Happy Birthday Krishna: 5 films that prove the versatility of the Telugu superstar

There's a lot to like about Thene Manasulu. After a long time, eminent director Adurti Subbarao decided to make a film with rank newcomers for which aspirant actors from nooks and corners of Andhra Pradesh came in hoardes to try their luck. Krishna, the fair, curly-haired youngster was one among them who caught the eyeballs of Adurti. He had an equally charismatic Ram Mohan giving him company in the cast. With Mullapudi Venkataramana's sparkling dialogue, KV Mahadevan's lilting melodies, refreshing casting and Adurti's feather-light treatment of a heavy subject with adequate doses of drama, humour and romance, Thene Manasulu makes for a breezy watch even today!

The harshest critics of Goodachari 116, the first ever spy-thriller in Telugu cinema may name this a poor man's version of the James Bond series though one can't deny the fact that it gave us a homegrown detective whom we can identify with and celebrate. Free from the melodrama that the 50s and 60s era was notorious for, the thriller where the protagonist is on a mission to foil China's bid to destablise India, is refreshingly slick and precise. And the Mallikarjuna Rao-directed film still provides enough joys for the average viewer - a mischievous romantic track between Krishna and Jayalalithaa, T Chalapathi Rao's groovy soundtrack and a formidable supporting cast.

If there's one film that can be termed as Telugu cinema's answer to Vijay Anand's musical thriller Teesri Manzil, it has to be Avey Kallu. The film's director A C Tirulokchandar being an avid reader of English novels and a Hollywood film buff put together his influences in a classy thriller that's Indian in its core and still technically ahead of its times, with the slick treatment, aesthetic, pathbreaking cinematography and measured performances. Krishna, playing an undercover cop, is at his agile best headlining a film that features a ravishing Kanchana, a goofy Padmanabham, a suave Rajanala and the ever redoubtable Ramana Reddy. And who can forget Vedha's smashing album with tracks like Maa Oollo Oka Paduchundhi and Mudduloluku Chinnadi?

One of the most expensive film of its times, Kurukshetram helmed by the mythology-specialist Kamalakara Kameswara Rao was a huge multistarrer. Apart from Krishna, the film starred the likes of Sobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju, Jayaprada, Jamuna, Vijaya Nirmala. Huge sets were erected in Mysore, Rajasthan and Ghantasala's Bhagavadgita audio rights were acquired by the production house for the film. However, this mythological is most famous for its epic clash with NTR's Daana Veera Soora Karna during the year's Sankranthi season. Kurukshetram's battle sequences, technical were among its major highlights and still makes for an engrossing watch despite failing to trump Daana Veera Soora Karna at the box office.