Veera Kesari (1963)

Vittalacharya’s big-budget return to Kannada cinema is a Rajkumar costumed adventure movie with a complicated plot, characteristic of all the star’s films. King Satyasena of Gandhara is overthrown by his evil stepbrother Shurasena (Kumar). The masked hero Veera Nayaka, who leads the oppressed people, attacks the palace of Princess Mandara Male (Leelavathi), but she is rescued by the masked man’s brother Narasimha Nayaka (Rajkumar/NTR). Veera Nayaka is killed together with his benevolent father Dharma Nayaka (Nagendra Rao) by Shurasena. This episode introduces a second masked man, revealed to be Narasimha Nayaka’s brother. The princess tries to apprehend him but is herself caught. She is then told the truth about the palace intrigues. Narasimha Nayaka is captured, escapes, and eventually overthrows the evil empire of Shurasena. Vittalacharya simultaneously made a Telugu version, Bandhipotu, starring NTR and Krishnakumari.