Kanniyin Kathali

Last updated

Kanniyin Kathali
Kanniyin Kathali poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by K. Ramnoth
Screenplay byK. Ramnoth
Based on Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
Produced byK. Ramnoth
A. K. Sekhar
Starring Madhuri Devi
Anjali Devi
S. A. Natarajan
CinematographyW. R. Subba Rao
Edited byT. Durairaj
Music by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
C. R. Subbaraman
Production
company
Release date
  • 6 August 1949 (1949-08-06)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kanniyin Kathali (transl. The Maiden's Lover) is a 1949 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by K. Ramnoth, who produced it with A. K. Sekhar and wrote the screenplay. An adaption of the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, it stars Madhuri Devi, Anjali Devi and S. A. Natarajan. The film revolves around the twins Adithan and Chandrika, who are separated in a shipwreck. Chandrika (who is disguised as a man) falls in love with Prince Vasanthakumar, who in turn is in love with Megala Devi. Upon meeting Chandrika, Megala falls in love with her, thinking she is a man. [1] Kanniyin Kathali was released on 6 August 1949.

Contents

Plot

Prince Adithan and his twin sister Princess Chandrika are separated in a shipwreck. Chandrika is shipwrecked on the coast of the Vasanthapuri Kingdom and she comes ashore with the help of a fisherman. She loses contact with Adithan, whom she believes had drowned. Disguising herself as a young man under the name "Kalaimani", she enters the service of Prince Vasanthakumar's palace, who posed at the Royal Poetry Position.

Vasanthakumar has convinced himself that he in love with Megala Devi, whose father and brother have recently died and who refuses to see charming things, be in the company of man and entertain lover or marriage proposals from anyone (Vasanthakumar included), until seven years have passed. Vasanthakumar then uses "Kalaimani" as an intermediary to profess his passionate love before Megala. However, forgetting about the seven years in his case, falls in love with Kalaimani as she does not realise Vasanthakumar's messenger is a woman in disguise.

Meanwhile, Chandrika has fallen love with Vasanthakumar, creating a love triangle between the trio: Chandrika loves Vasanthakumar, Vasanthakumar loves Megala, and Megala loves "Kalaimani", not knowing it is Chandrika. Adithan arrives in Vasanthapuri, adding to confusion of mistaken identity. Mistaking Adithan for Kalaimani, Megala asks him to marry her. Finally, when Kalaimani and Adithan appear in the presence of both Megala and Vasanthakumar, there is more wonder and confusion at their similarity. At this point, Chandrika reveals her disguise and that Adithan is her twin brother. This ends in declaration of marriage between Vasanthakumar, who marries Chandrika and Adithan, who marries Megala.

Cast

Production

In 1947, K. Ramnoth and A. K. Sekhar resigned from Gemini Studios. They were invited by M. Somasundaram to join his company Jupiter Pictures, and accepted. The first project they made for Jupiter was Kanniyin Kathali, [3] an adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Twelfth Night . [3] [4] Ramnoth and Sekhar jointly produced the film, with the former also serving as director and screenwriter, and the latter as art director. S. D. Sundaram wrote the dialogues, W. R. Subba Rao handled the cinematography and T. Durairaj was the editor. The final length of the film was 15,342 feet (4,676 m). [2] [5]

Soundtrack

Music by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu and C. R. Subbaraman, while lyrics were written by Bhoomi Balagadas, Kannadasan and K. D. Santhanam. [2] This was the cinematic debut of Kannadasan, and the first song he wrote was "Kalangaathiru Manamey". [4]

SongsSingersLyricsLength
"Kalangaathiru Manamey"K. V. Janaki Kannadasan 02:37
"Puvy Raja" M. L. Vasanthakumari Thiruchi Loganathan 02:42
"Kaaranam Theriyammal" M. L. Vasanthakumari 02:28
"Kandaen Ayya"K. V. Janaki02:19
"Chithirai Paravaiyamma"K. V. Janaki03:07

Release and reception

Kanniyin Kathali was released on 6 August 1949. [6] According to historian Randor Guy, the film was not as commercially successful as expected to be; he believed this was due to the changing trends in Tamil cinema of that time, with audiences no longer being interested in films about royalty, [3] though another historian S. Theodore Baskaran said the film was indeed a success. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Vanambadi</i> 1963 Indian film

Vanambadi (transl. Skylark) is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language thriller film, directed by G. R. Nathan, produced by K. Murukesan and Kannadasan, and written by Valampuri Somanathan. A remake of the Bengali film Sesh Porichoy, it stars S. S. Rajendran and Devika, with R. Muthuraman, S. V. Sahasranamam, T. R. Rajakumari, T. R. Ramachandran, R. S. Manohar, Pushpalatha, Sheela and Kamal Haasan. The film was released on 9 March 1963 and emerged a success.

