Intha veen kopam

The song "Intha veen kopam...." was removed from the tamil film "Kanavane Kan kanda deivam " (Tamil. 1955). Sung by P Leela and Susheela.

Tamil Cinema history notes that the song was removed to reduce the length of the film. But the released gramaphone record of the movie included this song. The song sequence which the audience could not watch on screen, became a super hit and one of the early hits of Susheela.

And I remember clearly, Ceylon Radio used to broadcast this number, with special announcement about the song - THIS IS THE HIT NUMBER THAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE MOVIE.

Malayalam cinema history doesn't have any mention of a song being dropped for similar reasons. I mentioned about the songs from Stree Hrudayam. I could know about the songs, only after getting the gramaphone record of the songs.

Listen to the tamil song.

Kanakachilanka (1966)

‘Kanakachilanka' was an unusual Malayalam film with a thief as the hero. Some earlier Malayalam films did have golden-hearted heroes in disguise as outlaws or bandits. ‘Kerala Kesari' (1951) and ‘Thaskaraveeran' (1957) are two such examples. But the hero of ‘Kanakachilanka' was a ‘real' thief with a romantic heart. The plot of the film was from the block-buster Hindi film ‘Kismet' (1943) that created history by running continuously for three years in a single theatre in Calcutta. This film was an adaptation of the Hollywood film ‘Algiers' (1938).

‘Kismet' faced protests as it was felt that the film glamorised criminal life. In spite of such protests, the film became one of the most successful Indian films and its remakes ‘Premapasam' (Tamil-1956) and ‘Bale Ramudu' (Telugu-1956) were also hits.

The German film ‘Pick Pocket' (1959), directed by Robert Bresson, exhibited with English sub-titles was also popular in the country. Prompted by the success of these films, Sunderlal Nahata decided to produce a Malayalam movie with a similar story. The film had Prem Nazir in the lead.

Directed by M. Krishnan Nair, the script and dialogues written by Thoppil Bhasi, was the high point of the film. Editing by Prakasham, camera by B. J. Mohan and music composed by M. S. Baburaj were the other attractions of the film.

A rich landlord, Krishnan Thampi's happy family life takes a strange twist. His elder daughter Lata (Sheela), who is fond of music and dance, was crippled following an accident in her childhood caused by Shekhar, the son of Thampi's manager, Gopala Panikker. Shekhar is beaten up by Thampi and thrown into the nearby river. Thampi is sentenced to life on charges of murder. Thampi's wealth is appropriated by Panikker, leaving Lata and her sister Rema struggle for their livelihood. Years roll on.

Thampi befriends Ramadas (Prem Nazir), another prisoner in jail. Thampi sends a letter to Lata through Ramdas who he released. Ramdas introduces himself to Lata as an insurance agent. He rents a portion of Lata's house and they fall in love. Ramdas steals a diamond necklace from Panikker's house and gifts it to Lata. Meanwhile, a well-wisher arranges for the surgery and treatment of Lata's leg. She is cured.

Rema is arrested by the police for being in possession of the necklace. Lata tells the police that the necklace was gifted to her by Ramdas. The police then reveal the real identity of Ramdas and he absconds. Thampi is released from jail. He reaches the theatre where Lata's dance programme is on; Ramdas also reaches the venue. The police, who are tracking Ramdas, try to apprehend him. Ramdas is injured in the firing that ensues. Panikker identifies Ramdas as his son Shekhar from the scar he sees on his injured hand. Lata marries Ramdas.

The Malayalam remake was not as successful as the other versions. The producers adopted a new promotional technique. A dance sequence by Sheela which was removed by the Censor Board was included a few days after the release of the film.

The seven songs, written by Vayalar Rama Varma and set to tune by M S Baburaj, turned hits. The romantic number by K. J. Yesudas, ‘Manaswini manaswini ninte manasaveenayil…' was the most popular of them. The other hits include ‘Pon malayorathu…', ‘Aayiram chirakulla…', ‘Kunju kunju naalilenikkoru…' (P. Susheela), ‘Sakhi sakhi ninne kaanaan...' (Yesudas) and a comic number by A. L. Raghavan, ‘Polish polish Kochiyilum kittum…'

Will be remembered: For the good music, especially for the song ‘Manaswini manaswini…' and as the first Malayalam film that included an additional scene after the release.

