Kannagi (1942 film)

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Kannagi
Kannagi 1942 poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byM. Somasundaram
R. S. Mani
Written byElangovan
Starring P. U. Chinnappa
P. Kannamba
Music by S. V. Venkatraman
Production
company
Distributed bySouth India Pictures
Release date
  • 2 August 1942 (1942-08-02) [1]
Running time
228 minutes [2]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹2.5 lakh

Kannagi is a 1942 Indian Tamil-language epic film directed by R.S Mani based on one of The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature, Cilappatikaram . This is the first Tamil film based on the epic. The second film, Poompuhar , was released later in 1964.

Contents

Plot

R.S. Mani directs this mythological fantasy based on the first century A.D. Tamil Jain saga Silapadhigaaram. The film centers on Kovalan (P.U. Chinnappa), who is married to the faithful Kannagi (P. Kannamba). Later, Kovalan falls for the beautiful, dissolute dancer Madhavi (N.S. Saroja), who leads him to ruin. Kannagi comes in at the last moment and saves him from almost certain debauchery. She also offers to sell her golden anklet to restore the household's depleted funds. Unfortunately, the artistry and value of the object leads the king of a neighbouring land to accuse Kovalan of theft and sentence him to the chopping block. Once again, Kannagi comes in at the last moment and proves to the king and the queen that they are innocent, causing them both to die instantly. After razing Madhavi's native village to the ground, Kannagi ascends to heaven.

Cast

Cast according to the opening credits of the film and the songbook: [3]

Female cast
Male cast

Production

The film was mounted on a lavish budget of ₹2.5 lakh (worth ₹25 crore in 2021 prices). Producers have chosen Elangovan to write the script after makers were impressed with his work in Ashok-Kumar (1941). The script was finalised after reading 16 scripts relating to same concept and picking some points from them. P. Kannamba was cast as the titular character and she was 31 years old during the film's shoot. [4] Thyagaraja bagavathar was considered for the role of Kovalan but makers felt that pair may look odd since Kannamba acted as his stepmother in Ashokkumar, finally Chinnappa who shot to fame with Aryamala was selected to play Kovalan. Chinnappa had apprehensions to act with Kannamba since she is talented and also taller than him however producers convinced him to do the role. [4] G. Subbalakshmi who was chosen for the role of Madhavi was removed due to misunderstanding and she was replaced by M. Saroja. The film was supposed to be shot at Coimbatore but later it was shot at Newton Studios. The dance sequences were choreographed by TR Raghunath who during the film's production fell in love with M. Saroja and married her. [5] The film was originally directed by Boman Irani however he was replaced by then 22-year-old RS Mani after producers were not impressed with the work of Irani. [6] The song "Maanamellam" was shot at Mahabalipuram. Choreography was done by V. B. Ramaiah Pillai and Pandit Bholonath Sharma.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by S. V. Venkatraman while the orchestration was by N. S. Balakrishnan and group. Lyrics were penned by Udumalai Narayana Kavi.

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Chandrodhayam" Udumalai Narayana Kavi 03:07
2."Pathiniye Unpole" Udumalai Narayana Kavi 02:43
3."Anbil Vilaindha Amudame" Udumalai Narayana Kavi 02:08
4."Vandanal Oru Sundari" Udumalai Narayana Kavi 04:17
5."Inbamendre Thunbamathai" Udumalai Narayana Kavi 03:07

Release

The film ran over in 110 cities and more than 1 crore people had watched the film. CN Annadurai criticised the film in the magazine "Dravida Naadu". [6] Randor Guy wrote that film is "remembered for: Kannamba's brilliant performance, a classic example of how dialogue should be delivered in cinema. Also for Chinnappa's equally impressive performance, Saroja's dance sequences and tuneful music". [5]

Legacy

The film's success enabled the producers M. Somasundaram and S. K. Mohideen to take Central Studios, Coimbatore on lease and launch several productions simultaneously. The film also gained popularity for its dialogues. Elangovan achieved stardom, thus laying the foundation for dialogue writers. Kannamba achieved star status with this film, being her third venture in Tamil. [5] [6] Mohan Raman wrote she handled the literary and poetic Tamil without compromising on emotion, diction or cadence. Her performance in that film remains iconic. [7] The success of the film led Jupiter Somu to do a similar project Thanga Padhumai (1959) on the theme of "woman, who is chastity personified fighting a relentless battle to win her husband back". [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kannagi</span> Protagonist of Cilappatikaram

Kannagi, sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic Cilappatikaram. Kannagi is described as a chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his adultery, their attempt to rebuild their marriage after her unrepentant husband had lost everything, how he is framed then punished without the due checks and processes of justice. Kannagi proves and protests the injustice, then curses the king and city of Madurai leading to the death of the unjust Pandyan King of Madurai, who had wrongfully put her husband Kovalan to death. The society that had made her suffer, suffers in retribution as the city Madurai is burnt to the ground because of her curse. In Tamil folklore, Kannagi has been deified as the symbol – sometimes as goddess – of chastity, with sculptures or reliefs in Hindu temples iconographically reminding the visitor of her breaking her anklet or tearing her bleeding breast and throwing it at the city.

<i>Cilappatikaram</i> Ancient Tamil Hindu–Jain epic

Cilappatikāram, also referred to as Silappathikaram or Silappatikaram, is the earliest Tamil epic. It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely akaval (aciriyam) meter. The epic is a tragic love story of an ordinary couple, Kannaki and her husband Kovalan. The Cilappatikaram has more ancient roots in the Tamil bardic tradition, as Kannaki and other characters of the story are mentioned or alluded to in the Sangam literature such as in the Naṟṟiṇai and later texts such as the Kovalam Katai. It is attributed to a prince-turned-monk Iḷaṅkō Aṭikaḷ, and was probably composed in the 2nd century CE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Five Great Epics</span> Tamil epic poems

The Five Great Epics are five Tamil epics according to later Tamil literary tradition. They are Silappatikāram, Manimekalai, Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi, Valayapathi and Kundalakesi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kovalan</span> Character in Tamil epic Silappatikaram

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References

  1. ↑ "Kannagi". The Indian Express . 2 August 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  2. ↑ Dhananjayan 2014, p. 44.
  3. ↑ கண்ணகி (PDF) (song book) (in Tamil). Kalaimagal Company. 1942. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 Dhananjayan 2014, p. 45.
  5. 1 2 3 Guy, Randor. "Kannagi 1942". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Dhananjayan 2014, p. 46.
  7. ↑ Raman, Mohan V. (30 September 2011). "She walked tall in tinsel town". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Guy, Randor. "Thanga Pathumai (1959)". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2015.

Bibliography

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