Papam Pasivadu

After the success of Mosagallaku Mosagadu (1971), which was shot mostly in deserts, its producer Atluri Purnachander Rao wanted his next venture to also be desert-based.[1] Jamie Uys' South African film Lost in The Desert (1969) had just been released in Andhra Pradesh, and caught Rao's attention; he commissioned Gollapudi Maruti Rao to write a story based on this film, which became Papam Pasivadu.[2] The film was produced by Rao's brother Atluri Seshagiri Rao under their home company Sri Lakshmi Productions, V. Ramachandra Rao was hired as director, M. Kannappa for cinematography, Balu for editing and S. Krishna Rao for direction.[1][2]

When Chukkala Veera Venkata Rambabu or "Ramu" first auditioned for the role of Gopi, he was rejected as the makers felt he was too young for the role. However, he was signed on after several negotiations.[1] S. V. Ranga Rao was cast as Gopi's father Venugopal, Nagesh as Gopi's uncle Pathy, M. Prabhakar Reddy as the airport official Chakrapani, V. Nagaiah as the doctor, Kaikala Satyanarayana as Venugopal's brother Narasimham, Devika as Gopi's mother Janaki, Suryakantham and Chhaya Devi as relatives after Venugopal's wealth. A Pomeranian named Tommy was cast as Ramu's dog of the same name.[2]

Principal photography took place in March 1972. The film was shot for 27 days at the Thar Desert, during which Ramu and the dog playing Tommy were the only actors. The scenes picturised on Nagesh, Ranga Rao, Devika, Prabhakara Reddy and Satyanarayana were shot at studio sets matching the actual location, and on beaches near Madras.[2] Due to difficulty in obtaining further dates for Nagesh, the makers chose K. Chakravarthy to dub his voice.[1] The final length of the film was 139 minutes, longer than Lost in The Desert which was 90 minutes long.[2]