<i>Arasilankumari</i> 1961 film by A. S. A. Sami and A. Kasilingam

Arasilankumari (transl. Princess) is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language historical adventure film directed by A. S. A. Sami and A. Kasilingam, and produced by M. Somasundaram under Jupiter Pictures. An adaptation of the 1952 film Scaramouche, itself based on a 1921 novel of the same name, it stars M. G. Ramachandran, Padmini and Rajasulochana. The film was originally directed by Sami, and completed by Kasilingam. It was released on 1 January 1961, and failed commercially.

<i>Server Sundaram</i> 1964 film by Krishnan–Panju

Server Sundaram is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju and produced by A. V. Meiyappan. The film stars Nagesh as the title character. Muthuraman and K. R. Vijaya play the other lead roles while Major Sundarrajan, S. N. Lakshmi and Manorama play supporting roles. It focuses on a hotel waiter who strives to reach greater heights after he becomes an actor to attain the love of his restaurateur's daughter.

<i>Aalayamani</i> 1962 film by K. Shankar

Aalayamani is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Shankar and produced by P. S. Veerappa. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, S. S. Rajendran, B. Saroja Devi and C. R. Vijayakumari. It was released on 23 November 1962, and ran for over 100 days in theaters. The film was remade in Telugu as Gudi Gantalu (1964) and in Hindi as Aadmi (1968).

<i>Miss Malini</i> 1947 film by Kothamangalam Subbu

Miss Malini is a 1947 Indian Tamil-language satirical film written and directed by Kothamangalam Subbu and produced by K. Ramnoth, based on a story by R. K. Narayan. Subbu also starred in the film alongside Pushpavalli and M. S. Sundari Bai. Javar Seetharaman and Gemini Ganesan made their acting debuts in the film appearing in minor supporting roles. The film focuses on Malini (Pushpavalli), an impoverished woman who joins her actress friend Sundari's theatre company Kala Mandhiram and becomes a success. Things take a turn for the worse when she befriends a charlatan named Sampath.

<i>Ezhai Padum Padu</i> 1950 film by K. Ramnoth

Ezhai Padum Padu is a 1950 Indian Tamil language film directed by K. Ramnoth. It was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Beedala Patlu. It was an adaptation of Les Misérables, Victor Hugo's 1862 novel. The film was released on Diwali day. For his memorable portrayal of Javert in this film, N. Seetharaman came to be called as Javert Seetharaman. It was produced by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu of Pakshiraja Studios.

<i>Sita Kalyanam</i> (1934 film) 1934 film

Seetha Kalyanam is a 1934 Tamil-language film produced by Prabhat Film Company. It was the first film for musicians Papanasam Sivan, S. Rajam and S. Balachander. The film was remade in Telugu in the same year. The film is known to be the first ever Tamil film to be released in colour.

<i>Boss Engira Bhaskaran</i> 2010 Indian film

Boss Engira Bhaskaran is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by M. Rajesh who earlier directed Siva Manasula Sakthi (2009). Starring Arya, Nayanthara and Santhanam in lead roles, the film is produced by K. S. Sreenivasan and features music scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja and cinematography handled by Sakthi Saravanan.

<i>Marmayogi</i> 1951 film by K. Ramnoth

Marmayogi is a 1951 Indian Tamil-language swashbuckler film directed by K. Ramnoth and produced by M. Somasundaram. An adaptation of the novel Vengeance by Marie Corelli and William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, the film was shot simultaneously in Hindi as Ek Tha Raja. It stars M. G. Ramachandar, Anjali Devi and Madhuri Devi, with S. V. Sahasranamam, Serukalathur Sama, N. Seetharaman, S. A. Natarajan, M. N. Nambiar and M. Pandari Bai in supporting roles.

