Rakta Sambandham

Rajasekhar "Raju" becomes the guardian of his younger sister Radha after their parent's death. The brother-sister duo love, care, and adore each other and are inseparable. He works at a local mill run for daily wages. One day, Radha is injured in an accident and Anand, Raju's co-worker at the mill, tends to her injuries. Raju is happy to know this and befriends Anand.

When the mill is shut down due to a labor problem, Radha gives a depressed Raju one thousand rupees which she had saved earlier. She advises him to use this money as seed capital and commence his own toy business. Raju follows her advice, starts a business, and buys the mill. Anand, who returned to the city after a legal dispute at his village, is jobless and approaches Raju for work. Raju appoints him in his concern and over some time, Anand and Radha fall in love. Raju, who is very possessive of his sister, gets angry with Anand as he feels betrayed. However, knowing how intensely Radha loves Anand, he arranges for their wedding.

After the marriage, Anand, along with his aunt Kanthamma and cousin Apparao, moves into Raju's house. Raju marries Malathi, a doctor, at Radha's suggestion. All of them continue to live under the same roof and several misunderstandings arise. Kanthamma uses every opportunity to widen the rift between the couples. Unable to witness Radha's troubles, Raju moves out of the house with his wife.

Kanthamma serves legal notice to Raju, demanding a share in the property for Radha. Meanwhile, Anand contests Raju in the local government elections. To avoid further issues, Raju withdraws his nomination. Still, the families do not unite. Radha delivers a boy and Malathi delivers a girl. After her child's birth, Malathi dies, leaving Raju heartbroken. Anand goes to meet Raju but is expelled by Malathi's brother Bhaskar, who holds him responsible for his sister's plight. Unable to cope with the separation from his sister and to have peace of mind, Raju goes on a pilgrimage for several months. He donates the entire property to Radha and sends the papers through a lawyer before leaving.

Raju returns on Diwali day and goes to meet Radha, but is denied entry by Kanthamma. While going back, he saves a boy from getting burnt by firecrackers and in the process, loses his eyesight. Through Subbanna, Radha learns that Raju had arrived and rushes to meet him. Raju learns that the child he saved is none other than his nephew. Anand, who learned about Kanthamma's misdeeds from Apparao, expels her from his house and goes to meet Raju. He is devastated to know that both Raju and Radha have died due to cardiac arrest, holding each other's hands before dying.

Male actors

• N. T. Rama Rao as Rajasekhar "Raju"
• Kanta Rao as Anand
• Relangi as Apparao
• Ramana Reddy as Vishwanatham
• K. V. S. Sharma as Rathnam
• M. Prabhakar Reddy as Bhaskar
• Y. V. Raju as Subbanna

Female actors

• Savitri as Radha
• Devika as Malathi
• Girija as Sita
• Suryakantham as Kanthamma

Ghantasala composed the film's soundtrack and background score. He was initially apprehensive about the songs as all of them were situation based, and that Viswanathan's music received critical acclaim. With Nahata's encouragement, he composed new tunes for all the songs except "Chanduruni Minchu", "Bangaru Bomma Raaveme", "Manchi Roju Vastundi" which were retained from the original.[2] Aarudhra, Anisetty Subbarao, C. Narayana Reddy, Daasarathi and Kosaraju collaborated for the lyrics.[3] The soundtrack was marketed by HMV Records and was released on 1 December 1962.[6]

The soundtrack received positive reviews. Venkat Rao, in his review for Andhra Jyothi dated 9 November 1962, stated that Ghantasala's music was instrumental in taking the film to the next level, and praised the lyrics for the songs "Manchi Roju Vastundi", "Bangaru Bomma Raaveme" and "Yevaro Nannu Kavvinchi".[7] Radha Krishna, writing for Andhra Prabha on 11 November 1962, opined that Ghantasala's music was "uplifting" and praised the lyricists for their contribution.[8] Visalaandhra, in its review dated 11 November 1962, noted the songs "Idhe Rakta Sambandham", "Chanduruni Minchu" and "Bangaru Bomma Raaveme" as the finest among others in the film's soundtrack.[9]

Rakta Sambandham was released on 1 November 1962,[10] with an approximate total length of 15,386 feet (4,690 m) in 17 reels, and a running time of 144 minutes.[11] The film's distribution rights were acquired by East India Film Company Private Limited.[10] While Savitri was skeptical of the film's success owing to its melodramatic nature, Rama Rao expressed his confidence citing Ramana's screenwriting as the film's strength.[2] Rakta Sambandham was a commercial success, completing a 100-day run in 11 centers and over 25 weeks in Vijayawada, making it a silver jubilee film.[1][lower-alpha 1] During Rama Rao's tenure as the Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Rakta Sambandham was re-released in 1988, and completed a 100-day run in Hyderabad.[1]

The film received positive reviews from critics. Venkat Rao, in his review for Andhra Jyothi dated 9 November 1962, praised the performances of the film's cast, especially those of Rama Rao, Savitri and Kanta Rao. Venkat Rao also praised Ramana's screenplay and the emotional climax, but found the inclusion of a dance number in the second half as an unwanted addition.[7] Radha Krishna, writing for Andhra Prabha on 11 November 1962, termed the performances of Rama Rao and Savitri as "extraordinary", and praised Ramana for his spontaneity in the dialogues.[8] Visalaandhra, in its review dated 11 November 1962, found Rama Rao's performance in the second half more effective and moving than the one he delivered in Kalasi Vunte Kaladu Sukham (1961). The reviewer noted that the film was "technically sound" with profound writing by Ramana and deft handling by Madhusudhan Rao.[9]

Rakta Sambandham made a significant impact on the on-screen image of Rama Rao and Savitri.[2] The portraits of the actors used in the film later gained wide recognition and were used in public gatherings on multiple occasions.[2] During its theatrical run, the film influenced many Telugu households to celebrate brother-sister bonding.[2] As a mark of gratitude to Doondi, Ramana dedicated his book Cineramaneeyam Part I to him.[1] After Rakta Sambandham, Rama Rao and Savitri acted as a romantic couple in P. S. Ramakrishna Rao's Aatma Bandhuvu (1962). Its commercial success encouraged Rama Rao to experiment further with his on-screen image.[1]

• Rakta Sambandham at IMDb