Karuththamma

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Karuthamma
Karuththamma poster.jpg
Poster
Directed by Bharathiraja
Produced byBharathiraja
Screenplay byBharathiraja
Story byM. Rathnakumar
Starring Raja
Rajashree
Maheswari
Narrated byBharathiraja
Music by A. R. Rahman
Cinematography B. Kannan
K.V. Mani (Stills)
Edited byK. Pazhanivel
Production
company
Vadivel Creations
Release date
  • 3 November 1994 (1994-11-03)
Running time
153 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Karuthamma is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and written by Bharathiraja. The film's script was co-written by M. Rathna Kumar. The film met with critical acclaim upon release and received accolades. It stars Rajashree, who played the titular role in her debut, along with Raja and debutante Maheswari. Saranya, Ponvannan, Periyar Dasan, Vadivelu, Vadivukkarasi, and Janagaraj played pivotal roles.

Contents

The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. The soundtrack was hailed as a masterpiece. The track Poraale Ponnuthayi won a National Film Award for its singer, Swarnalatha.

Plot

Mokkatha, the wife of Mokkaiyan, a farmer in Pottalpetti village, is in labour. They already have two daughters and are keen to have a son; two daughters born earlier were killed soon after birth by feeding them with poisonous cactus extract. Unable to pay hefty dowries for their daughters' marriages, the villagers consider female infanticide to be acceptable. A new school teacher feels sad on learning about this heinous practice. When Mokkatha delivers a girl again, Mokkaiyan orders the village midwife to kill the baby. The midwife sadly tries to feed the cactus extract to the baby at a secluded place. The school teacher notices this, meets her, and requests to hand over the infant so that he can bring her up. She hands over the infant, and he moves away from the village with the child.

Years later, Stephen, a veterinarian, comes to the village. Mokkaiyan's first daughter Ponnatha is married to Thavasi, the son of Mokkaiyan's nefarious sister Kaliamma. The second daughter Karuthamma takes care of the family. After getting into some tiff with Stephen, Karuthamma falls in love with him.

Ponnatha has two daughters and is pregnant for the third time. Unfortunately, when a girl is born again, Kaliamma orders to kill it. To save her child, Ponnatha escapes with her baby and is chased by Thavasi, who beats her to death; the child also dies. He and Kaliamma enact a drama that Ponnatha committed suicide as her third child also a girl.

Karuthamma, devastated with the death of her sister, does not believe this story. Ponnatha had earlier expressed her fear to her that if she delivered a girl again, Kaliamma would kill her. When Karuthamma is giving a ceremonial bath to Ponnatha's body, she notices bloodstains on her abdomen. Concluding that she was murdered, Karuthamma stops the funeral and rushes to complain to the police. The village chairman Chellamuthu, who is close to Thavasi, asks the police not to intervene, hence the police do not. Karuthamma refuses to leave the station. Stephen, who is passing by, threatens action against the police if they do not act on her complaint, as he is also a government employee. Left with no option, the police takes Ponnatha's body away and arrests Thavasi and Kaliamma.

Rosy, a doctor, comes to meet her close relative Stephen. Her presence and closeness with Stephen is misunderstood by Karuthamma. Rosy loves Stephen, but he only likes her. Kaliamma's husband celebrates her arrest by drinking with Mokkaiyan, who is not used to liquor. Mokkaiyan unfortunately suffers a paralytic attack and loses control of his limbs. Rosy attends to him and in the process gets attached to Mokkaiyan and Karuthamma.

A few weeks later, when Thavasi and Kaliamma get bail, they come to attack Karuthamma, but Stephen saves her. Chellamuthu manipulates the villagers to accept Thavasi's proposal that Karuthamma must marry Thavasi to take care of Ponnatha's two young daughters (by which the police case will also be closed). Chellamuthu, who has lent money to Mokkaiyan, threatens and seeks immediate repayment if he does not accept this proposal.

Thavasi's father realises that his son is using the young children as bait and takes away the children with him one night. However, he is caught by Thavasi, who, motivated by Chellamuthu, burns his father to death. Thavasi takes the children away and forces Karuthamma to come with him to their village to marry him. Shocked with all this, Mokkaiyan consumes poison and is on his deathbed.

When Rosy expresses her love to Stephen, he gets surprised and states that he loves Karuthamma. Rosy is shocked as she was keen to marry him and decides to move away from the village. When the villagers asks her to treat Mokkaiyan, who is fighting for his life, she does not as she is keen to leave. When her father, the teacher arrives, the village midwife realises that he is the same person who took Mokkiayan's third daughter. The midwife reveals to Rosy that Mokkaiyan is her real father, and the school teacher also confirms it. Rosy treats Mokkaiyan, who now realises his mistake of killing female infants without realising their worth.

Karuthamma, on the eve of her wedding, demands to see the children taken away earlier by Thavasi's father. However, Thavasi is unable to show his children (as they were taken by Chellamuthu to use them as bait to force himself on Karuthamma). That night, Chellamuthu makes Thavasi drunk and asks him to spare Karuthamma for that night. Thavasi agrees in a drunken state, which is overheard by Karuthamma, who also comes to know that Thavasi had killed his own father. When Chellamuthu goes to meet Karuthamma, she is well prepared to meet him. She murders Chellamuthu and then Thavasi. After saving Ponnatha's children, who were locked inside a box, she returns to her village. Realizing that Rosy is her own sister, Karuthamma asks her to look after the children and their father and leaves with the police. Stephen is sad but decides to wait for her.