Chithramela (1967)

‘Chitramela' was Malayalam cinema's first portmanteau film, consisting of three short films. ‘Yauvanam/Vandikkari' (1974) and ‘Kerala Café' (2009) are two other popular Malayalam films produced under this category. It was European directors like Rosseto Rosselini who promoted and popularised this trend in films.

Along with the Tamil film ‘Bhakta Ramadas' (1935), produced by Parameswari Sound Pictures, another ‘bit film' (as it was referred to in common parlance) titled ‘Milakaay Podi' was also shown. But the Tamil movie ‘Sirikkathe' (1939) produced by Sree Rajam Talkies is considered as the first portmanteau film in India. In the case of the former film, it is believed that the bit was added to the feature film ‘Bhakta Ramadas' and was not originally planned as a portmanteau.

‘Chitramela,' was produced under the banner of Sree Movies. Veteran actor T. S. Muthiah made his debut as producer-director in this film. The music, composed by G. Devarajan, was the highpoint of the film.

The segment titled ‘Nagarathinte Mukhangal' was first in the compilation. S. L. Puram Sadanandan wrote the dialogues for the script by M. K. Mani. A crime thriller, this short film showed the tragic fate of children left alone at home while the parents enjoyed themselves at late-night parties and meetings. One such couple, Sheela and Ummer, leave their daughter at home with the servant and go for a party . The naughty girl plays with the telephone, dials numbers and interacts with the person at the other end of the line. One such call results in trouble. The call was to a house which happened to be the venue of a murder. The girl says over the phone that she knew what was happening there. The murderer (Kottayam Chellappan) locates the number, kidnaps the girl and attempts to kill her. But the intervention of the police saves the girl's life.

The second short film, ‘Penninte Prapancham', was a hilarious comedy. The story by T. E. Vasudevan was inspired by a Laurel and Hardy film. The dialogues written by Bhavanikutty provided space for humour. The characters in the film were the original film stars themselves. Adoor Bhasi, Manavalan Joseph and Bahadur are trained to drive a car by S. P. Pillai, their ‘asan' or teacher. They encounter hilarious situations with the women they meet. All the students and their teacher go into deep sleep. They wake up after 50 years to find that men have lost dominance; women, they find, have become all powerful in the world.

‘Apaswarangal', story and dialogues of which were by Sreekumaran Thampi, was the longest in the compilation. The film told the story of a tragic love affair between a blind girl and a street singer. Seetha (Sarada), the daughter of a ‘coolie' in a colony is in love with Babu (Prem Nazir), a street singer. A city wastrel's evil eye falls on Seetha and Babu is beaten up severely by his goons. A famous dancer happens to listen to Babu's singing. Babu goes on to accept the patronage of the dancer, separating him from Seetha.

The colony is hit by an outbreak of small pox. Except for Seetha and a small boy all the others die. Seetha and the boy leave in search of Babu. She hears Babu's voice from a theatre. Babu rushes to meet his lover. Seetha who is elated falls into his arms and dies. ‘Chitramela' is remembered for its music. All the eight songs, written by Sreekumran Thampi and tuned by G. Devarajan, became super hits. Seven solos by K. J. Yesudas, and a duet with S. Janaki, are considered gems in Malayalam film music. ‘Madampotti chirikkunna... (Yesudas-Janaki), ‘Akasha deepame...', ‘Paaduvan moham...,' ‘Kannuneer kayalile...,' ‘Nee evide nin nizhal evide..,' ‘Apaswarangal...,' ‘ Chella cheru kiliye...,' ‘Nee oru minnalaai ...' (all by Yesudas) are still popular.

Will be remembered: As the first portmanteau film in Malayalam. For its excellent music and as the debut film of T .S. Muthiah as producer-director.

Oru Penninte Katha (1971)

Sheela and Sathyan in the film



“Oru Penninte Katha” released in 1971 is considered to be one of the best Malayalam films produced in the 70s which proved that a good story with strong characters will always be a success. A new concept was experimented through the unusual story written by Moses, an amateur short story writer. Women-centred subjects have always been a favourite with Indian cinema. The film tells the story of a woman who takes revenge on the man who ruined her life, coming into his life in another guise.

