Chakrapani (1954)

When Vijaya Studio refused to cast her in their hit comedy Missamma (1955), Bhanumathi apparently produced this film as a rejoinder. For a star best known for musical melodramas, this is an unusual comedy about an ageing miser named after the scenarist and proprietor of the Vijaya Studio, Chakrapani (Anjaneyulu), who promises his wealth to whichever of his two granddaughters (Bhanumathi, Kamaladevi) first bears him a great-grandson. The first is disqualified when she has a daughter while the second attempts to pass off someone else’s child as her own, which leads to the arrest of her husband. Eventually a previously unknown grandson appears on the scene, inherits and distributes the property to all. Bhanumathi’s first independent work as a composer had six songs, including the hit Ananda dayini.