Vanaja is a 2006 Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli on a story that constituted his Master of Fine Arts thesis at Columbia University.

The film stars Mamatha Bhukya as the title character: a 15-year-old daughter of a poor fisherman set in the backdrop of a rustic state of Andhra Pradesh in Southern India.

One day, Vanaja and her teenage friend Lacchi watch a theatrical performance by a former Kuchipudi (a native classical Indian dance form) great, Rama Devi.

Vanaja excels at these art forms and seems to be on a steadily ascending path until the arrival of Shekhar, the landlady's 23-year-old son, from the United States.

[2] While he was working as a software engineer in Silicon Valley, California, he pursued filmmaking and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University.

[1] A short synopsis, including a character and a conflict study of Vanaja, was Domalpalli's project submission in his first semester at the Columbia University in fall of 2001.

[2] Over the next three semesters, however, the story veered from its original focus of mother-child separation to what Domalpalli later described as a study of "elements of class distinction and conflict that continue to infuse our society and culture even today.

"[2] Referring to its emphasis, he said the film was also about "fading institutions of folk art, old buildings that are collapsing, things which we should be protecting — which are a part of our heritage.

[3] With the early version of the script being ready at the end of his fourth semester, Domalpalli's initial intent was to find financing for Vanaja in India and then in the United States.

[4] Recalling initial hurdles, Domalpalli later said, "it was only when I showed my professors a rough cut of the film, and they approved, that purse strings finally came loose.

[5] He imbibed socio-cultural ethos from his upbringing in several rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, and this prompted him to make the movie in the Telugu language.

Even after obtaining a building as the best possible fit in the coastal town of Bobbili, infestation of snakes and bats posed a problem for the crew.

Her behavior such as the way she "sits, stands, moves, grunts and groans — that is the way people from a village talk and behave... You would immediately recognize a person who served you breakfast... That makes a point.

Domalpalli felt that "to convince people to devote so much of their children's time and energy was hard enough, but to find the right combination of intelligence, commitment and talent as well was probably the steepest cliff they had to climb.

Srinivas Devarakonda, a disciple of well-known Kuchipudi guru Vempati Chinna Satyam,[8] taught Mamatha the classical dance form for a year in the basement of Domalpalli's house.

[6] Bhavani Renukunta was chosen for Lacchi's role after an interview at the Hyderabad office of Varija Films, the company that handled the publicity.

Since Domalpalli's experience was limited to short video films with a different aspect ratio, he was shocked to look through the Super 16mm lens the day they commenced the shoot.

[15] While reviewing it, Jeffrey Kauffman from DVD Talk observed that though most of the film was made using natural lighting situations, the colour and saturation quality was excellent.

"[40] Writing about Vanaja, he added that "there are the glorious colors of saris and room decorations, the dazzle of dance costumes and the dusty landscape that somehow becomes a watercolor by Edward Lear, with its hills and vistas, its oxen and elephants, its houses that seem part of the land.

[41] According to Laura Kern from The New York Times, the film "is a coming-of-age tale that is engrossing, if slightly overlong, and absolutely timeless, unfolding against an antiquated class system that sadly stands firm in rural areas of India to this day.

Its social message, linked to the story of a poor farm girl who aspires to be a dancer, never feels forced, and the moral issues it depicts are realistically complex.

"[43] Commenting on its commercial feasibility, the review concluded that "while that might not translate into obvious box office potential, art house appeal is there for distributors willing to seek out a market.

"[43] The Chicago Tribune wrote: It's a touching, believable, often funny but ultimately sad tale of how one class can take advantage of another, even in the guise of patronizing benevolence.

Though sometimes shifting abruptly in time, Vanaja is an arresting story of modern-day hardship and class exploitation, recalling Charles Dickens as well as Western fairy-tale lore.

Domalpalli's settings are ultra-real in detail and color, from the crude, almost feudal deprivations of Vanaja's dirt-floor background to the stately rituals and autocratic entitlement of the well-to-do.

"[45] Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle proclaimed, "director Domalpalli, who, with his debut feature, turned in what may well be the best Columbia University master's thesis ever.

"[46] The Hartford Courant also claimed like the Chicago Tribune that the film would remind the Western audience of Charles Dickens, and further stated that it "... gives a detailed sense of place and shows a mastery of story telling.