This 1948 super-spectacular, with which the South Indian Cinema made its mark, was India's biggest, most expensive, and most commercially successful film. It tells the story of two royal brothers, one Good, one Evil, who clash over the throne, as well as the country maiden and dancer, Chandralekha. William K. Everson compared Chandralekha to some of its Western counterparts, when it showed in New York in 1976:
“Chandralekha was pure home-grown De Mille, based on both legend and fact, but letting neither stand in the way of showmanship. It's a colorful, naive and zestful film in which the overall ingenuousness quite disarms criticism of plot absurdity or such production shortcomings as the too-obvious studio ‘exteriors.' The only local criticism, however, was of its ‘excessive sensuality,' but don't be alarmed - or excited - since this complaint was based on the then VERY rigid moral standards, now quite forgotten....
“The action has gusto and size, the songs are a joy, and the music guilelessly pillages from cultures all over the world, ranging from unexpurgated Wagner and Spanish flamenco to traditional Indian, with a snatch of the Laurel & Hardy theme thrown in as the comedians appear. Possibly the film's greatest moment occurs at the very beginning when after arriving at the huge palace (a most elaborate set) with his troops, the Prince strides through the palace, upstairs, along corridors, ever followed by a smoothly tracking camera which records the sumptuous splendor of it all, until he reaches his inner sanctum - where he sits down on a very moth-eaten second-hand chair and tugs off his boots! It's almost an unwitting Lubitsch touch.... With its fights, chases, music, elephants and a circus, Chandralekha was a huge popular success, the first Indian movie to be equally successful in both Tamil and then in Hindi versions. Last but far from least, Busby Berkeley would surely have been delighted to see his influence extending to the climactic drum dance.”