RIP Superstar Krishna: Of the star's tryst with Devadasu that left him with a bitter aftertaste

There have been umpteen adaptations of Sarath Chandra Chattopadhyay's Devadas across the globe and the writer is extremely dear to Telugu audiences, with several translations turning out to be best sellers. While ANR and Savitri's Devadasu, released in 1953, is widely believed to be the one of best adaptations of the novel, Telugu star Krishna, who passed away at 79 earlier this week, had also attempted a film on the classic. Vijaya Nirmala (also the director) and Jayanthi played the leads in it. 

Krishna's version of Devadasu, which hit theatres in 1974, released to a tepid response in theatres. There are several theories surrounding the film's non-performance at the ticket window. While some claim that the film neither offered any new insight into the novel nor had any pathbreaking performances, another reason behind its failure is believed to be the re-release of ANR's Devadasu at the same time, that proved counterproductive to its fortunes.

In an interview to a leading channel, Krishna had once said, "While ANR's Devadasu was a giant in its own right, our version of the film was a baby that was still in its growing stages. It stood no chance in front of it. ANR, despite staying in the US, for a surgery re-released his Devadasu at the same time in theatres and it didn't give a chance for our film to grow on people. People like LV Prasad, Adurti Subbarao had kind words to say about the film as well."

Yet, Krishna believed that the film was way too lengthy and added that in its second release, where its length was trimmed, Devadasu performed much better. Ramesh Naidu's music for the same, gained good acclaim over time as well. Many opined that ANR's idea to compete with his version of Devadasu wasn't in good gest. ANR, later, teamed up with Dasari for the sequel to Devadasu - Devadasu Malli Puttadu - which tanked at the box office.