Gejje Pooje ( ) is a 1969 Indian

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

-language film directed by

Puttanna Kanagal Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma (1 December 1933 – 5 June 1985), known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Indian cinema's most influent ...

and produced by Rashi Brothers. The film stars Kalpana, Gangadhar and Leelavathi. Actress

Aarathi Aarathi (born as Bharathi in 1954) is a former Indian actress and director who prominently worked in Kannada films during the 1970s and 1980s. Her accolades include four Karnataka State Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. Besides Kannada, ...

made her first screen appearance in this film. It is based on the novel of the same name by

M. K. Indira Mandagadde Krishnarao Indira (5 January 1917 – 15 March 1994) was a well-known Indian novelist in the Kannada language. Her works include ''Phaniyamma'', which won various awards. She began writing novels at the age of forty-five.Susie J. ...

. The film was remade in Tamil as '' Thaaliya Salangaiya'', in Telugu as '' Kalyana Mandapam'', and in Hindi as '' Ahista Ahista''.

Plot

This socially relevant film explores the problem of prostitutes. It was based on the novel written by M. K. Indira. The heroine Chandramukhi (played by Kalpana) is the daughter of a devadasi who falls in love with a young man who is her neighbour, as they grew up together. The young girl understands the value of education and with the support of her mother intends to reject the life of prostitution. Circumstances and the young man's suspicion make him abandon the heroine. The girl he then goes on to marry is actually her half-sister, the daughter of the heroine's father from his marriage with another woman. He had abandoned both Chandra and her mother. Chandra agrees to perform 'gejje pooje' (literally marrying ankle bracelets) as part of initiation into a life of prostitution, but in the end, she kills herself by crushing and swallowing the diamond (from the ring that was gifted to her by her biological father in his memory).

Cast

Awards

; 17th National Film Awards * Best Kannada Film * Best Screenplay —

;1969–70

Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...

* First Best Film * Best Supporting Actress – Leelavathi * Best Screenplay —

* Best Dialogue — Navarathna Ram Rao * Best Cinematographer — S. V. Srikanth

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

Vijaya Bhaskar Vijaya Bhaskar (; 1924 – 3 March 2002) was an Indian music director and composer who composed music for several mainstream and experimental feature films in the Kannada film industry. Scoring music for over 720 films, Bhaskar worked in Tamil ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Kannada 1960s Indian films 1960s Kannada-language films 1969 films Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners Films based on Kannada novels Films directed by Puttanna Kanagal Films scored by Vijaya Bhaskar Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay National Film Award Kannada films remade in other languages