<i>Parthiban Kanavu</i> (1960 film) 1960 film by D. Yoganand

Parthiban Kanavu is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language historical fiction film, directed by D. Yoganand. The film stars Vyjayanthimala, Gemini Ganesan and S. V. Ranga Rao, with Ragini, S. V. Subbaiah, Kumari Kamala, T. S. Balaiah, P. S. Veerappa and S. A. Ashokan in supporting roles. It is based on the 1942 historical novel of the same name, written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. The film also had actor K. Balaji in a special appearance and actress B. Saroja Devi as an extra.

<i>Kathanayaki</i> 1955 Indian film

Kathanayakitransl. Heroine) is a 1955 Indian Tamil language romantic comedy film directed by K. Ramnoth and produced by T. R. Sundaram. The film stars Padmini, T. R. Ramachandran, M. N. Rajam and K. A. Thangavelu. It was released on 19 February 1955. The film's story takes inspiration from the 1951 film Happy Go Lovely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. Ramnoth</span> Indian cinematographer

K. Ramnoth (1912–1956) was an Indian cinematographer and director active in Tamil cinema.

<i>Anadhai Anandhan</i> 1970 film

Anadhai Anandhan is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film directed by directed by Krishnan–Panju and produced by Muthuvel Movies. It stars A. V. M. Rajan, Muthuraman, R. S. Manohar and Anjali Devi. The bond between the lead heroine Jayalalithaa with the orphaned child played by Master Sekhar was the highlight of the film. The film was simultaneously made in Hindi as Chanda Aur Bijli, which released earlier in 1969. It was a successful film on its release. This film was remade in Telugu as Akka Thamudu in 1972.

Jupiter Pictures was an Indian feature film production company founded in Coimbatore in 1934 by M. Somasundaram and S.K. Mohideen. Jupiter Pictures was a major production house with 46 releases with 36 films released in Tamil, 5 in Telugu, 2 each in Kannada and Hindi and one joint release in Tamil and Telugu. In the late 40s and early 50s, they operated out of Central Studios in Coimbatore. Following the closure of the studio, they relocated to Chennai and took over Neptune Studio in Adayar which would later become Sathya Studios. In Chennai, the Jupiter Pictures office operated from a leased historic and palatial building in Mylapore known as "Mangala Vilas".

Vidyapathi is a 1946 Indian, Tamil-language film produced by M. Somasundaram and Mohideen under the banner Jupiter Pictures and directed by A. T. Krishnasami. The film stars T. R. Ramachandran, T. Premavathi and K. Thavamani Devi.

<i>Raksha Rekha</i> 1949 Indian film

Raksha Rekha is a 1949 Telugu-language swashbuckler film, produced and directed by R. Padmanabhan. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Bhanumathi Ramakrishna and Anjali Devi, with music composed by Ogirala Ramachandra Rao and H. R. Padmanabha Sastry.

<i>Kanniyin Sabatham</i> 1958 film by T. R. Raghunath

Kanniyin Sabatham is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language film directed by T. R. Raghunath and produced by M. Somasundaram and A. L. Srinivasan. The film stars K. R. Ramasamy, Anjali Devi and M. N. Nambiar.

<i>Kaithiyin Kathali</i> 1963 Indian film

Kaithiyin Kathali is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed by A. K. Velan. The film stars S. S. Rajendran and R. Vijayakumari.

<i>Minnalkodi</i> 1937 film directed by K. Amarnath

Minnalkodi is a 1937 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film, directed by K. Amarnath and produced by Ramaniklal and Mohanlal. The film stars K. T. Rukmini, Srinivasa Rao, and S. S. Kokko. Released on 30 October 1937, it became a commercial success, but no print of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madhuri Devi</span>

Madhuri Devi was a lead actress in Tamil films from the late 1940s until the 1950s. She has paired opposite leading heroes like M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. G. R and known for acting in the films Manthiri Kumari, Marmayogi, (1951), and Devaki (1951).

References

  1. ↑ "Muththucharam - Thirai Ulaga Adhisayangalum Arputhangalum 929 - Maarupatta Irattai Vedangal". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 26 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 கன்னியின் காதலி (song book) (in Tamil). Jupiter Pictures. 1949.
  3. 1 2 3 Guy, Randor (9 January 2009). "Kanniyin Kaadhali 1949". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Baskaran, S. Theodore (23 April 2016). "Of monologues and melodrama". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  5. ↑ Film News Anandan (2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [Tamil film history and its achievements] (in Tamil). Sivagami Publishers. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "Kanniyin Kathali". The Indian Express . 6 August 1949. p. 1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.