''Rajakumari'' () is a 1947 Indian

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

film directed by A. S. A. Sami, starring

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initialism M.G.R. and as Makkal Thilagam/Puratchi Thalaivar, was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of ...

(credited as Ramachandar) and K. Malathi. It was released on 11 April 1947.

Plot

Cast

;Male cast * M. G. Ramachandar as Sukumar * T. S. Balaiah as Aalahalan * M. R. Swaminathan as the sorcerer * S. V. Subbaiah as Mallika's father * M. N. Nambiar as Bahu * Pulimoottai Ramasami as the sorcerer's disciple * T. E. Ramasamy Iyer as the sorcerer's disciple * M. R. Madhavan as Nallan * Narayana Pillai as Paambaatti ;Female cast * K. Malathi as Mallika * K. Thavamani Devi as Visharani * M. Sivabhagyam as Bahuni * M. M. Radha Bai as Sukumar's mother * C. K. Saraswathi as Anjalai * R. Malathi as a dancer

Production

Jupiter Pictures partner Somu asked A. S. A. Sami to create a screenplay that he himself could direct with artistes on the payroll of the company. However, when he read Sami's screenplay, he suggested that P. U. Chinnappa and T. R. Rajakumari, who were in the forefront at that time, play the lead roles. But Sami requested Somu to stick to the original decision.

(then credited as Ramachandar) and Malathi were asked to play the lead roles. After more than half the film was shot, the company's other partner S. K. Mohideen felt the project be abandoned. Somu weighed the consequences in the light of future career of Sami and Ramachandar. He told his partner that a decision could be taken on completion of the film. ''Rajakumari'' was Ramachandar's 15th film and first film as leading actor. Sami arranged for a wrestler called Kamaludeen to participate in a fight sequence for the film. But Ramachandar insisted to have Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar who had been acting in small roles to do the role. At first director was not interested to have him in the film, but later agreed. K. Thavamani Devi who was a talented dancer and singer played the role of a vamp. At one point she came for shooting wearing a dress with a plunging neckline (something unseen those days). It caused ripples on the set. For a scene, where Nambiar who becomes invisible and follows Swaminathan, Sami revealed it was inspired from ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...

''.

Soundtrack

Music was composed by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu, while the lyrics were penned by

Udumalai Narayana Kavi Udumalai Narayana Kavi (25 September 1899 – 23 May 1981) was an Indian poet and lyricist known for his work in Tamil films. Early life Udumalai Narayana was born on 25 September 1899 in Poolavadi, a small village in Udumalaipettai taluk, T ...

Reception

''Rajakumari'' turned out to be a blockbuster with huge profits, and was the highest-grossing Tamil film of the year. In 2008, film historian

Randor Guy Madabhushi Rangadorai (; 8 November 1937 – 23 April 2023), better known by his pen name Randor Guy (), was an Indian lawyer, columnist and film and legal historian associated with the English language newspaper ''The Hindu''. He was also the of ...

, an ardent fan of Ramachandran himself said it would be "Remembered for: the debut of M. G. Ramachandran as hero and A. S. A. Sami as director.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0269759 1940s historical films 1940s Tamil-language films 1940s Indian films 1947 films Films scored by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Indian black-and-white films Indian historical films Jupiter Pictures films Indian fantasy adventure films Films about princesses Films directed by A. S. A. Sami Tamil-language Indian films