Prahlada, the Devotee) is a 1967 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Chitrapu Narayana Rao based on a script by D. V. Narasa Raju.

Bhakta Prahlada is produced on the AVM Productions banner by A. V. Meiyappan and his sons, M. Murugan, M. Kumaran and M. Saravanan.

The film is based on the legend of Prahlada, a character in Bhagavata Purana known for his devotion to the Hindu god Vishnu.

Since Bhakta Prahlada and Ave Kallu were simultaneously produced by AVM Productions, principal photography and post-production were delayed and lasted for one-and-a-half years.

In their first demonic lives, Jaya-Vijaya are born as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha to the sage Kashyapa and Earth goddess Diti at sunset during an inauspicious time.

The sage Narada intervenes and brings Leelavathi to his hermitage, where she gives birth to a boy named Prahlada.

After returning from the hermitage, Hiranyakashipu learns that Prahlada has become a staunch devotee of Vishnu and calls the deity Srihari.

When he refuses to relent, Hiranyakashipu orders his soldiers to force elephants to trample Prahlada; when that fails, they throw the boy off a steep cliff.

Convinced that the boy is dead, Hiranyakashipu laments killing his son to avenge his brother's death and the fact that the child had more love for Srihari than for him.

Narada confirms to Hiranyakashipu that Srihari is saving Prahlada, adding that he resides in the boy, whose death would defeat him.

Srihari arrives as Narasimha (another avatar of Vishnu with a man's torso and a lion's face), and kills Hiranyakashipu.

Vishnu appears, crowns Prahlada as king of the demons, and advises him to lead a virtuous life as a ruler.

Meiyappan signed him as director for Bhaktha Prahlada, since Narayana Rao was in financial straits due to the failure of his Krishna Kuchela (1961).

[4][5] S. V. Ranga Rao and Anjali Devi were cast as the demon king Hiranyakashipu and his wife, Leelavathi (Kayadhu in Bhagavata Purana).

[3] The producers held an audition for the role of Prahlada, inviting many children in and around Madras (now Chennai) to AVM Studios.

Roja Ramani was cast as Prahlada after a screen test and a song rehearsal in which she held a live snake.

[7] When his choice was criticised (because of Balamuralikrishna's height), Meiyappan retorted that the casting was apt since the role would be used for comic effect.

[3] Meiyappan produced another Telugu film, Ave Kallu (a remake of his 1967 Tamil production Athey Kangal), simultaneously with Bhaktha Prahlada.

When Sekhar showed the set designs to Meiyappan and his sons before building them, they rejected them in favour of Ave Kallu.

[2] For the scene where elephants are forced to trample Prahlada, a child stunt artiste from the Great Oriental Circus was initially engaged as Ramani's double.

[2] Balamuralikrishna remembered filming a scene as Narada: "I had to stand on a stool without proper balancing, and I go up (into the "sky") as someone raises it up on a jack.

[4] Bhaktha Prahlada's soundtrack consisted of 23 songs, and poems from Andhra Maha Bhagavatham (the Telugu translation of Bhagavatha Purana by the 15th-century poet Pothana.

[2][8][18] The film was dubbed into Tamil with the same title and into Hindi as Bhakt Prahlad,[19][20] with scenes related to Chanda-Amarka re-shot with different actors.