HYDERABAD: Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani has made immense contribution to Telugu fiction for the last five decades. Reckoned as being among the eminent writers of her time, Sulochana wrote stories that were drawn from the complexity of human relationships.Her tryst with films started with Adurti Subba Rao’s Chaduvukunna Ammayilu (1963). She also shared credits as a story writer with writer-actor Gollapudi Maruthi Rao for Aatma Gowravam (1965).
The film notably marked the debut of veteran director K Viswanath. Her writing ranged from middle-class struggles to light-hearted romance and women empowerment. Films like Jeevana Tarangalu (1973) and Secretary (1976) brought laurels to actors Vanisri and Lakshmi and explored the culture of the time.
It was a film based on her novel Meena with which actor Vijaya Nirmala made her directorial debut in 1973. Interestingly, director Trivikram Srinivas’s A... Aa (2016) was also based on the same novel.
Film historian S V Rama Rao recalls, “She is the queen among the female writers of the industry. After she began her journey, out of a total of 75 films based on novels in Telugu cinema, 15 were based on her books. People identified themselves with her protagonists. Inspired by the path shown by Sulochana, several other writers like D Kameswari and Madireddy Sulochana among others made their mark in the industry.”
Actors Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Sobhan Babu were among those who benefitted from being in films adapted from her novels, while producers D Madhusudhana Rao (Annapurna Pictures) and D Ramanaidu (Suresh Productions) made the most films based on her books.
“Films based on her novels ruled the roost in the 60s and 70s. Madhusudhana Rao made five films with her novels, while Ramanaidu holds maximum credit for his adaptations. Akkineni and Sobhan Babu were cheered as her “novel’’ heroes,” adds Rama Rao. Besides films, her books were adapted into television serials too.