Probably the Tamil film “Thyagabhoomi “ (1939) directed by the legendary producer and director K.Subrahmaniam presented first on screen such a character.

In this film S.D. Subbalakshmi performed the character of a Brahmin woman abandoned by her husband, who comes again into his life in another guise and takes revenge on him and the evils of the society that stood against her. Though the theme and the story of “Thyagabhoomi” and “Oru Penninte Katha” is not the same, the central characters of these films are women who suffer thus and the name of these women characters in both films is the same - Savithri.

“Oru Penninte Katha” was a huge hit at the box office. Produced by K.S.R.Moorthy under the banner of “Chithranjali”, the film was directed by K.S.Sethumadhavan and ranks high among the Malayalam films directed by him. The film was shot at Prasad Studios, Chennai and the main outdoor location was Munnar in Kerala. Cameraman Melli Irani copied on film the natural beauty of the tea estates for the few scenes and song sequences. Editing by Sreenivasalu and choreography by E. Madhavan was commendable. Music by G. Devarajan was excellent. Script and dialogues written by S.L. Puram Sadanandan impressed the audience.

Popular artistes like Satyan, K.P.Ummer, Muthiah, Govindankutty, Adoor Bhasi, Sheela, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Jayabharathi, Junior Sheela etc added star value to the film.

The grand success of “Oru Penninte Katha” prompted producers and directors to produce films based on stories having similar women characters in the lead role.

Savithri (Sheela) is the only daughter of Govindan (T.S.Muthiah) who is employed in the tea estates owned by Madhavan Thampi (Satyan). One day Madhavan Thampi happens to see Savithri singing and dancing on the riverside and is attracted towards her. Raghavan (Govindankutty) is the local leader of the labourers. Rajan (K.P.Ummer), another leader of the estate workers is involved in a criminal case framed against him by the estate owners and the police is in search of him. Rajan gets refuge in Savithri's house through Raghavan. Love blooms between Savithri and Rajan. Quite accidently Madhavan Thampi happens to see Rajan in his hideout. Savithri fears that Thampi may report it to the police. Her friend Thankamma (Jayabharathi) advises her to approach Thampi and plead with him to not report to the police. Accordingly Savithri reaches Thampi's bungalow and is raped by him. Thampi also informs the police and Rajan is arrested.

Savithri becomes pregnant, but Thampi disowns her. Govindan commits suicide and the helpless Savithri leaves town after giving birth to a child whom she leaves in the hospital. Thampi marries Subhadra (Kaviyoor Ponnamma) and they live happily with their daughter Sreedevi (Junior Sheela). Mismanagement of the business by Thampi results in huge losses. Thampi's estate and property is bought by a rich woman Gayathri Devi who comes from Bombay. Thampi contests the Assembly elections and loses. Raghavan, who is a nominee of Gayathri Devi, wins.

Gayathri Devi repays Thampi's debts too and she files a suit against Thampi for recovery of money she paid to clear his debts. Thampi's house is about to be attached when Subhadra approaches Gayathri Devi with a request to wait till their daughter gets married.

Gayathri Devi narrates to Subhadra the reason behind her actions. Gayathri Devi is none other than Savithri, the daughter of Thampi's poor servant Govindan, who was abandoned by him mercilessly. Savithri struggled hard in life in Bombay till she inherited a huge amount of wealth from a benefactor.

Thampi writes a letter to Gayathri Devi, in which he tells Sreedevi that it is her own daughter whom he adopted from the hospital. . Gayathri Devi transfers all her wealth in Sreedevi's name , but Sreedevi refuses to accept it and Gayathri Devi returns to Bombay.

Sheela and Satyan excelled in their roles. Even minor characters in the film impressed the audience. The gossip monger old woman in the town played by T. R. Omana, Thampi's faithful servant Unnithan performed by Adoor Bhasi, etc are examples.

The titles of the film adopted a new style, Satyan appearing on the screen to introduce the technical crew behind the production of the film. The technicians also appeared on the screen.

Songs written by Vayalar were composed by Devarajan. All the songs became hits. P.Suseela's “Poonthenaruvi ....” was an instant hit. The Kharaharapriya raga based romantic number “Sravana chandrika ....” (P Suseela) is one of the best in the genre. The devotional number “Vaanavum bhoomiyum....” ( P Leela) , “Soorya Grahanam....” (Yesudas) and “Kadalezhu kadalezhu....” (Madhuri, Jayachandran, chorus) etc were other hits from the film.

