''Markandeya'' is a 1935

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 ...

film directed by K. Ramnoth and Murugadasa. The film is based on the mythological story of

Markandeya Markandeya () is a rishi (sage) featured in Hindu literature. He is the son of the sage Mrikanda and his wife, Manasvini. The Markandeya Purana (one of the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas in Hinduism), attributed to the sage, comprises a dialogue ...

. During the early years of

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

filmmakers Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwritin ...

often drew inspiration from mythological and religious stories, creating films that reflected the rich cultural and religious heritage of the country. ''Markandeya'' is one such example, bringing the legendary tale of the sage Markandeya to the

silver screen A silver screen, also known as a silver lenticular screen, is a type of projection screen that was popular in the early years of the motion picture industry and passed into popular usage as a metonym for the cinema industry. The term silver scr ...

Plot

Mrikandu rishi and his wife Marudmati worshipped Shiva and sought from him the boon of begetting a son. As a result, he was given the choice of either a gifted son, but with a short life on earth or a child of low intelligence but with a long life. Mrikandu rishi chose the former, and was blessed with Markandeya, an exemplary son, destined to die at the age of 16. Markandeya grew up to be a great devotee of Shiva and on the day of his destined death he continued his worship of Shiva in his aniconic form of Shivalingam. The messengers of Yama, the god of death were unable to take away his life because of his great devotion and continual worship of Shiva. Yama then came in person to take away Markandeya's life, and sprung his noose around the young sage's neck. By accident of fate the noose mistakenly landed around the Shivalingam, and out of it, Shiva emerged in all his fury attacking Yama for his act of aggression. After defeating Yama in battle to the point of death, Shiva then revived him, under the condition that the devout youth would live forever.

Production

The film was produced by Vel Pictures of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

owned by M. T. Rajen. Markandeya was the first Tamil film produced by him. It had a total of 36 songs. The film was shot at Hindu pilgrimage sites of

Thiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil language, Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city and the administrative headquarters of ...

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a major town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to b ...

and

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

Cast

V. N. Sundaram V.N. Sundaram (1918 - 2009 ) was an indian singer who sang mostly in Tamil-language films Early life Born in 1918 in Visalur - a village in Kumbakonam Taluk of Thanjavur district, he was named AlasyaSundaram. As a boy he listened to Nadaswa ...

(who later became a playback singer) played the title role of Markandeya while Kuzhandaivelu Bhagavathar played the sage Mrikanduand Kanna Bai played Markandeya's mother. Stage actor Kannamani played the role of a gypsy girl.

References

* 1935 films 1930s Tamil-language films 1930s Indian films Hindu mythological films Indian black-and-white films Films directed by K. Ramnoth Films based on the Bhagavata Purana {{1930s-Tamil-film-stub