Malliswari is a 1951 Indian Telugu-language historical romance film[3] produced and directed by B. N. Reddi under his banner Vauhini Studios.

The rest of the film focuses on the consequences faced by Nagaraju when he, against all rules, surreptitiously enters the palace to meet Malliswari.

He enlisted Devulapalli Krishnasastri to write the script, drawing inspiration from Butchi Babu's play Rayalavari Karunakruthyamu and Devan Sharar's short story The Emperor and the Slave Girl.

Art director A. K. Shekar devoted nearly two years to designing the sets, meticulously preparing sketches to reflect the period’s aesthetics.

According to the tradition, young women were made the official residents of the palace when palanquins were sent to fetch them from their homes, offering large quantities of gold and jewellery to the parents in exchange.

Malliswari's father Narappa, also the village head, is a silent spectator, and her uncle Hanumanthappa is a minister in the court of Krishnadevaraya, the king of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Due to her insatiable desire for wealth, Nagamma forcibly sends Malliswari to the palace, and, when Nagaraju returns on the same night and learns what has happened, he becomes depressed.

A group of sculptors meet Nagaraju and ask him to accompany them to Vijayanagara to build a special mandapa for dancers, and he agrees.

During the filming of his directorial debut Vandemataram (1939) at Hampi, B. N. Reddi visited the Virupaksha Temple to capture the beauty of the monuments, which reflected the taste and artistic outlook of Krishnadevaraya, king of the Vijayanagara Empire.

From that moment, Reddy decided to make a film in which Krishnadevaraya would be the main character, and he began working on the script.

[5] Reddy chose the concept of Rayalavari Karunakruthyamu, a popular play written by Telugu novelist Buchibabu that was published in the literary journal Bharathi (1944) and later broadcast by All India Radio, Madras.

[6] He approached Telugu poet and playwright Devulapalli Krishnasastri to write the film's script and lyrics after being impressed with his previous works.

[5] Apart from Rayalavari Karunakruthyamu, Krishnasastri's script also took inspiration from Devan Sharar's short story, The Emperor and the Slave Girl, which was published in the now defunct magazine, The Illustrated Weekly of India.

Due to the delay in production of Malliswari, Bhanumathi had begun working in Prema (1952), which was produced by her husband P. S. Ramakrishna Rao.

[6] Regarding the same, Bhanumathi criticised Reddy, stating that he wanted his actresses to concentrate on his films and avoid getting married.

[8] Despite this, Reddy said that Rama Rao and Bhanumathi "made a cute on-screen pair", adding that one cannot imagine anyone else as Nagaraju and Malleswari.

He also recreated the shores of the Tungabhadra River on a floor a Vauhini Studios building in Madras for the song "Manasuna Mallela".

[5][6] The official soundtrack of Malliswari composed by S. Rajeswara Rao consists of 19 songs whose lyrics were penned by Devulapalli Krishnasastri.

[12][9][15] In his review for Telugu Swatantra magazine, writer Aarudhra praised the film's sound designing by Krishnan and Koteswara Rao stating, "Heavy rain with winds lashed outside as [Mallishwari]'s mother converses with her husband Nagappa.

[9] In The Hans India, Aruna Ravikumar surmised that, for the song "Akasha Veedhilo", Krishnasastri had borrowed the image of a cloud as messenger between lovers from the poem "Meghasandesam" by Indian Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa.

[12] After Bhanumathi's death in December 2005, K. V. S. Madhav of The Hindu recalled, "Even at the ripe age of 70-something, when she rendered her immortal number from Malleswari, 'Manasuna Mallela maalalugene...' in that honey-dipped voice, there was no eye that did not turn moist at Ravindra Bharathi almost a decade ago.

"[17] The single "Hey Pillagada" from Fidaa (2017) is an adapted version of the song "Parugulu Teeyaali," with the vocals of Bhanumathi and Ghantasala.

[6] Film historian Randor Guy called Malliswari a "poem in celluloid, told with rare artistic finesse, which lingers long in the memory".

Regarding Bhanumathi's performance, Narasimham stated that she "breathed life" into Malliswari's character with her "natural acting and mellifluous renditions".

[6] In his book "Alanaati Chalana Chitram", K. N. T. Sastry wrote that Bhanumathi's expressions were "heavenly" and called Shekhar's production design "commendable".

[26] In January 2007, M. L. Narasimham included Malliswari on a list of films that have influenced society and Telugu cinema along with Mala Pilla (1938), Raithu Bidda (1939), Vara Vikrayam (1939), Bhakta Potana (1942), Shavukaru (1950), Peddamanushulu (1954), Mayabazar (1957) and Lava Kusa (1963).