''Pilot Premnath'' is a 1978 Tamil-language film written and directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan as the eponymous character. It is based on R. Venkat's play ''Mezhugu Bommaigal'' (). The film, the first joint Indo-Sri Lankan co-production in history, was shot entirely in Sri Lanka, while post-production took place in India. It was released on 30 October 1978.

Plot

Premnath, a pilot, loses his wife in an accident and he decides to shower all his love and affection on his two sons and a blind daughter. But things change when he reads an unsent letter written by his wife.

Cast

* Sivaji Ganesan as Premnath * Malini Fonseka as Premnath's wife * Vijayakumar as Premnath's son * Jai Ganesh as Premnath's son * Jayachitra as Vijayakumar's lover *

Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...

as Kanchan *

Major Sundarrajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1925 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated and ...

as Balu * Prem Anand as Kanchan's lover *

Thengai Srinivasan Thengai Srinivasan (21 October 1937 – 9 November 1987) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil language, Tamil-language films and plays from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was given the prefix ''Thengai'' (coconut) after his role as a coco ...

as Premnath's co-pilot * Manorama as Thengai Srinivasan's wife *

Sathyapriya Sathyapriya is an Indian actress. She has acted in over 350 films, and played the heroine in a few of them. She made her debut in ''Manjal Mugame Varuga'' opposite Vijayakumar in Tamil. Her notable films include ''Besuge'', ''Dharmasere'', ''H ...

as Jai Ganesh's lover

Production

''Pilot Premnath'' was directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar, who also wrote the screenplay while Aaroor Dass wrote the dialogues. The film was produced by D. M. Chandrasena, Mukundan Menon and M. M. Saleem. The first joint Indo-Sri Lankan co-production in history, it was shot entirely in Sri Lanka, while post-production took place in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India. The film was an adaptation of the play ''Mezhugu Bommaigal'' written by R. Venkat. Sivaji Ganesan portrayed the lead character originally played by

A. R. Srinivasan Alangadu Ramamurthi Srinivasan (born 8 April 1933), popularly known as A. R. Srinivasan and A. R. S., is an Indian stage, television and film actor. He was introduced to theatre by veteran dramatist YG Parthasarathy. With a career spanning ove ...

, and Sridevi portrayed that character's blind daughter, reprising the role originally played by Sachu.

Soundtrack

The songs were 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 ...

, and written by Vaali. The song "Azhagi Oruthi" belongs to Baila, a Sri Lankan genre.

Release and reception

''Pilot Premnath'' was released on 30 October 1978,

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

day. ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' wrote, "Excellent photography is the chief asset of ''Pilot Premnath''". '' The Indian Express'' wrote, "Captivating photography and M. S. Viswanathan's music. A few of the melodious numbers are bound to become hits". Kousigan of '' Kalki'' appreciated the film for its music and cinematography, especially the capturing of Sri Lankan locales on camera. Historian

Randor Guy Madabhushi Rangadorai (born 8 November 1937), better known by his pen name Randor Guy, is an Indian lawyer, columnist and film and legal historian associated with the English language newspaper ''The Hindu''. He is also the official editor of the ...

noted that the film was a "reasonable success" in both the countries it was produced.

References

External links

* {{A. C. Tirulokchandar 1970s Tamil-language films 1978 films Films directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar Films scored by M. S. Viswanathan Films shot in Sri Lanka Indian films based on plays Sri Lankan films based on plays