Vaanathaippola is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vikraman. The film stars Vijayakanth in a dual role. The supporting cast includes Meena, Prabhu Deva, Livingston, Kausalya and Anju Aravind. Produced by V. Ravichandran under Oscar Films, the film's music was composed by S. A. Rajkumar and the cinematography handled by Arthur A. Wilson. The film tells the story of a caring brother who makes sacrifices to ensure his three younger brothers succeed in life.
Kothamangalam Subbu was an Indian poet, lyricist, author, actor and film director based in Tamil Nadu. He wrote the cult classic Tamil novel Thillana Mohanambal and was awarded the Padma Shri. According to novelist Ashokamitran's memoirs, Subbu functioned as the No. 2 of the giant Gemini Studios of Chennai, South India for over three decades and was a close associate of movie mogul S. S. Vasan, who established those studios and published the popular Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan.
Apoorva Sagodharargal is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. The film features an ensemble cast including Kamal Haasan, Jaishankar, Nagesh, Gautami, Rupini, Manorama, Srividya, Janagaraj, Moulee, Delhi Ganesh and Nassar. The plot centers on the twins Raju and Appu, who were separated during childhood, and Appu's quest for revenge against the criminals who killed his father.
The Corsican Brothers is a novella by Alexandre Dumas, first published in 1844. It is the story of two conjoined brothers who, although separated at birth, can still feel each other's physical distress. It has been adapted many times on the stage and in film.
Chandralekha is a 1948 Indian historical adventure film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Starring T. R. Rajakumari, M. K. Radha and Ranjan, the film follows two brothers who fight over ruling their father's kingdom and marrying a village dancer, Chandralekha.
Subramaniam Srinivasan, popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was an Indian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon. He is the founder of the Tamil-language magazine Ananda Vikatan and the film production company Gemini Studios, Gemini Film Laboratories and Gemini Picture Circuit. He was a member of parliament from 1964 and served his term till his death.
Devika Devadoss was an Indian actress who worked in Tamil and Telugu along with a few Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films. She was one of the popular lead actresses in the 1960s.
Mangamma Sabatham is a 1943 Indian Tamil-language film, starring Vasundhara Devi, Ranjan, N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram. The film was produced by S. S. Vasan and directed by T. G. Raghavachari, credited as Acharya. The film was remade in Hindi and Telugu as Mangala and again in Telugu as Mangamma Sapatham (1965).
Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni, more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhalese, and Hindi languages.
Kanchana is a 1952 Indian drama film produced and directed by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu. The film is based on the Tamil novel, Kanchanayin Kanavu, authored by Lakshmi. It was filmed simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages.
Shanti Nilayam is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language musical drama film, directed by G. S. Mani in his debut. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and Kanchana, with Nagesh, Vijaya Lalitha, Pandari Bai, K. Balaji and V. S. Raghavan in supporting roles. It is based on the 1965 American film The Sound of Music and the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. The film was released on 23 May 1969, and ran for over 100 days in theatres. Marcus Bartley won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography, and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The film was remade in Telugu under the same title in 1972.
Kanavane Kankanda Deivam is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language fantasy film directed by T. R. Raghunath and produced by Pattanna. The film stars R. Ganesh and Anjali Devi, with V. Nagayya, M. N. Nambiar, Friend Ramaswamy and Lalitha in supporting roles. It revolves around a man who steals an object to cure the king's blindness and marry the princess, but becomes cursed because of the theft and seeks to undo it.
K. Rani was an Indian playback singer who has sung songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhalese, Hindi, Bengali and Uzbek. Rani was the first female singer from India to sing in Sinhalese and Uzbek, and sang the national anthem of Sri Lanka.
Missiamma is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. Produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani's Vijaya Vauhini Studios, the script was adapted by Chakrapani from the Bengali novel Manmoyee Girls School by Rabindranath Maitra. Missiamma also focused on social issues such as unemployment, corruption, and freedom of worship. Missiamma tells the story of two unemployed people of different religions and mentalities: Balu and Mary. They pose as a married couple to obtain jobs in a high school founded by Gopal, the zamindar of Aandipettai. As Balu and Mary fall in love, Gopal's nephew Raju learns that Mary is Gopal's missing elder daughter Mahalakshmi; she is unaware of her true identity.
Samsaram (transl. Wife) is a 1951 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Chandru and produced by S. S. Vasan. A remake of the 1950 Telugu film of the same name, it stars M. K. Radha, Pushpavalli, Kumari Vanaja, Sriram, M. S. Sundari Bai, T. R. Ramachandran, D. Balasubramaniam, R. Balasubramaniam, K. N. Kamalam, and Kamalaveni Ammal. The film was simultaneously filmed in Hindi as Sansar, which Vasan directed.
Gruhalakshmi is a 1967 Telugu-language, comedy film, produced and directed by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao under the Bharani Pictures banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Bhanumathi Ramakrishna with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. The film was remade as the Tamil movie Anbe Aaruyire (1975).
Moondru Pillaigal is a 1952 Indian Tamil-language drama film produced by S. S. Vasan. Based on Victor Fleming's 1927 American film The Way of All Flesh, it is about a couple and their three sons. The film was directed by Nagendra Rao and stars himself alongside Kannamba, with M. K. Radha, Gemini Ganesan and Sriram in supporting roles. It was simultaneously produced and released in Telugu under the title Mugguru Kodukulu. The film failed at the box office, which led to Vasan destroying all copies of it, thus making it a lost film.
R. S. Shivaji was an Indian actor, who was known for his work in Tamil films. He had often collaborated in films involving Kamal Haasan and Raaj Kamal Films International, working as an assistant director, sound designer and line producer on film projects.
Dasi Aparanji is a 1944 Indian Tamil-language historical fantasy film directed by B. N. Rao and produced by S. S. Vasan. The film stars Pushpavalli and M. K. Radha. It revolves around the antics of king Vikramadithan after his soul enters the body of a parrot, and manipulates a girl named Aparanji. The film was released on 10 August 1944. No print of it is known to survive, making it a lost film.
Mangala is an Indian film produced by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Filmed in Hindi and Telugu languages, it is a remake of the studio's own Tamil film Mangamma Sabatham (1943). The film stars P. Bhanumathi and Ranjan. The Hindi version, released in 1950 was directed by Vasan while the Telugu version, released a year later on 14 January, was directed by Chandru.
