''Kandhan Karunai'' () is a 1967 Indian

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, nativ ...

-language Hindu mythological film, written and directed by A. P. Nagarajan. It features an ensemble cast including

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

, Sivakumar, Savithri, K. R. Vijaya and

Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

. This was the debut film for actress Sridevi, who had starred as Lord Murugan at the age of 3.

Plot

The film revolves around

Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

, his birth, marriage and his acceptance of the post of the head of the army of heaven. In

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, there are six abodes of lord Muruga, known as the " Arupadaiveedu". The story behind each of the abodes are portrayed chronologically in the film. It starts with

Swamimalai Swamimalai is a panchayat town that is a suburb near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the banks of river Kaveri and is one of the six abodes of the Lord Muruga. History The town has one of the ...

, where Lord Muruga teaches the meaning of the word 'OM' to his father, Shiva. He goes to Palani Hills after a fight over a sacred fruit, that is his second abode. Then he wins over the demon king Surapadman in Thiruchendur and that is his third abode. The King of heaven, Indra offers his daughter's hand in appreciation of Lord Muruga's victory and he marries her in Thirupparamkunram, his fourth abode. He later marries Valli in his fifth abode of

Thiruthani Tiruttani is a town in Tiruvallur district, suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit in state of Tamil Nadu, India. This town is famous for Tiruttani Murugan Temple which is one of the Arupadaiveedu and is dedicated to ( Kart ...

, later after a short dispute between both his wives they amicably settle in Pazhamudircholai, his sixth abode. All the events are summarised by Nakkeerar, a great Tamil poet portrayed by

Sirkazhi Govindarajan Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. Early life Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day Ma ...

at the end of the film.

Cast

Production

Vijayakumar was supposed to play Lord Murugan in the film but he was replaced by Sivakumar. Vijayakumar instead appeared as one of the lords who was in the jail. This was the debut film for actress Sridevi.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan, for which he received the

National Film Award for Best Music Direction The National Film Award for Best Music Direction (the Silver Lotus Award) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the Directorate of Film Festivals to a musician who has composed the best score for films produced within th ...

. The song "Thiruparankundrathil Nee" was composed by

Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan (2 March 1935 – 8 September 2008) was an Indian classical music violinist and music composer. Early life Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan was born on 2 March 1935 and was trained by his father, Ramaswamy Sastry. He was the brother ...

. The song "Arupadai Veedu" is a

ragamalika Ragamalika, literally a garland of ragas, is a popular form of composition in Carnatic music where different segments of the composition are set to different ragas. It is also known as ''Raga Kadambakam,'' and forms parallel to the composition form ...

; it starts off with Kambodhi followed by

Hindolam Hindōḷaṃ is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāgam, meaning pentatonic scale). It is a ''janya'' rāgam (derived scale), as it does not have all the sev ...

, Chakravakam, Kaanada, Hamsanandhi, Natakurinji and

Kapi Kapi, Kapı, or KAPI may refer to: Places * Kapi, Estonia, a village in Estonia * Kapı, Karataş, a village in Turkey * a possible old volcanic eruption site near Krakatoa People * Mari Kapi (1950–2009), Papua New Guinean judge * Mustafa ...

. "Solla Solla inikkudhadaa" song is set to Kundhalavarali raaga."Thiruparankundrathil Nee" song set in

Suddha Dhanyasi Udayaravichandrika is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāgam, meaning pentatonic scale ). It is a ''janya'' rāgam (derived scale), as it does not have all the ...

ragam and "Arumugamana Porul" song set in

Mohanam Mohanam is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāga (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is usually described as a '' janya'' rāga of Harikamboji (28th Melakartha Raga) ...

ragam."Vellimalai Mannava" song set in

Charukesi Charukesi (pronounced chārukēś‌i) is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 26th ''Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Tarangini in Muthuswam ...

ragam.

Reception

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' appreciated Nagarajan for taking an old story and reinventing it.

References

External links

* {{A. P. Nagarajan 1960s Tamil-language films 1967 films Films about Hinduism Films directed by A. P. Nagarajan Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Films with screenplays by A. P. Nagarajan Hindu mythological films