Prema Kanuka

Prema Kanuka
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	K. Raghavendra Rao
Written by	Satyanand (dialogues)
Screenplay by	K. Raghavendra Rao
Story by	Guhanathan
Produced by	Venkat Akkineni Nagarjuna Akkineni
Starring	Akkineni Nageswara Rao Sridevi
Cinematography	K. S. Prakash
Edited by	Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Music by	Chakravarthy
Production company	Annapurna Studios[1]
Release date	27 June 1981 (1981-06-27)
Running time	148 mins
Country	India
Language	Telugu

Prema Kanuka (transl. Gift of Love) is a 1981 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by Venkat Akkineni, Nagarjuna Akkineni under Annapurna Studios banner^[2] and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao.^[3] It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sridevi with music composed by Chakravarthy.^[4]

The film begins with Raja Shekaram, an artist who lands at an estate for his portrayal and settles in a dock house. One night, he spots something suspicious and discovers it is a beautiful village girl, Gowri, who is halting there for the night. Raja praises her beauty and paints her picture, which leads to her developing feelings for him. It irks Sandhya, the vain daughter of a spiteful Janthuvula Jaganatham. So, she destroys the paintings, and Raja confronts her. At that moment, astonishingly, he gets a remembrance of reincarnation and also makes Sandhya believe it. Eventually, Mohan, a malicious, is the nephew of Jaganatham and performs anti-social activities in that area. He aspires to marry Sandhya and also keeps an evil eye on Gowri, but Raja always puts a check on him.

Meanwhile, after learning about Raja & Sandhya's love affair, Jaganatham approves their espousal. Parallelly, Raja couples up Gowri with a guy, Kumar, but unfortunately, he turns into a henchman of Mohan. Right now, he surrenders Gowri to him when Raja rescues her. Exploiting it, Mohan denounces Raja when Jaganatham eagerly queries him. Here, as a flabbergast, Raja declares himself as the son of the bungalow's previous owner, Bhushaiah. Hearing it, Jaganatham dodges out and proclaims Raja as a defrauder before Sandhya when, shockingly, she announces that she is pregnant. Here, Sandhya misconstrues Raja and decides to get aborted; knowing it, Gowri rushes to Raja. Midway, Mohan molests her, and before dying, she informs Raja regarding the barbarous deed of Mohan and Sandhya too. Immediately, Raja moves and enlightens Sandhya by showing his insane sister, Seeta, suffering in a mental hospital. In the past, Jaganatham deceived Seeta, which led to their family's destruction. Hence, he made this play to teach Jaganatham a lesson. Listening to it, Sandhya understands Raja's virtue, and both of them make Jaganatham repent. Currently, Raja is a CBI Officer who has been appointed to catch up on Mohan's illegal activities. Conscious of it, Mohan kidnaps Seeta along with Jaganatham when she retrieves her memory. At last, Raja ceases Mohan, and Jaganatham also pleads for pardon. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the marriage of Raja & Sandhya.

• Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Raja Shekaram
• Sridevi as Sandhya
• Rao Gopal Rao as Janthuvula Jaganatham
• Satyanarayana as Bhushaiah
• Allu Ramalingaiah as All in all Anjaneyulu
• Mohan Babu as Mohan
• Prabhakar Reddy as Veeraiah
• Music Director Chakravarthy as Appa Rao
• Chalapathi Rao as Kumar
• Narra Venkateswara Rao as Jaggu
• Madhumalini as Gowri
• Manorama as Aandallu
• Subhashini as Rani
• Pushpalatha as Seeta
• Master Harish as Young Raja Shekaram

• Art: G. V. Subba Rao
• Choreography: Saleem
• Fights: Raghavulu
• Dialogues: Satyanand
• Lyrics: Acharya Atreya
• Playback: S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela, S. P. Sailaja
• Music: Chakravarthy
• Story: Guhanathan
• Editing: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
• Cinematography: K. S. Prakash
• Producer: Venkat Akkineni, Nagarjuna Akkineni
• Screenplay - Director: K. Raghavendra Rao
• Banner: Annapurna Studios
• Release Date: 27 June 1981

Music composed by Chakravarthy. Lyrics were written by Acharya Atreya.^[5]

• VCDs and DVDs on - VOLGA Videos, Hyderabad

• Prema Kanuka at IMDb