The Telangana government will officially celebrate the birth anniversary of Chandala Kesavadasu, the lyricist of the first full-length Telugu Talkie movie Bhakta Prahlada, each year on June 20. Kesavadasu hailed from the Jakkepalli village in Khammam district.
Kesavadasu was a disciple of legendary Telugu vocalist Papatla Kanthaiah. Kesavadasu penned lyrics and poetic verses for Bhakta Prahlada that released in 1932. Kesavadasu’s ‘Thanayaa itulan thagaduraa palukaa’ in Bhakta Prahlada is said to be the first Telugu film song.
Kesavadasu went on to write several hit songs for iconic Telugu classics such as Srikrishna Thulabharam, Kanakathara, Radhakrishna, Sati Sakkubai, Lanka Dahanam and Seetarama Kalyanam etc. The curtain-raiser song ‘Parabrahma Paramesa’ which is used before the commencement of a Telugu play was also penned by Kesavadasu. The legendary poet breathed his last on May 14, 1956 in Bhadrachalam.