This 1948 super-spectacular was India's most expensive and most commercially successful film; it was also the film with which the South Indian cinema made its mark. It tells the story of two royal brothers, one Good, one Evil, who clash over the throne and over a country maiden, the dancer Chandralekha. William K. Everson writes: “Chandralekha was pure home-grown DeMille, 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...production shortcomings.... 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....
“The print we are seeing tonight, fully subtitled...is edited from its original 208 minutes to 90 minutes. (But) all of the actions and all of the songs seem to remain...the film is certainly tightened....”