''En Manaivi'' () is a 1942

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

-language film produced by

Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar (28 July 1907 – 12 August 1979), also known as A. V. Meiyappan, A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar or AVM, was an Indian film producer, director and philanthropist who established AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. He ...

and directed by

Sundar Rao Nadkarni Sundar Rao Nadkarni was an Indian film actor, editor, cinematographer, producer and director. He was the director of the first hit film for AVM productions Bhookails in Telugu in the year 1940, and later the record-creating Tamil film '' Haridas ...

Production

Encouraged by the success of his comedy movie ''

Sabapathy ''Sabapathy'' is a 1941 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by A. V. Meiyappan and A. T. Krishnaswamy, and produced by Meiyappan. An adaptation of Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar's farce play of the same name, the film stars T. R. Ramachand ...

'', Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar wanted to make another film of the same genre. He sought out Marathi film director

who had recently entered the Tamil film industry with ''

Shantha Sakkubai ''Shantha Sakku Bai'' is a 1939 Indian, Tamil-language film directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni. The film featured K. Aswathamma, Banni Bai, K. Sarangapani, Kothamangalam Seenu, Kothamangalam Subbu in the main roles. Plot Sakku Bai is a devotee ...

''. The film was based on a Marathi stage play "Samshai Kolli" which in turn was based on French playwright Molière's ''Self- deceived Husband''. K. Mahadevan, who had played the role of the Hindu sage

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

, was cast as a flirtatious young man.

Plot

This is a story of mistaken identity and the comedy that ensues as a result. In early 1940s Madras, a rich and handsome young Dhanapal Gupta is captivated by the beauty and chastity of a young dancer girl, Revathy, of the dasi community. Against the wishes of her mother, they get married in Rama temple with just themselves as witnesses. Meanwhile, a middle aged Dr Vembu Iyer sets up his medical practice in a relatively obscure part of Madras - Kodambakkam. He is constantly worried about his feisty wife, Chellam (

K. R. Chellam Kambayanatham Rangaswami Kanakavalli (born 1918), known professionally as K. R. Chellam, was an Indian actress who appeared in Tamil language films. Early life Kambayanatham Rangaswami Kanakavalli was born in 1918 to a middle-class Iyengar fa ...

), who always gives him the slip and escapes home everyday to meet up with her relatives or generally go out, which he hates. He would rather she stay at home. He is always suspicious about where she goes and laments to his patients at times. One day he walks out of his house and bumps into Revathy, who as it happens is feeling giddy and faints on the road. He rushes to hold her and brings her back to consciousness. Spotting this from her window an angry Chellam mistakes them to be lovers and storms out of the house. But by then, the other two have left the scene. The girl Revathy has dropped a framed picture of Dhanapal when she'd fainted and Chellam picks this up and walks inside. Vembu Iyer comes back home and spies on his wife sitting on the bed admiringly looking at the picture of Dhanapal. The wife is wondering why the girl (Revathy) would leave such a handsome young man and fall for someone like her own husband. Iyer misunderstands this and thinks that she is talking about herself. He comes out of hiding and demands to know who her secret lover is. She in turn demands to know who that girl was who he was holding in his arms right in the middle of the road. They fight and he snatches the framed picture from her and storms out of the room. The next few days Iyer goes around the city trying to search for his wife's 'secret lover' using the framed picture to compare faces. He finally spots Dhanapal at a park and shows him the picture. Dhanapal knows that the picture was with Revathy, and he is angered that it is now with some other man. He immediately assumes that Revathy and Iyer are lovers which is why it has come into his possession. He accuses Revathy of her infidelity and walks out of her house depressed. How all these mistaken identities are resolved forms the rest of the story.

Cast

The list was compiled from the film titles. ;Male Cast *

K. Sarangapani Kumbakonam Sarangapani (1904-1984) was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out ...

as Vembu Iyer * K. Mahadevan as Dhanapal Gupta * S. R. Krishna Iyengar as Gopal Gupta * R. Natesa Iyer as Chef Subbu * Appudu as Appayi ;Male support cast * N. S. Kannan, K. S. Jegadeeswara Iyer,
K. V. Sornappa, G. Bhat and K. V. Shanmugam. ;Female Cast *

as Chellam * M. K. Meenalochani as Revathi * V. M. Pankajam as Baby * R. Padma as Swathi * T. R. Chandra as Rohini * T. N. Chandramma as Dhanammal * Lakshmikantham as Dhariha

Soundtrack

Lyrics were written by T. K. Sundara Vathiyar while the background music was provided by Saraswathi Stores Orchestra. The song ''Sangadamaana Samaiyalai vittu ..'' sung by R. Nadesan is a hit and popular even after 70 years. R. Padma danced to the song ''Ennilum Aval ..'' sung by P. A. Periyanayaki.

References

External links

* * * {{AVM Productions 1942 films 1940s Tamil-language films AVM Productions films Indian comedy films 1942 comedy films Indian black-and-white films Films scored by R. Sudarsanam Films directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni