History of Tamil Cinema – Part 3

The first release for 1936 was the devotional film, Kuchela which had music composer Papanasam Sivan playing the lead role in addition to scoring the music. Director K. Subramaniam cast his wife, SD Subbulakshmi, in an unusual dual role – a first for Indian cinema. She played a male role – that of Lord Krishna and the second role as a female. Susheela, the wife of Kuchela. The film had 30 songs which had music and lyrics by Papanasam Sivan who also played the lead role.

In 1935 Ellis R Dungan, a recent graduate of the newly established Cinematography and Motion Pictures Production Department at the University of Southern California was invited to India by his fellow USC alumnus, Manik Lal Tandon, the director of the 1935 film Nandhanar. Tandon asked Dungan to join him as an associate director. This was Dungan’s first film.

Nandhanar marked the cinematic debut of Carnatic singer and stage actress K.B. Sundarambal. Sundharambal had retired from the stage after the death of her husband in 1932. SG Kittappa Hassandas, a wealthy businessman was determined to introduce Sundarambal to films but, despite all his efforts, she flatly refused. Hassandas was, however, very persistent and, in an attempt to discourage him, Sundarambal said that she would act if he paid her 1 lakh rupees (100 000 rupees), an amount that no actor had secured at that time. To her surprise and dismay, he agreed and she was forced to accept the role. In the film she played a man – the untouchable saint, Nandhanar. The total budget for the film was 3 lakhs. Unfortunately, the film was trolled by critics and failed at the box-office.

Dungan, who had directed much of the film during Tandon’s absence, was then approached by Marudhachallam Chettiyar, a man who wanted him to direct a film titled Sathi Leelavathi, based on a serialised novel by S.S. Vasan. SS Vasan was the founder of Ananda Vikatan magazine and also the founder of the famous Gemini Studios (More about this in a future edition of this series).

Sathi Leelavathi had MK Radha in the lead role. MK Radha, no relative of MR Radha, would go on to play the lead role in films for 25 years.

Sathi Leelavathi also introduced to the screen MG Ramachandran (MGR) in a small but important role as a police officer.

Also making their debut in Sathi Leelavathi were comedy actors T.S. Balaiah and NS Krishnan, as well as MV Mani. MV Mani would later form the South Indian Film Artists Association where he served as a secretary to the Association’s President, P.N. Velu Nair.

Dungan had to work hard to get the actors to ditch the techniques used in drama and has to frequently remind them against exaggerated gestures or speaking very loudly. This was made more difficult as Dungan could not speak Tamil well. CK Sathasivan was then hired as an assistant director.

Dungan introduced the mobile camera to Indian film-making through Sathi Leelavathi, filming by schedules instead of chronologically, the introduction of the cabaret/club dance feature and strict discipline on set.

Sathi Leelavathi was a major success and popularised Ellis R Dungan as a director and opened new doors for its cast and crew.

Later that year, Dungan, in his second film, Iru Sahotharargall, once again cast MG Ramachandran in a small but important role. MGR’s brother, MG Chakrapani was also given a small role.

The film Chandra Mohana had MK Radha and TN Meenakshi in the lead roles. The film introduced to the screen writer Kothamangalam Subbu, who is the author of the cult classic, Thillana Mohanambal. The film was directed by Raja Chandrasekar and was the second film of M.K. Radha.

Later that year, Dungan would direct and release his third film, Seemanthini, which had TP Rajalakshmi in the lead role.

1936 also saw the release of Miss Kamala, the first Tamil feature film to be directed by a woman -TP Rajalakshmi.  Based on a book she had written, the film also saw TP Rajalakshmi handle screenplay, scripting, music and editing. She also produced the film. Miss Kamala marked the first Tamil film to be based on a novel dealing with social issues.

1936 also the release of Naveena Sarangadhara and Sathyaseelan ­– both of which had MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar in the lead role.

The 1936 film, Chandrakantha, starred Kali N Ruthnam in the lead role. Ruthnam was the acting Guru for MG Ramachandran. There was an uproar when the film released as it was labelled as religiously insensitive. This was also the first Tamil film to invite a call for it to be banned.

Coming up in Part 4:

MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar becomes South India’s first superstar