''Chandrodayam'' () is a 1966 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

-language

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film directed by

K. Shankar Kannan Shankar (17 March 1926 - 5 March 2006) was an Indian film editor, screenwriter and director. He directed more than 80 films in South Indian languages including Tamil language, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu language, Telugu and Kannada as well ...

. The film stars

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 ...

and J. Jayalalithaa, with

M. N. Nambiar Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar (7 March 1919 – 19 November 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly worked in Tamil cinema, renowned for his portrayals of villainous characters. With a career spanning over eight decades, he became a notable fig ...

and

Nagesh Nageshwaran Rao (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor and comedian mostly remembered for his comic roles in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in ov ...

in supporting roles. It was inspired by the 1934 American film ''

It Happened One Night ''It Happened One Night'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite ( Claudette Colbert) tr ...

'', and released on 27 May 1966.

Plot

Devi, an innocent heiress, runs away from her home, the Selvamani Estate, the day before her engagement, thereby creating a scandal within her family, in particular, for her father,

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

Ponnambalam. Being away, abandoned to herself, Devi is saved at the last minute by a reporter, Chandran, who decides to accommodate her at his home until he is able to find her a new home. Chandran is the news reporter for the newspaper named ''Dinakkavartchi''. Duriothanan, the editor of the newspaper, is an unscrupulous man with no regard for genuine news presentation, and is always in favour for sensationalising news, even if it means concealing the truth. The two very often disagree. Chandran is helped in his quest by his friend, the newspaper's photographer, Alwar. Chandran wants at all costs to help another young woman, Kamala, wounded cruelly by life since her birth. She had previously been a victim of a predator, the rich Paranthaman. Chandran puts everything in its place by uniting Kamala with Paranthaman and he himself marrying Devi, with the blessings of the elders from both the families. Duriothanan regrets his misdeeds and asks Chandran to start a new newspaper and name it as he wants. The newspaper is named ''Chandrodayam'', the first issue carrying the wedding news of Chandran and Devi.

Cast

Production

''Chandrodayam'' was inspired by the 1934 American film ''

''. It was produced by G. N. Velumani of Saravana Films, directed by K. Shankar, photographed by Thambu and edited by K. Narayanan. The climax fight sequence between M. N. Nambiar and M. G. Ramachandran was shot with the use of only one light source: a rolling, broken small table lamp.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is composed by M. S. Viswanathan. The songs "Chandrodayam Oru Pennanatho", "Buddhan Yesu" and "Kaasikum Pogum Sanyasi" were well received. The song "Kaasikum Pogum Sanyasi" is based on Yadhukulakambhoji raga, and "Chandrodayam Oru Pennanatho" is based on Hamir Kalyani.

Release and reception

''Chandrodayam'' was released on 27 May 1966. Jayalalithaa won the Tamil Nadu Cinema Fan Award for Best Actress.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{K. Shankar 1960s Indian films 1960s screwball comedy films 1960s Tamil-language films 1966 films 1966 romantic comedy films Films about hitchhiking Films about interclass romance Films about journalists Films about runaways Films based on adaptations Films based on American short stories Films based on works by Samuel Hopkins Adams Films directed by K. Shankar Films scored by M. S. Viswanathan Films set in Chennai Films set in country houses Films set in Tamil Nadu Films shot in Chennai Indian remakes of American films Indian romantic comedy films Indian screwball comedy films Tamil-language Indian films