History of Tamil Cinema – Part 9

CINEMATIC HIGHLIGHTS OF 1941

In this episode

• AVM Productions introduces a new brand of humour on screen
• One of Tamil cinema’s first spoofs
• Two Sivaji Ganesan starrers inspired by 1941 films
• Controversial debut of Sri Lankan actress
• Avvai Shanmugam’s lead role which inspired a Kamalhaasan starrer

 

Ellis R Dungan and J Moylan together again

One of the first releases of 1941 was the film Surya Puthri, another film directed by Elis R Dungan, assisted by J. Moylan. The film starred Kothamangalam Subbu and Kothamngaralam Seenu in the lead roles with KR Chellam, TR Rajakumarie, SR Janaki and KS Goplakrishnan (the famous director of the 50s through to the 1980s)

The first Tamil film adaptation of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves

First Tamil film adaptation with Alibabavum 40 Thirudargallum which had husband and wife duo, NS Krishnan and TA Mathuram in the lead roles. Directed by KS Mani and music by NS Balakrishnan.

The film that inspired Sivaji Ganesan’s Kaathavaraayan

Aryamala was the film that established PU Chinnappa as a mass hero. The film also starred MS Santhalakshmi, TS Baliah, NS Krishnan and TA Mathuram. It was written by TC Vadivelu Naicker and directed by Bomman Irani. The film was a major box-office success and was later remade in 1958 as Kaathavaraayan with Sivaji Ganesan and Savithri Ganesan in the lead roles.

MKT’s Ashokkumar

Raja Chandhrashekar’s Ashokkumar was based on a story featuring Ashoka the Great and one of his sons, Kunalan. The film has MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar in the lead role and saw budding actor, MG Ramachandran play the role of Mahendran. The film also marked the screen debut of R Ranjan, best known for his hit film Neelamalai Thirudan, Ashokkumar also starred V. Nagayya, Rangasami Iyengar and NS Krishnan. The film was directed by Raja Chandrasekar and written by Ilangovan.

One of Tamil cinema’s first spoofs

Chandrahari was a film directed by KS Mani and produced by NS Krishnan’s own production company, Asokha Films and had cinematography by Hollywood trained cinematographer, ER Cooper. Chandrahari was one of Tamil cinema’s first spoofs and was based on the story of King Harishchandra, the king who never lied. Chandrahari was shot simultaneously with a film titled Ezhandha Kadhal with the same crew. This film had NS Krishnan, TA Madhuram and CS Jayaraman in the lead roles.

Hindi actress takes 1 year to learn to speak Tamil for Savithri

Savithri was an ambitious film directed by YV Rao, the director of Chintamani. The film had Rao himself playing the lead role opposite Marathi and Hindi actress Shanta Apte. Apte could not speak Tamil but insisted on not using a dubbed voice. She spent a year with a private tutor, eventually becoming fluent in Tamil before commencing the shoot of this film. The film also starred MS Subbulakshmi and P. Bhanumathi.

Kamalhaasan’s mentor inspired another classic

Kamalhaasan’s acting Guru, TK “Avvai” Shanmugam played the lead role in the hit film Gumasthavin Penn which was produced by SS Vasan’s Gemini Studios. Avvai Shanmugam’s youngest brother, TK Bhagavathi, played the second lead. The TK Brothers had enjoyed a tremendous hit with this story on stage and decided to make a film version. The film was directed by BN Rao and his assistant was the young Panju. Panju would later find fame as part of the successful directorial duo, Krishnan-Panju. AP Nagarajan would remake this film in 1974 with Sivakumar and Kamalhaasan in the lead roles under the title Gumasthavin Magall.

TC Vadivelu Naicker as writer and director

TC Vadivelu Naicker wrote and directed Sathi Murali which MK Radha, TR Mahalingam, MR Santhanalakshmi, TA Mathuram and a young S Varalakshmi. This film was directed by BN Rao.

SS Vasan’s Madana Kamarajan opens new doors for KS Gopalakrishnan

SS Vasan’s Gemini Studios became a major role player in the Tamil film industry and cemented their place with the release on 28 November 1941 of the film Madana Kamarajan, an action adventure film with VV Satagopan in the lead role. The film was produced by KS Gopalakrishnan whose many films as director included Chiththi, Karpagam, Selvam, Kai Kodutha Deivam,Aadhi Parasakthi and his last film, Vijayakanth’s 1992 film, Kaaviya Thalaivan.

AVM Productions brings farce to the Tamil screen

A.V. Meiyappan, the founder of AVM Productions and AVM Studios, produced the hit comedy of 1941, Sababapathy. AV Meiyappan also co-directed the film with AT Krishnaswamy. The farcical comedy was based on Pammal Sambandha Mudhaliar’s first stage script written in 1906. It tells the story of Sabapthy, a dim-witted Zamindar (TR Ramchandran) and his servant who shares the same name (Kali N Rathnam). The many cases of mistaken identity, misunderstandings and witty repartee was a refreshing change of humour for Tamil cinema and the film, released  on 14 December 1942, went on to become a major box-office success.

Sri Lankan actress with a controversial claim to fame.

Vanamohini was a film that released on 24 December 1941 and was a runaway hit. Directed by Bollywood director Bhagwan, the film had MK Radha in the lead role opposite Sri Lankan actress, K Thavamani Devi. This actress controversially appeared in a revealing sarong. Many ascribed the film’s success to this infamous scene, but the film itself was a well-packaged entertainer. It was the first Tamil film to give top billing to an animal – Chandru, the elephant.