''Kuravanji'' is a 1960 Indian

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

film directed by A. Kasilingam. 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 Savitri. The film, produced by M. Karunanidhi,

R. M. Veerappan R. M. Veerappan (9 September 1926 – 9 April 2024), also referred to as RMV or Rama Veerappan, was an Indian film producer, screenwriter and politician from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was the founder and leader of the MGR Kazhagam par ...

, and A. Kasilingam, was released on 4 March 1960, and was not a commercial success.

Plot

The film tells the story of Thenpandiko, the king of Inbapuri. Ellaipuram is a part of the kingdom and the king appoints his brother, Mukhari, to rule it. Mukhari has a minister, Imaya, who has evil designs. Mukhari falls prey to his evil plans, and besides taking over Ellaipuram, he plans to usurp Inbapuri from his brother. To help the suffering people enters a man named Kadhiravan, hailing from the royal family. He moves around the kingdom in the guise of a vagabond. Princess Kumari wishes to marry him, while he falls in love with Ponni, who is from the fisherfolk community. Coming to know of this, Kadhiravan's brother is furious. The princess is equally upset, but Kadhiravan is more interested in saving the people. Soon there is a protest led by him that gains momentum. What happens to it is narrated in the latter half of the film.

Cast

;Male cast *

as Kathiravan * O. A. K. Thevar *

R. Balasubramaniam R. Balasubramaniam was an Indian actor whose career spanned from the late 1930s through late 1950s. He was well known for his role in mythological films and later switched to character roles. Filmography References

Male actors in Tamil ...

* M. N. Krishnan * M. R. Santhanam as Kathiravan's Father * N. S. Natarajan * S. V. Ramadas * Karuppaiah *

Senthamarai Senthamarai may refer to: * Senthamarai (actor), an Indian actor * ''Senthamarai'' (film), a 1962 Indian film * N. K. Senthamarai Kannan, an Indian police commissioner * '' Thamilar Senthamarai'', a weekly newspaper {{DAB ...

* Jayaraman * Kuladeivam Rajgopal * Wahab Kashmiri * S. R. Gopal * T. K. Sampangi * Karikol Raj * Krishnamurthi * Rajamohan * S. A. G. Sami ;Female cast * Savithri as Kuravanji, Kumari *

Mynavathi Mynavathi (26 July 1935 – 10 November 2012) was an Indian actress. She made her first screen appearance as an actor in the 1955 Kannada film ''Santa Sakhu'' and acted in over 100 Kannada films. She was the younger sister of another popular Ka ...

as Ponni *

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (18 September 1928 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted ...

* Susheela * Radhabhai as Kathiravan's mother * C. K. Saraswathi * Vanaja (Guest Artist) * Sampathkumari * Indra ;Dance *

Padmini Priyadarshini Padmini Priyadarshini (later Padmini Ramachandran) was an Indian actor, dancer and choreographer. She acted in supporting roles during the 1950s and 1960s in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films. She established a dancing school in Bangalore named ''Na ...

* Vijayalakshmi * Lakshmirajam

Production

S. S. Rajendran Sedapatti Suryanarayana Rajendran, also known by his initials SSR (January 1928 – 24 October 2014), was an Indian actor, film director, film producer and politician who worked in Tamil theatre and cinema. He often referred as Latchiya ...

was initially to play the lead role in ''Kuravanji''. However, due to some "friction" between him and M. Karunanidhi, the role was later offered to

. He was hesitant to accept as he believed Rajendran would misunderstand him if he accepted, but after being reassured by Karunanidhi, Ganesan accepted the offer out of respect. ''Kuravanji'' is Ganesan's 60th film as an actor. During the shoot, Ganesan chose to wear a gunny sack instead of the woollen clothes that were given to him. He wanted to "connect with the reality of the character of a tribesman".

Rajasulochana Chittajallu Rajeevalochana (15 August 1935 – 5 March 2013), better known as Rajasulochana, was an Indian classical dancer and actress. She has acted in more than 300 Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi language films. Early life Sh ...

had been offered to act in the film but declined.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by T. R. Pappa.

Reception

Kanthan of ''

Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...

'' noted that the film's lengthy runtime was not a detriment to it being an entertainer.

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1960 films 1960s Indian films 1960s Tamil-language films Films scored by T. R. Pappa Films with screenplays by M. Karunanidhi Tamil-language Indian films {{Improve categories, date=October 2024