Chintamani (1956 film)

[1] The film follows the story of Chintamani, a courtesan who, despite being a devotee of Krishna, is coerced by her greedy mother, Srihari, into luring and robbing the wealth of Bhavani Sankarudu, a Brahmin, and Subbi Setti, a merchant.

Bilvamangaludu, the son of Vasudeva Murthy, a gold merchant, lives a happy life with his devoted wife, Radha.

After Radha’s funeral, Bilvamangaludu blinds himself as an act of repentance and becomes a devoted follower of Krishna, eventually residing in an ashram.

However, Nageswara Rao declined the role, advising the producers to abandon the project, suggesting that Bharani Pictures was not suitable for such a film.

Since Bhanumathi was playing the role of Chintamani, the filmmakers took precautions to maintain her public image by portraying the character as a devout woman, refraining from any depiction that could be seen as tarnishing her persona.

[1] Director Ramakrishna aimed to present the film with a serious and dignified tone, deliberately avoiding light-hearted or comedic treatment.

However, government censorship imposed restrictions on certain scenes, particularly those between Chintamani and Subbi Setti, which were removed during the editing process.