most popular books with ANR in an aged role. The movie is worth your time.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novel Nishkriti was adapted in Bengali cinema to great success but D. Madhusudhan Rao wanted a different version from those films for Telugu screens. Hence, he ordered his writers to make a film like Thodi Kodallu and it won awards. ANR, Savitri, Kannamba, SVR, Suryakantham, Relangi, Jagayya gave memorable performances in the film.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s other top seller Bada Didi became a film that you shouldn’t miss on the Telugu screen, Batasari. ANR once said that he acted in the film wholeheartedly as if his life was dependent on it. Bhanumathi’s performance in the movie is also highly revered.
Asha Purna Devi came up with an intriguing subject in her Agni Pariksha novel. ANR and Savitri gave their characters life on Telugu Screen. You need the watch the movie to know about the subject.
Manilal Banerjee’s Swayamsidda, a Bengali novel was adapted on Telugu screen with ANR and Savitri as leads, in the film titled Ardhangi. The movie is revered as a classic by many Telugu Film Pandits.
Gulshan Nanda adapted many of his famous novels as successful movies in Hindi. But he did not adapt his Patthar Ke Honth in Hindi and we don’t know why. Pratyegatma and ANR came up with a film that we can remember for writing and performances.
Also Read: Feel Good Movies in Tollywood
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