ADIMAKAL (1969)

Prem Nazir and Sathyan in a scene from the film


‘Adimakal' won the President's Silver Medal for the best Malayalam film of the year under the category of regional language films. The film is considered one of the best social movies of the 60s.

A woman-centred movie, the heroine of ‘Adimakal' is a maid servant. Mythological characters, princesses and queens, college girls, society ladies etc. were the heroines of Indian films from the beginning of cinema. Probably the Telugu film ‘Devatha,' was the first Indian film that had a servant in a central role. The Malayalam adaptation of this film, ‘Paavappettaval' (1967) did not do well. But ‘Adimakal' was a huge hit.

This film was based on a novel of the same title authored by R. P. Parameswara Menon, popularly known by his pen name ‘Pamman' and was the first in the series of his novels that went on to be made into films. In ‘Adimakal' the focus was on sexual exploitation of maid servants in their work place and the injustice towards them. The novel also pointed a finger at the fraud religious leaders and sages.

The script and dialogues were written by Thoppil Bhasi. He was able to convey the message strongly through his sharp dialogues. Cinematography by Melli Irani and editing by M. S. Mani was commendable. The film was directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan.

Saraswathi Amma (Sheela) lives a saintly life having denounced all worldly pleasures. Anandan (Jaycee), her younger brother, lives with her. Saraswathi Amma is a disciple of Giridhara Yogi (Adoor Bhasi) whose hermitage is in her town. Ponnamma (Sarada) is her faithful servant. She manages the household giving her mistress time to engage herself in prayers and religious discourses. Raghavan (Prem Nazir) is a deaf-dumb, odd-job man in the neighbourhood. He nurses a silent love for Ponnamma.

Anandan's friend Appukuttan Pillai (Sathyan) is a bachelor and lives nearby. As requested by Anandan, Saraswathi Amma agrees to send him food from her house. Appukuttan takes a liking for Saraswati Amma and even proposes to marry her. Though Saraswaathi Amma gets annoyed she develops a soft corner for this kind hearted man.

Anandan seduces Ponnamma and she becomes pregnant. He then abandons Ponnamma and absconds. Ponnamma is thrown out of Saraswathi Amma's house, but she finds shelter in Raghavan's house. Raghavan says that he is responsible for her state thereby saving her from shame. Appukuttan Pillai brings Anandan back home and forces him to ask Ponnamma's hand in marriage. But she refuses and prefers to marry Raghavan.

Giridhara Yogi elopes with Raghavan's sister who was his favourite disciple. Saraswathi Amma realises that her religious gullibility has been the cause for so much suffering. She discards her saffron robes for a new life. Appukuttan Pillai gets transferred to a place quite far away and boards his train. He is pleasantly surprised to find Saraswathi Amma in the same train, willing to accept him as her life-partner.

Sathyan, Prem Nazir and Sheela were impressive in their roles. Deviating from the usual role of romantic hero, Prem Nazir came up with a stunning performance. Adoor Bhasi also excelled as the bogus ‘sanyasi'.

Songs written by Vayalar Rama Varma were set to tune by G. Devarajan. The devotional number ‘Chethi mandaram thulasi...' (P. Susheela) was elevated to the status of a prayer song. ‘Thaazhampoo manamulla thanuppulla...' (A. M. Raja) was another hit and one of the singer's best in the language. The other hits include ‘Manaseswari maappu tharoo...' (Raja), ‘Indumukhi ..... (P. Jayachandran), and the chorus ‘Narayanam bhaje...' led by Jayachandran. A few verses ‘Lalitha lavanga Latha…' from Jayadeva's ‘Geeta Govindam' rendered by P. Leela was also a hit.

Will be remembered: As a National award winning film, debut film of the novelist Pamman and for the excellent music.

Prahlada (1941)

Released on August 17, 1941, ‘Prahlada' was the third sound film and first mythological film in Malayalam. The film was produced and directed by K. Subrahmaniam under the banner of Madras United Artists Corporation. The film introduced to cinema, the noted dancer Guru Gopinath. He, along with his wife Thankamani, performed some memorable dances in the film. The film also introduced to cinema T. K. Balachandran, who went on to become a leading actor and producer. He starred as a child star in ‘Prahlada.'

