The First Telugu Talkie Bhakta Prahlada was Released 91 Years Ago TodayOn February 6, 1932, the Telugu Film Industry came into existence with the release of the first Telugu language talkie film Bhakta Prahlada. The mythological film, directed by H M Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani, kicked off an era of Talkie films. Sindhoori Krishna Rao stepped into the titular role, while LV Prasad, Surabhi Kamalabhai, and Munipalle Subbiah played pivotal roles. The historic film, unfortunately, was lost to time however, a few artefacts from the film survived the test of time. A few stills, a couple of advertisements, and reviews are all that remain of the movie that birthed an industry that today is recognised on the global level. In 1934, the industry saw its first major commercial success with Lavakusa. Lavakusa’s commercial success allowed directors to move away from mythological themes and start experimenting with more pop-culture scripts. Nine decades later, now the Telugu Film Industry is one of the largest producers of cinema in the world. The recognition received by Telugu films in recent times has created a global audience, that is eagerly looking forward to releases from their favourite stars and directors. RRR, directed by Rajamouli, is perhaps the perfect example to see how far the industry has come in the years since. The movie brought home India’s first Golden Globe Award and made its place as the first Indian film to be nominated for Oscar in a category that is not ‘Best Foreign Language Film’.