Puttillu (1953)

The noted playwright Vasireddy, the composer Chalapathi Rao, future Telugu star Jamuna and the director all emerged from the IPTA’s Andhra Unit, the Praja Natya Mandali. A father insists on having his daughter educated but forbids her to continue studying when she reaches marriageable age. She later leaves her unsuitable husband and the plot also addresses the woman’s problematic relationship with her mother-in-law. The makers of this unsuccessful film were sometimes criticised for having sold out to commercialism, although other histories, notably those of the impact of the IPTA on Telugu cinema, continue to ascribe to it a historically significant role.