Mahakavi Kalidasa
Mahakavi Kalidasa () is 1955 Indian Kannada film directed by K. R. Seetharama Sastry, in his debut direction.The movie is based on the legends of the poet Kālidāsa. It stars Honnappa Bhagavatar as Kālidāsa, a Sanskrit poet who lived during the 4th and 5th Century CE. It tells the story about how he, aristocratic young man cursed by his guru with ignorance, goes on to become a great poet. B. Raghavendra Rao, Narasimharaju and B. Saroja Devi, in her first film, feature in supporting roles.
Kālidāsa
Lakshmi Dhar Kalla (1891-1953), a Sanskrit scholar and a Kashmiri Pandit, wrote a book titled "The birth-place of Kalidasa" (1926), which tries to trace the birthplace of Kalidasa based on his writings. He concluded that Kalidasa was born in Kashmir, but moved southwards, and sought the patronage of local rulers to prosper. The evidence cited by him from Kalidasa's writings includes:According to folklore, once a scholarly princess decided to find a suitable groom by testing men in her kingdom for their intelligence. When no man could pass the test, the frustrated citizens decided to send Kalidasa, an unintelligent man, for an interview with the princess. Kalidasa fared poorly, and was greatly humiliated by the princess. Challenged by the princess, he visited a Kali temple, and was inspired to learn Sanskrit; he studied the Puranas and other ancient texts, and become a great poet. He then wrote three epics starting with the words of his insult: "अस्ति कश्चित् वाग्विशेश?".