''Geetha Gandhi'' () is a

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – ...

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, nati ...

-language film produced and directed by Krishnaswami Subrahmanyam. The film stars

T. R. Ramachandran Thirukampuliyur Ranga Ramachandran (9 January 1917 – 30 November 1990) was an Indian actor and comedian who acted mainly in Tamil films. He was cast mostly in lead or supportive roles, especially in comical parts, from the 1940s to the 1960s. Kn ...

and B. S. Saroja.

Plot

Subbaiyer is an old man whose granddaughter, Girija is studying in

Annamalai University , logo = CampusmapofAU.jpg , image = Annamalai University logo.png , image_size = 225px , motto = "With Courage and Faith" , established = , type ...

. She comes home by train. At Egmore railway station, an unknown woman hands over an infant child asking the girl to hold it for a moment. While Girija is doing so, the woman intentionally jumps in front of a train. Shocked by this, Girija goes to the police, but they taunt her. She goes home with the baby and is mistreated in the same way. In the meantime, two men travel in a train. One is Dr. Chander and the other is Gopu, who takes revenge on Dr. Chander for insulting him. Gopu takes the identity of Chander and sends him to a mental asylum. Gopu "invents" a medicine (Andev Pazhani) and becomes rich. Gopu's sister Sarada, who is a nurse, falls in love with him (in parallel). Girija is sent to the mental asylum for drowning the abandoned baby at the beach. Subbaiyer is saddened by the turn of events and takes it upon himself to bring back happiness in the family. What he does, forms the rest of the story.

Cast

The list is compiled from the database of

Film News Anandan Film News Anandan (born Mani) was an Indian film historian and photographer based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was popularly known as the "walking encyclopedia" of Tamil cinema. Early life Anandan was born as Mani. His father P. K. Gnanasagaram ...

and from the review article in the Hindu newspaper and the song book ;Male Cast *

as Subbaiyer *M. R. S. Mani as Doctor Chander *V. Kumar as Gopu *K. Viswanathan *Pandit Bholonath Sharma *Vinayaka Mudaliar ;Female Cast * P. A. Periyanayaki as Sarada * B. S. Saroja as Girija * Baby Padma as Baby Padma *R. Padma as Kamakshi *Lakshmiprabha *K. S. Angamuthu as Angurbala ;Dance * Lalitha- Padmini

Production

Krishnaswami Subrahmanyam produced the film under his own banner ''Madras United Artistes Corporation''. As a follower of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

, Subrahmanyam made films like ''

Sevasadanam ''Sevasadanam'' () is a 1938 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Subrahmanyam. It is one of the early Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to advocate reformist social policies. This was the first film for M. ...

'', ''

Thyagabhoomi ''Thyaga Bhoomi'' () is a 1939 Indian Tamil-language film directed and produced by K. Subramanyam. Starring K. J. Mahadevan and S.D.Subbalakshmi, the film was produced at the height of India's freedom movement and glorified Mahatma Gandhi and ...

'' and '' Balayogini'' with social themes relevant to Gandhian principles. This is another on the same lines. Subrahmanyam's daughter, who was known as ''Baby'' Padma featured in this film as a child artiste. There was a dance sequence by Lalitha and Padmini, a dance drama. B. S. Saroja and Pandit Bholonath Sharma performed a fine dance as well. Choreography was handled by Pandit Bholonath Sharma, Katak, and Muthusami. Makeup was done by Haribabu, Somu and Gopal.

Soundtrack

Music was composed by Pandurangan and

Brother Lakshmanan A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-fami ...

while the lyrics were penned by Meenakshi Subrahmaniam. The songs were recorded by

and R. Ramachandran. Padma sang two songs in the film. One song was in praise of Mahatma Gandhi and the other was about her ambition in life. There was a line in the lyrics that said she will become a dancer and stage her dance in America. It is significant because in later years she became a world renowned

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

dancer. Singers are P. A. Periyanayaki, Baby Padma.

Reception

The film did not perform well at the box office.

References

{{reflist Indian drama films Indian black-and-white films 1940s Tamil-language films Films directed by K. Subramanyam Films scored by C. N. Pandurangan Films scored by Br Lakshmanan 1949 drama films 1949 films