The film was shot on spectacular sets at Gemini Studios. Cinematography by Kamal Ghosh was excellent. Haribabu, one of Indian cinema's best known make up man, worked in this project. But the film failed at the box office. No print, or a single film frame or a photograph of the film is available now. Repeated screen versions of the same story and success of some of the other language films with the same story might have adversely affected the success of the film.

Drawn from Vishnupurana, the story of Prahlada was staged in Malayalam as musical operas, and the first of such plays authored by Kunnath Neelakantan Moosath in 1924 was the most popular one. The mythological episode was produced as a silent film under the same title ‘Bhakta Prahlada' (1926) by Baburao Painter (producer) and Dadasaheb Phalke. The story was remade as sound films in almost all the major Indian languages several times, eight times in Hindi, three times in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, as per available records. It is strange that in Malayalam, the story was never remade after the 1941 film. The first sound film in Telugu ‘Bhakta Prahlada' (1931) directed by H. M. Reddy also told the story of Prahlada. ‘Bhakta Prahlada,' produced in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada by AVM Productions, under the direction of Narayanamoorthy in 1967 that had S. V. Ranga Rao, Anjali Devi and Baby Roja Ramani (who later became famous in Malayalam as ‘Chembarathi Shobhana) is considered as the most successful screen version of the Prahlada episode. The film was dubbed into almost all the Indian languages also.

Guru Gopinath was a famous court dancer of the Travancore state. K. Subrahmaniam invited Guru Gopinath and his wife and dancer Thankamani to act in ‘Prahlada'. Guru Gopinath's disciple and relative of Travancore Dewan Sir C. P. Ramawamy Iyer, Kumari Lakshmi acted as Prahlada in the film. This was her first and last film. Her father Chidambaram was Private Secretary to the Dewan. The star cast included several artistes from stage and dance schools in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, like P. R. Rajagopala Iyer, T. V. Krishna Sarma, N. Krishna Pillai, C. V. Ramachandran, N. P. Chellappan Nair, Sarada Bai etc. The Tamil film ‘Prahlada' (1939) directed by B. N. Rao under the banner of Salem Sankar Films was a super hit and created box office records. The singing sensation of later years T. R. Mahalingam acted as Prahlada in the film. The storyline and the dialogues of this film were closely followed for the Malayalam version. The script and dialogues of this film was adapted for Malayalam by N. P. Chellappan Nair.

The episode from Vishnu Purana, a holy text of Hindus, tells the story of Prahlada (Kumari Lakshmi) who worships Lord Vishnu against the orders of his father Hiranyakashipu (Guru Gopinath). All the attempts of the demon king and his wife Kayadhu (Thankamani Gopinath) to change their son's mind fail. The Lord comes to Prahlada's rescue every time he is tortured by Hiranyakashipu. And then, finally, the Lord appears as Narasimha (a man-lion avatar) to kill Hiranyakashipu.

The main attraction of the film was a dance by Guru Gopinath as Yama, the god of death. Apart from acting as Hiranyakashipu, the dance sequences of the dancer and his wife stood out. N. P. Chellappan Nair also acted in an important role in the film. Master Sadasivam provided the mandatory comedy relief. Kumari Lakshmi impressed as Prahlada and the songs sung by her also became hits. But then the performance of the actors and actresses of the film could not in any way be compared to that of the Tamil film. R. Balasubramaniam as Hiranyakashipu, M. R. Santhalakshmi as Kayadhu and Master T. R. Mahalingam as Prahlada were simply superb in acting and singing.

The 19 songs written by Kilimanoor Madhava Varier, a Malayalam poet and Sanskrit scholar, were set to tune by V. S. Parthasarathy Iyengar. Some of the songs like ‘Gurukulamathil angekandathil…' a chorus led by Kumari Lakshmi, ‘Narayanam bhaje…' (Kumari Lakshmi) and ‘Ennomal thankame…' (Thankamani Gopinath) were popular.

