''Jeevitha Nouka'' () is a 1951 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

-language film directed by K. Vembu and jointly produced by K. V. Koshi and Kunchako. It was the first "blockbuster cinema" in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

, with a theatrical run of 284 days. Made at a budget of 20,000, it was a commercial success at the box office, such that very few cinemas could surpass it later. It was simultaneously shot in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and was dubbed and released in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

. This cinema portrayed the life of simple folk in a small village in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It stars

Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri fr ...

and B. S. Saroja, with the latter making her debut and the former in his first major role. Its music is composed by V. Dakshinamoorthy and popular playback singer Mehboob debuted through this cinema. It is a remake of the Hindi cinema ''

Jeevan Naiya ''Jeevan Naiya'' is a 1936 Indian Hindi film directed by Franz Osten, and produced by Himanshu Rai for his studio Bombay Talkies. It is famous for being the screen debut of early superstar Ashok Kumar. The film is about the ostracism of danc ...

'' with revised screenplay. The Tamil version, titled ''Pichaikkaari'' (), was released on 18 May 1951. Vidwan P. Adhimoolan wrote the dialogues and lyrics. The song "Vanaraniye enthan manaraniye", sung by

Thiruchi Loganathan Thiruchi Loganathan (24 July 1924 – 17 November 1989) was an Indian playback singer of the Tamil film industry. He is known for his work in movies such as '' Manthiri Kumari'' (1950)and Sarvadhikari'. He was married to Rajalakshmi, daughter ...

and P. Leela, was popular.

Synopsis

The story revolves around the life of a family struggling with poverty and societal challenges. The protagonist, Raju, is a kind-hearted man who works hard to support his family. Despite his dedication, financial difficulties put immense pressure on him and his loved ones. Raju's wife, Lakshmi, tries to maintain harmony in the household, but the arrival of wealth and materialistic ambitions disrupt their peaceful life. The plot delves into themes of greed, family values, and the conflicts that arise from differing priorities among family members. The turning point comes when misunderstandings and disputes tear the family apart, highlighting the consequences of materialism and selfishness. The movie emphasizes the importance of unity, compassion, and selflessness as it moves toward its emotional climax and resolution.

Cast

Malayalam

Main cast *

as Soman * B. S. Saroja as Lakshmi * Adhimoolam as Kaniyan *

Pankajavalli Pankajavalli is an Indian actress in Malayalam movies. She was known for her supporting roles during the late 1960s and 1970s in Malayalam. She made her debut in Jeevitha Nouka in 1951. She has acted in more than 50 movies. Her grand daughter ...

as Janu, Raju's wife * S. P. Pillai as Shanku, Janu's brother * Nanukuttan as

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 ...

* Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar as Raju, Soman's elder brother ;Supporting cast * Ponnappan Arckatty as SI of Police *

Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai Shivanandakumar (22 February 1924)He was an Telugu Superstar and Violnist and who was well known in the role of Ashaan in Kavyamela. Early life He was born on 22 February 1924 in Visakhapatnam, a small village near Peddapalli in Visakh ...

, Ambalappuzha Ravunni, Baby Girija, Jagadamma, Janamma, Mathappan, Mulavana, Soman Pillai.

Tamil

;Main cast *

as Soman * Kunju Kunju Bhagavathar as Raju * B. S. Saroja as Lakshmi *

as Janu * Adhimoolam as Kaniyar *

as Lawyer * S. P. Pillai as Shanku * Mathappan as Kunju ;Dance * C. R. Rajakumari * Indira Acharya * B. S. Saroja * Gopalakrishnan * Balachandran

Soundtrack

V. Dakshinamoorthy composed the music for both Malayalam and Tamil versions. All the tunes for all the songs for both languages are the same with slight changes in playback singers. ;Malayalam songs (Jeevitha Nouka) Lyrics were penned by

Abhayadev Ayyappan Pillai, better known by his pen name Abhayadev (25 June 1913 – 26 July 2000) was an Indian poet and lyricist during the 1970s in Malayalam movies. He wrote lyrics for around 500 films and dialogues for 25 Malayalam movies. He was born ...

and

Vallathol Narayana Menon Vallathol Narayana Menon (16 October 1878 – 13 March 1958) was a Malayalam poet and one of the triumvirate of modern Malayalam poetry, along with Asan and Ulloor. The honorific Mahakavi was applied to him in 1913 after the publication of ...

Playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

s are

, Ghantasala, Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar, V. Dakshinamoorthy, Mehboob, P. Leela, Alappuzha Pushpam and Kaviyoor Revamma. ;Tamil songs (Pichaikkaari) Lyrics were penned by P. Aadhimoolan.

Box office

This film was a critical and commercial success and ran over 284 days in theatres. The film was screened in Kozhikode for 175 days and ran for 107 days in Ernakulam. 100 days have been completed in Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kannur and Thrissur districts.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title
''Jeevitha Nouka''
at the Malayalam Movie Database 1950s Indian films 1950s Malayalam-language films 1950s Tamil-language films 1951 drama films 1951 multilingual films Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films Indian multilingual films Tamil-language Indian films