Sardar Papa Rayudu is a 1980 Indian Telugu-language historical fiction film written and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao about an Indian revolutionary "Sardar Papa Rayudu" and his fight against the British Raj. Produced by Kranthi Kumar, starring N. T. Rama Rao, Sridevi and Sharada, with music composed by Chakravarthy. The film was remade in Hindi as Sarfarosh (1985).

Dasari Narayana Rao was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Hindi cinema. He has directed more than 150 feature films in a variety of genres. He holds the Limca World Record for directing the most number of films in the world. For some reason he is known by the moniker Darsaka Ratna. His works emphasize social injustice, corruption and gender discrimination. Narayana Rao has received two National Film Awards, nine state Nandi Awards including the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, and four Filmfare Awards South including the Lifetime Achievement. During his career he had also acted in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films.