''Engirundho Vandhaal'' () is a 1970 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 film, directed by

A. C. Tirulokchandar A. C. Thirulokachandar (11 June 1930 – 15 June 2016), also known as A. C. Tirulokchandar, was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked mainly in Tamil films from the 1960s to 1988. He also directed a few films in Hindi and Telugu. ...

and produced by

K. Balaji Krishnamachari Balaji (24 June 19342 May 2009) was an Indian film producer and actor. He was a prominent actor in the 1960s and 1970s, playing lead, supporting and antagonist roles. He appeared in many films featuring Sivaji Ganesan. Early l ...

. The film stars

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

and

Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016), popularly known as Amma, was an Indian actress, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She ...

, with

M. Bhanumathi M. Bhanumathi (1946 – 4 February 2013) was an Indian actress, who was active in Tamil cinema during the latter 20th Century. She was well known playing negative and supporting roles. She acted in more than 100 films in Tamil language, Tamil, ...

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 ...

, Sundarrajan and

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

in supporting roles. It is a remake of the 1963

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

film '' Punarjanma'', which in turn was based on the novel ''Patthar Ke Honth'' by

Gulshan Nanda Gulshan Nanda (1919 – 16 November 1985) born in Rawalpindi, British India was an Indian novelist and screenwriter. Many of his novels were adapted into Hindi films in the 1960s and 1970s, including more than a dozen big hits of the period — ' ...

. The film was released on 29 October 1970, and became a

silver jubilee hit Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

. It later won the

Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil The Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil ( Kollywood) films. Winners Nominations 1970s *1972 – '' Pattikada Pattanama'' *1973 – '' Bharatha Vilas'' *1974 – ...

Plot

Sekar has lost his mind being forced to witness the betrayal by his lover and his friend as they get married though the situation was manipulated by his friend Sukumar. She kills herself on the stage by setting herself afire, driving him insane. The family property remains in his name and is enjoyed by the rest of the family who treat him badly but keep him alive so that they can enjoy it. When forced to get a nurse, they instead get Radha, a courtesan, and present her as a nurse. However, her tender love and affection slowly turns Sekar back into the road of sanity. Seeing that he is getting better, they venture to fire her. One thing leads to another and in the end, Sekar manages to save Radha from fire, thereby redeeming himself from his earlier failure to save his lover and getting sane again. They get married and forgive the relatives.

Cast

Production

The film was originally titled ''Paithiyakkaran'' (). Padmini was originally chosen as the lead actress; since she had to go to the United States, she was replaced by Jayalalitha. Ganesan's home, Annai Illam, features in the film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by M. S. Viswanathan, with lyrics by

Kannadasan Muthiah Sathappan Chettiar better known as Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was a poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important l ...

Release and reception

''Engirundho Vandhaal'' was released on 29 October 1970, alongside another Sivaji Ganesan starrer ''

Sorgam ''Sorgam'' () is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film directed by T. R. Ramanna, starring Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Rajasree, R. Muthuraman and K. Balaji. The film was released on 29 October 1970 and became a major success, running for o ...

''. ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

'' wrote, "There are some touching scenes. The music by M. S. Viswanathan is passable. Comedy by Thengai Srinivasan and Nagesh, though unwarranted, is enjoyable." The film became a

, and went on to win the

References

External links

* {{A. C. Tirulokchandar 1970 films 1970s Indian films 1970s Tamil-language films Films about mental health Films based on Indian novels Films directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar Films scored by M. S. Viswanathan Tamil remakes of Telugu films Tamil-language Indian films