HYDERABAD: Those who are interested in getting a deeper insight into the Kisan Sabha agitations can head to the screening of Raithu Bidda at Lamakaan today at 6:30 pm.
The 1939 Telugu film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam is a social reformist film during the period of British India, at the time of battle against Zamindari system. The film was banned by the British Administration in the region at that time. Ironically it was produced by one of the Zamindars of the time Challapalli Maharaja. The film had a public re-release in 1948 and is a seminal reformist melodrama critiquing the Zamindari system from the viewpoint of the Kisan Sabha agitations in Andhra Pradesh.
The film follows the small-time landowner Narsi Reddy (Raghawan) who borrows money from a shahukar who represents the major zamindar (Sitapathy) of the village. When Narsi Reddy votes for a peasant candidate (Kosaraju) rather than for the political party supported by the landlord, his son is attacked and he is publicly humiliated. The screening is to commemorate the 100 years of the film industry, the director, the writer and their contribution to the industry. The entry is free.