Lava Kusa

Lava Kusa
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	C. Pullaiah C. S. Rao
Produced by	Shankar Reddy
Written by	Sadasivabrahmam (Telugu dialogues) A. K. Velan (Tamil dialogues)
Starring	N. T. Rama Rao Anjali Devi T. L. Kanta Rao
Music by	Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao, K. V. Mahadevan
Cinematography	P. L. Rai
Release date	29 March 1963
Language	Telugu Tamil

Lava Kusa (also spelled as Lava Kusha) is a 1963 Indian bilingual Hindu mythological film directed by C. S. Rao and his son C. Pullaiah. The film's script was written by Samudrala Raghavacharya. The film was produced by Shankar Reddy under Lalita Sivajyothi films. The film was shot in both Telugu and Tamil languages with the same title, but with slight differences in the cast. The film was a remake of 1934 film of same name which was also directed by C. Pullaiah. The story is an adaptation of the Uttara Kanda from Ramayana. It revolves around the roles of Lava and Kusa, sons of Seetha (Anjali Devi) and Rama (N. T. R.). The Telugu version stars Kanta Rao, Shoban Babu, S. Varalakshmi, Kaikala Satyanarayana in supporting roles, replaced in that order by M. R. Radha and Manorama in the Tamil counterpart.

Production began in 1958 but was stopped due to financial constraints. When it restarted, C. Pullaiah's health was deteriorating, so his son C. S. Rao took over. The soundtrack features 27 songs, with the musical score primarily composed by Ghantasala and KV Mahadevan, and the lyrics by Vempati Sadasiva and Samudrala Raghavacharya (Telugu) and Maruthakasi (Tamil). The Telugu version of Lava Kusa was released on 29 March 1963, while the Tamil version was released the following month, on 19 April. The former won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that year. It was also dubbed in Kannada, and later in Hindi in 1974. This film was later remade with the title Sri Rama Rajyam in 2011.

This movie is based on Uttara Kanda which is the later part of Ramayana written by Valmiki Maharshi. It depicts the lives of Lava and Kusa, the sons of Sita and Rama. The story depicts Sri Rama Pattabhishekam and the brief period of Rama Rajyam, Rama sending Seeta exile on hearing the accusations of a washerman, Birth of Lava and Kusha, their visit to Ayodhya, Ashwamedha Yagna and conflict between Rama and his sons and Pattabhishekam of Lava and Kusha and Rama finally ending his Avatar.