Will be remembered: As the first mythological film in Malayalam. The debut Malayalam film of director-producer K. Subrahmaniam, debut of actor T. K. Balachandran and music director V. S. Parthasarathy Iyengar. It was also the debut film of Guru Gopinath and Thankamani Gopinath. The film will also be remembered for some of its songs like ‘Gurukulamathil…'

Aalmaram (1969)

The Malayalam film ‘Aalmaram' released in 1969 was the screen adaptation of the successful Tamil drama of the same title. Authored by Raman, an amateur playwright popularly known by his pen name, Bilahari, the Tamil drama was staged successsfully with screen and stage artistes like V.S. Raghavan, A.V.M. Rajan, Pushpalatha etc by the popular Tamil drama troupe, ‘Little Stage'.

The unusual success of this tamil play might have prompted the producer T K Pareekutty to produce its screen adaptation under his own banner, Chandratara Productions.

‘Aalmaram' was directed by A.Vincent and is one of the best directorial ventures of the renowned cameraman.

The popular Malayalam playwright, Thoppil Bhasi wrote the script and dialogues based on the Tamil drama for the Malayalam film. The catchy dialogues written by Thoppil Bhasi retained the highly emotional impact of the stage play. The story of ‘Aalmaram' was similar to that of films like ‘Kula Deivam' (remade as ‘Bhabhi' in Hindi), ‘Ghar Sansar' (1958) etc with women as the central characters.

Edited by G.Venkittaraman and with camerawork by A.Venkat, the film had good dances choreographed by K.Thankappan.

Music composed by A.T.Ummer was the highlight of the film. A multi starrer, the star cast included popular artists like Prem Nazir, Madhu, Kottarakkara, P J Antony, Adoor Bhasi, Sheela, Kaviyoor Ponnamma etc.

Ammini Amma (Kaviyoor Ponnamma) is the backbone of her family. Her husband Kesava Pillai (Kottarakkara) is a spendthrift and a gambler.

Ammini Amma struggles hard to run the household. Her elder son Gopi (Madhu) is a vagabond. Soman (Prem Nazir), the younger son is the sole hope of Ammini Amma. Soman is in love with Kusumam (Sheela), daughter of their neighbour Govinda Kurup (P J Antony). Both the families are happy to conduct the marriage of Soman and Kusumam.

But Ammini Amma insists that Soman's marriage be conducted only after her elder son Gopi's. Govinda Kurup brings a proposal for Gopi and it is finalised. But the girl's family comes to know about the irresponsible life of Gopi and they back out. Gopi quarrels with Govinda Kurup who had brought the marriage proposal. Kurup therefore is not keen to give his daughter in marriage to Soman. Soman leaves for Chennai where gets a job. The office typist

Kamalam is very considerate to Soman. Soman learns that Govinda Kurup is looking for a bridegroom for Kusumam and enraged, decides to get married before Kusumam. He approaches Kamalam but she tells him she loves him only as a brother. Meanwhile Gopi reaches Chennai to meet his brother Soman in his office, working late. There is a power failure. Kamalam is raped in the darkness. Soman is suspected of it. and he does not disown the charge against him to save his brother Gopi who is the culprit.

Meanwhile, Ammini Amma approaches Govinda Kurup to pay back moneylenders from whom Gopi and her husband had borrowed money. Out of shame and the disgrace brought to the family by her husband and elder son, Ammini Amma dies of a heart attack in Govinda Kurup's house. Kaviyoor Ponnamma's performance was at its best as the struggling mother who is portrayed as the ‘Aalmaram'.

Madhu as the vagabond son and Prem Nazir as the responsible son performed their roles impressively. Sheela, Kottarakkara, P J Antony and other artistes also handled their roles commendably.

Adoor Bhasi's performance as Radio Bhasi was a deviation from his usual comic roles.

The five songs written by P.Bhaskaran and tuned by A.T.Ummer became popular. Background music was by R.K.Shekhar. The romantic number “Pinneyum Inakkuyil Pinangiyallo...” (Jayachandran, S Janaki) was an instant hit. Other hits include the dance number “Noothana ganathin....” (Yesudas, Vasantha), “Paraaga surabhila...” ( Janaki), “Ellaam Vyartham....” (Jayachandran) and “ Pullani Varambathu....” (P. Leela, C.O. Anto).

Why remembered:

As a good family drama in Malayalam cinema.

For the excellent music.