Bhakta Dhruva Markandeya (2000)

Bhakta Dhruva Markandeya is a Telugu devotional film for children directed by Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, the legendary actress, singer and film-maker whose career stretched back to the 1940s. It tells two well-known Puranic stories of child devotion. In one, the boy prince Dhruva, hurt by his stepmother's rejection, goes into the forest to pray to Lord Vishnu with a determination that moves the heavens. In the other, Markandeya, a boy born with the blessing of a short life, turns to Lord Shiva as his appointed time approaches. Shobana appears in the cast, and child actor Vamsi Krishna plays a central role. The film is made in the gentle, instructive style of mythological films for family audiences.