[3][4] The play portrays the practice of Kanya-sulkam (roughly translates to bride price) which was common among the priestly Brahmins in Telugu-speaking areas of southern India.
Gurajada's mission was to reach out to the masses, so he broke with tradition (he called the literary dialect "doubly dead" in his preface) and wrote in the vibrant and colorful spoken language of the day.
The play centers on Gireesam, an English-educated, resourceful but unscrupulous Vaidiki Brahmin man, and Madhura vani, a prostitute who takes her morals seriously.
The practice of parents arranging the marriages of their pre-pubescent daughters to old men for cash was very prevalent during those days, and was referred to popularly as Kanyasulkam, literally meaning "money in lieu for a girl", which also forms the title of the play.
Much of that comedy occurs as dialogue between Girisam and his various love interests, and also during the marriage of Lubdhavadhanulu to a boy disguised as a girl.
[7][8] In Girisam, we can see that kind of a young man who is opportunistic, yearns for momentary pleasures, desires easy money and is unwilling to work, for the simple reason that he is too fickle-minded to hold any particular job for a considerable amount of time.
[7][8] The play was adapted into Telugu cinema as Kanyasulkam with an ensemble cast including N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, C.S.R.
Anjaneyulu, Vinnakota Ramanna Panthulu, Govindarajula Subba Rao, Gummadi, Suryakantham, Chaya Devi and Hemalatha, under the direction of P.