''Koondukkili'' () is a 1954 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, na ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed and co-produced by T. R. Ramanna. The film stars

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

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 ...

and

B. S. Saroja B. S. Saroja (born 18 November 1929) is an Indian actress in Malayalam and Tamil films. She is the daughter of Johnson, who acted in the first Malayalam film, Vigathakumaran. She acted with MGR and Sivaji in their only movie together, Koondukk ...

. Although a commercial failure, it gained historical reputation over time due to the fact it was the only film in which Ramachandran and Ganesan acted together.

Plot

Thangaraj and Jeeva are friends. Thangaraj is married to Mangala and they have a son. Thangaraj goes to jail for a crime committed by Jeeva. Mangala is left with no money or house to live. Jeeva tries to help Mangala with the sinister motive of having a relationship with her. After she repeatedly refuses his attempts to help her, Jeeva starts to sadistically taunt her, but he could never win her . Meanwhile, Sokki is in love with Jeeva. When Jeeva tries to embrace Mangala, he is struck by thunder and loses his eye sight. Thangaraj is released from prison and saves Mangala from Jeeva.

Cast

Production

This is the only film where Tamil superstars

and

acted together. It was written by Vindhan, a social activist and reformist writer.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan. Lyrics by Mahakavi Bharathiyar, Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass, Vindhan,

Ka. Mu. Sheriff Ka. Mu. Sheriff was a writer and poet who wrote mainly in the Tamil language. He was a popular Tamil film lyricist during the 1950s and 60s. His lyrics ''Chittukuruvi Chittukuruvi Sedhi Theriyuma?'', ''Yerikaraiyin Maele Poravale Penn Mayile'' a ...

A. Maruthakasi A. Maruthakasi (13 February 1920 – 29 November 1989) was an Indian poet and film lyricist who wrote mainly in the Tamil language. He penned more than 4000 lyrics in more than 250 Tamil films. Early life Born in Melakudikadu in Tiruchirappal ...

. Playback singers are T. M. Soundararajan, K. V. Mahadevan, V. N. Sundharam,

P. A. Periyanayaki P. A. Periyanayaki (14 April 1927 – 1990) was an Indian playback singer and actress who worked mainly in Tamil-language films. She also performed stage concerts as a Carnatic singer. Early life She hails from Thiruvadhigai near Panruti. ...

T. V. Rathnam Tenkasi Vallinayagam Rathnam ( ta, தென்காசி வள்ளிநாயகம் (டி.வி.) ரத்தினம்) (1930 - 17 October 1984) hailed from Tenkasi, Madras Presidency, British India. She was a playback singe ...

Radha Jayalakshmi Radha (born 1932) and Jayalakshmi (1932 - 2014), popularly known as Radha Jayalakshmi ( ta, ராதா ஜெயலட்சுமி), were an Indian Carnatic music vocalist duo as well as playback singers in films in the 1940s and 1950s. Th ...

& K. Rani.

Reception

''Koondukkili'' was a commercial failure in its original release, but as it remained the only film in which Ramachandran and Ganesan acted together, it gained historical reputation over time.

References

External links

* {{T. R. Ramanna 1950s Tamil-language films 1954 drama films 1954 films Films directed by T. R. Ramanna Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Indian drama films