Bhakta Kuchela (1961)

Kuchela, known in the north as Sudama, studied with Krishna as a boy in the hermitage of their guru. Years later Krishna is the king of Dwaraka, while Kuchela lives in desperate poverty with his wife and many children. Urged by his wife, he sets out to visit his old friend, carrying only a small bundle of beaten rice as a gift, too proud and too humble to ask for anything. Bhakta Kuchela is a Malayalam devotional film from producer-director P. Subramaniam of Merryland Studio in Thiruvananthapuram, one of the pioneers of Malayalam cinema who made many mythological films. The story of Krishna and Kuchela's friendship is among the best-loved tales of the Bhagavata Purana.