''Nadodi'' (; ) is a 1966 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 B. R. Panthulu. The film stars

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

(credited as M. G. R), B. Saroja Devi and Bharathi in her acting debut. It was released on 14 April 1966, and became a modest commercial success.

Plot

Thyagu remains inconsolable since Meena, his lover, committed suicide because of her father, the wealthy Dharmalingam. The latter categorically refused Meena's marriage to her beloved Thyagu, under the pretext that Thyagu belongs to an oppressed caste, while the same father, an activist speaker travels the country, by crying out, by preaching, to anyone who might be listening the virtues of the abolition of the

caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

. To trap him, confront his hypocrisy and to honour her older sister, Radha, the second daughter of Dharmalingam leaves upon meeting the mysterious benefactor that seems to be Thyagu, and decides to marry him. Indeed, this good model son, adoptive, gave up his immense heritage, preferring to bequeath integration to the blue-collar workers of his late father. Thyagu ends up leaving the family field and is put in search of plenitude, by making of course its passage. Radha meanwhile, falls into the claws of Jambu, a former gardener, who holds her because of the misfortunes caused by her father, particularly the death of his mother and her little sister. In reprisals, by reminding the contemptible words uttered by Dharmalingam against his blind little sister, Jambu decides to return the similar one. He deprives Radha of her sight and puts her at the street corner to beg. Later, the ways of Radha and Thyagu cross. Alas, neither one, nor the other can be recognised, be identified about it.

Cast

;Male cast * M. G. R as Thyagu * M. N. Nambiar as Jambu *

Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 Cine ...

as ''Valippu'' Manickam * V. K. Ramasamy as Dharmalingam * K. R. Ramasamy as Nagendran * V. Gopalakrishnan as Thyagu (Imposter) * P. S. Venkatachalam as Arumugam Mudaliar * S. M. Thirupathisami as Grandfather * Gundu Mani as Pikshandhi ;Female cast * B. Saroja Devi as Radha * Bharathi as Meena * P. K. Saraswathi as Lakshmi * Baby Shakeela as Rajee *

Jayakumari Jayakumari is an Indian actress in South Indian films. She was born in 1952 and was a prominent lead actress during the 1960s and 1970s in Tamil and Malayalam films. She was noted for her glamorous roles. She has acted around 50 Malayalam movi ...

as Jambu's blind sister ;Supporting cast * Loose Arumugam, Raja, S. A. G. Sami, Kumar, Kamakshinathan, Kesavan, Sami, Dhandapani, P. S. Selvaraj.

Production

''Nadodi'' was produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu under Padmini Pictures. The dialogues were written by R. K. Shanmugam from a story by G. Balasubramaniam. V. Ramamoorthy handled the cinematography, and R. Devarajan did so for editing. Bharathi made her acting debut in this film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

M. S. Viswanathan Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as ''Mellisai Mannar''. He compose ...

. "Ulagamengum" is based on " Tom Dooley" by

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

Release and reception

''Nadodi'' was released on 14 April 1966. ''

Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 ...

'' negatively reviewed the film, calling it worth watching only for the songs. ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exis ...

'', however, reviewed the film more positively. The film was a modest success, with a theatrical run of 70 days.

References

External links

* {{B. R. Panthulu 1960s Tamil-language films 1966 films Films about the caste system in India Films directed by B. R. Panthulu Films scored by M. S. Viswanathan