# Mayuri (మయూరి)
**Mayuri** (మయూరి) is a Telugu-language biographical film directed by [Singeetam Srinivasa Rao](https://www.edgepedia.org/singeetam-srinivasa-rao) and produced by [Ramoji Rao](https://www.edgepedia.org/ramoji-rao) that tells the story of the classical [Bharatanatyam](https://www.edgepedia.org/bharatanatyam) dancer Sudha Chandran, who lost her right leg after an accident in 1981 and returned to the stage with a prosthetic Jaipur foot. Chandran plays herself in the lead role, which she describes as the first biopic in which the real-life person played the lead.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-mayuri-ramoji-rao-blank-cheque-naache-mayuri-biopic-history-10547860/) The film was released on 15 August 1984 with a runtime of 2 hours 22 minutes, although several later press accounts date it to 1985.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/) • [1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-mayuri-ramoji-rao-blank-cheque-naache-mayuri-biopic-history-10547860/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | మయూరి (Mayuri); Hindi name मयूरी[3](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri) • [4](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri-1984-hindi) |
| Release | 15 August 1984 (India), 2h 22m, Telugu[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/) |
| Director / producer | Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (director and story); Ramoji Rao (producer), Usha Kiran Movies[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/) • [3](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri) |
| Lead | Sudha Chandran as Mayuri, playing herself; Subhakar as Mohan; P. L. Narayana as her father[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/) |
| Music | S. P. Balasubramaniam (music director), Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy (lyricist)[3](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri) |
| Awards | National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu; Filmfare Award South Best Director, Telugu (1986); reported 14 Nandi Awards[5](https://tollybo.com/review/mayuri-1984-telugu-movie-review-509) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/awards/) • [3](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri) |
| Other versions | Dubbed in Malayalam and Tamil as Mayoori; remade in Hindi as *Naache Mayuri* (1986) with the same lead[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-acting-debut-mayuri-first-of-many-dance-film-7834573/lite/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film dramatizes the dancer's story. In the fictionalized version, Mayuri is the eldest daughter of Venkateswarulu; her mother, a dancer, died when a performance auditorium caught fire, and a stepmother who knows the family's tragic association with dance forbids Mayuri from learning to dance or even watching a performance. Persuaded by friends, Mayuri takes part in a college dance drama, where Mohan, a fellow student whose mother runs a dancing school, notices her talent and encourages her to train there in secret.[9](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/139_IPCatalogue1985.pdf) The story then follows the accident, the amputation, and her fight to dance again on a prosthetic limb, regaining her lost self-respect.[4](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri-1984-hindi)
## The real story behind the film
The film is based on the life of [Sudha Chandran](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudha-chandran), a Mumbai-based Bharatanatyam dancer who was injured in a bus accident near Tiruchi in [Tamil Nadu](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-nadu) in May 1981, when she was about 17. Her feet were trapped under a seat and she suffered fractures of her right femur and left ankle; unhygienic treatment at a local hospital allowed gangrene to set in, and doctors at Vijaya Hospital in Madras amputated her right leg below the knee.[8](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india-today-insight/story/from-the-india-today-archives-1985-when-mayuri-put-her-best-foot-forward-2536698-2024-05-08) After amputation she spent years recovering and returned to the stage with a prosthetic Jaipur foot, a design she had read about while still in hospital.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-mayuri-ramoji-rao-blank-cheque-naache-mayuri-biopic-history-10547860/) • [8](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india-today-insight/story/from-the-india-today-archives-1985-when-mayuri-put-her-best-foot-forward-2536698-2024-05-08)