Cast

Production

Development

The film was titled after Bharathiraja's mother. [1] The story was based on a real-life incident in a village, and the script was written by Bharathiraja's assistant M. Rathnakumar. [2]

Casting

Periyar Dasan, who worked as a professor in Pachaiyappa's College, made his acting debut with this film. [3] Rajashree and Maheswari both made their acting debuts in this film. [4] [5] Kamalasekhar, the film's art director, also portrayed the village chairman Chellamuthu. [6]

Themes and influences

The film explores female infanticide and the hatred that surrounds the birth of a female child. [7]

Music

Karuthamma
Film score by
A. R. Rahman
Released15 August 1994
Recorded Panchathan Record Inn
Genre Soundtrack
Label Pyramid
Aditya Music
Producer A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology
Pavithra
(1994)		Karuthamma
(1994)		 Pudhiya Mannargal
(1994)

The soundtrack of the film features score and 7 songs composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Vairamuthu. The soundtrack proved popular upon release. A. R. Rahman demonstrated his skills in composing for smaller budget films, reflecting themes of rural life, equally effectively. The songs gained A.R. Rahman notice for composing native folk, and ballads, such as both versions of the song, as well as dance-inspired compositions like "Thenmerku Paruva Kattru" featured. "Porale Ponnuthayi", a soul touching song, won Swarnalatha the National Film Awards for her soulful singing. [8] The song is based on Mohanam raga. [9] The music was released to high acclaim. The music of "Porale Ponnuthayi" was reused for "Gurus of Peace", for the album Vande Mataram. [10]

Tamil Version

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Thenmerku Paruva Kaatru" P. Unnikrishnan, K. S. Chithra 05:02
2."Poraale Ponnuthayi (Sad)" Swarnalatha 06:22
3."Poraale Ponnuthayi" Unni Menon, Sujatha Mohan 05:42
4."Pacha Kili Paadum" Shahul Hameed, Minmini 04:41
5."Kaadu Potta Kaadu" Bharathiraja, Malaysia Vasudevan 05:33
6."Araro Ariraro" T. K. Kala, Theni Kunjarammal, Deepan Chakravarthy 01:47
7."Yaar Petha Pillai" Jayachandran 02:03

Telugu Version

The soundtrack was also released in Telugu in the dubbed version of the film Vanitha. [11]

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Sirimalle Mogga Meeda"Gurucharan Unnikrishnan, K. S. Chithra 05:02
2."Poodota Poochindata (Sad)"Narayana Varma Swarnalatha 06:22
3."Poodota Poochindata (Happy)"Narayana Varma Unni Menon, Sujatha Mohan 05:42
4."Padaalenno Paade Vooru"Gurucharan Shahul Hameed, Sujatha Mohan 04:41
5."Koodu Pette Bhoomi"Bharathi Babu Mano, Rajgopal, T. K. Kala 05:33
6."Jo Laali Jo Laali"Gurucharan T. K. Kala, Sarala01:47
7."Ye Thalli Kannadani"Gurucharan Jayachandran 02:03

Release and reception

Karuthamma was released on 3 November 1994, [7] and ran for over 100 days in theatres. [12]

Reception

Ananda Vikatan in its review(04-12-1994) mentioned that "Though the subject taken up was delicate, instead of making a documentary, the director has narrated the film, through visuals, which should be appreciated. Bharathiraja must be congratulated for making a heart — wrenching film on a delicate subject without lecturing us on the theme". The film was given 45 Marks. [12] The Indian Express wrote, "Karuthamma is a film that will move many a human heart." [6]

Awards

The film has won the following awards since its release:

1994 National Film Awards (India)

1994 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

1994 Filmfare Awards South

Legacy

The first film to bring to light the menace of female infanticide on screen, Karuthamma forced the Government at National and State level to act against this practice and bring in suitable laws to curb it. It became a catalyst for this change in the society, [12] and was instrumental in "making way for the ban on prenatal sexual identification". [13]

In Kadhal Sadugudu (2003), Theni Kunjarammal tries to kill a female child with milk. Super Subbu (Vivek), who witnesses this, says that he has been seeing this from the days of Karuthamma. [14] One of the songs, "Thenmerku Paruvakaatru" inspired a 2010 film of the same name. [15] Scenes from the film have been parodied in Thamizh Padam (2010), though female infanticide has been replaced with male infanticide. Periyar Dasan reprises his role from the original film. [16]

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References

  1. ↑ "Who's who of Tamil film world congregate in city". The Times of India . Madurai. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "None can predict the climax". IndiaGlitz. 10 December 2008. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Periyar Dasan No More". IndiaGlitz. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Karuthamma fame Rajashree enters wedlock". IndiaGlitz. 21 February 2009. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Maheswari walks down the aisle". Behindwoods.com. 19 September 2008. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 Mannath, Malini (11 November 1994). "Rocking the cradle". The Indian Express . Madras. p. 6. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  7. 1 2 Dhananjayan 2014, p. 336.
  8. ↑ Aishwarya, S. (12 September 2010). "Playback singer Swarnalatha passes away". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  9. ↑ Mani, Charulatha (16 September 2011). "A Raga's Journey — Magical Mohanam". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  10. ↑ Dhananjayan 2014, p. 337.
  11. ↑ "Vanitha". JioSaavn . Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 Dhananjayan 2014, p. 338.
  13. ↑ Sundaram, Nandhu (19 July 2018). "Karuthamma, Nammavar, Kadhalan, Nattamai — Tamil cinema offered its best in the watershed year of 1994". Firstpost . Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  14. ↑ Kadhal Sadugudu (DVD)
  15. ↑ "Thenmerkku Paruvakatru Moview Review". Behindwoods.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  16. ↑ Nathan, Archana. "Flashback: CS Amudhan's spoof 'Thamizh Padam' is an honest (and a very funny) Tamil movie". Scroll.in. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

Bibliography

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