**How the film came about.** Producer Ramoji Rao came across a newspaper article about Chandran and felt her story could inspire people; he had his team track her down and brought in Singeetham Srinivasa Rao as director. The production team initially called her only to hear her first-hand account and planned to cast a popular Telugu heroine, but the director suggested she play herself. Chandran, who had never acted, agreed after discussing it with her family.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-mayuri-ramoji-rao-blank-cheque-naache-mayuri-biopic-history-10547860/) • [7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-acting-debut-mayuri-first-of-many-dance-film-7834573/lite/)
## Music
The songs were composed by S. P. Balasubramaniam with lyrics by Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy, and were sung by playback singers including [K. J. Yesudas](https://www.edgepedia.org/k-j-yesudas), [S. Janaki](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-janaki), [S. P. Sailaja](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-p-sailaja), Vani Jayaram, and Balasubramaniam himself. The tracklist includes "Ee Paadam", "Gourisankara Srungam", "Idi Naa Priya Narthana Vela", "Kailasamlo Taandavamaade", "Mounam Gaanam Madhuram", and "Vennello Mutyamaa".[3](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri)
## Reception and awards
Contemporary reporting described the film as captivating [Andhra Pradesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/andhra-pradesh) audiences like few films before it, and attributed its success to the fact that it told the true story of its own lead player.[8](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india-today-insight/story/from-the-india-today-archives-1985-when-mayuri-put-her-best-foot-forward-2536698-2024-05-08) It won the [National Film Award for Best Feature Film](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-award-for-best-feature-film) in Telugu, and Singeetam Srinivasa Rao won the Filmfare Award South for Best Director, Telugu, in 1986.[5](https://tollybo.com/review/mayuri-1984-telugu-movie-review-509) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/awards/) Moviebuff's listing states the film won 14 [Nandi Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/nandi-awards), the most by any Telugu film.[3](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri) On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.0/10 from 139 users.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/)
## Legacy
The film launched Sudha Chandran's career as a film and television actress, which continued decades later with roles such as Ramola Sikand in *Kaahin Kissii Roz* and Yamini in *Naagin*.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-acting-debut-mayuri-first-of-many-dance-film-7834573/lite/) It was remade in Hindi as *Naache Mayuri* (1986) with the same lead, and dubbed in Malayalam and Tamil as *Mayoori*.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-acting-debut-mayuri-first-of-many-dance-film-7834573/lite/) Chandran recalls that Ramoji Rao paid her 450,000 (4.5 lakhs) in 1985, the first cheque she ever earned, after her father refused a blank cheque so that no one could say Rao had exploited her.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-mayuri-ramoji-rao-blank-cheque-naache-mayuri-biopic-history-10547860/) For the director, the film came early in a career spanning five languages and more than five decades.[10](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/singeetham-srinivasa-rao-was-one-of-a-kind-54-years-five-languages-zero-repetitions-10906480/)
## References
1. [A blank cheque and a secret diamond ring: Sudha Chandran reveals the 'pure' heart of Mayuri producer Ramoji Rao, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-mayuri-ramoji-rao-blank-cheque-naache-mayuri-biopic-history-10547860/)
2. [Mayuri (1984), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/)
3. [Mayuri on Moviebuff.com](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri)
4. [Mayuri (1984) on Moviebuff.com (Hindi page)](https://www.moviebuff.com/mayuri-1984-hindi)
5. [Mayuri (1984) Review – Rating, Verdict & Box Office, Tollybo](https://tollybo.com/review/mayuri-1984-telugu-movie-review-509)
6. [Mayuri (1984) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249797/awards/)
7. [First of Many: Sudhaa Chandran revisits Mayuri, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/sudha-chandran-acting-debut-mayuri-first-of-many-dance-film-7834573/lite/)
8. [From the India Today archives (1985): When Mayuri put her best foot forward, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india-today-insight/story/from-the-india-today-archives-1985-when-mayuri-put-her-best-foot-forward-2536698-2024-05-08)
9. [Mayuri synopsis, 1985 Indian Panorama catalogue, Directorate of Film Festivals](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/139_IPCatalogue1985.pdf)
10. [54 years, five languages, zero repetitions: Singeetham Srinivasa Rao was one of a kind, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/telugu/singeetham-srinivasa-rao-was-one-of-a-kind-54-years-five-languages-zero-repetitions-10906480/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Telugu films before 2000*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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