''Seetha Kalyanam'' () is a 1934 Indian

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 ...

-language Hindu mythological film directed by

Baburao Pendharkar Baburao Pendharkar (22 June 1896 3 November 1967), was an Indian actor, director, film producer and writer. Personal life Baburao Pendharkar was born on 22 June 1896 in Kolhapur in a Brahmin family. Born to Radhabai and her patron Dr Gopal Pe ...

and K. Ramnoth and produced by

Prabhat Film Company Prabhat Film Company (popularly known as Prabhat Films) was an Indian film production company and studio facility founded in 1929 in Kolhapur. It was established by filmmaker V. Shantaram, along with Vishnupant Govind Damle, Keshav Rao Dhaibar, ...

. The film stars S. Rajam and S. Jayalakshmi in the lead roles and marks the cinematic debut of notable musicians

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema a ...

and S. Balachander. The film is significant for being the first Tamil production to feature colour, achieved using hand-colouring techniques. It was remade in

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 ...

the same year under the same title.

Plot

Sita Kalyanam is the story of

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

's ''

swayamvara ''Svayaṃvara'' ( ) is a matrimonial tradition in ancient Indian society where a bride, usually from '' Kṣatriya'' (warrior) caste, selects her husband from a group of assembled suitors either by her own choice or a public contest between her ...

''. Sita's father King

Janaka Janaka (, IAST: ''Janaka'') is the King of Videha who ruled from Mithila (region), Mithila, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Janaka was married to Sunayana (Ramayana), Sunayana. He is the father of Sita and Urmila in the epic. The term Janaka ...

arranges a ''swayamvara'' for his daughter. He announces a contest and declares that whoever can wield ''Shiva Dhanush'' (

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

's bow) will be given Seetha's hand in marriage. After several kings and princes fail to do so,

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

, the prince of

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

, wields the bow and marries Sita.

Cast

* S. Rajam –

* S. Jayalakshmi –

*V. Sundaram Iyer –

* T. V. Seetharama Iyer – Dasaratha * P. Venkata Rao – Viswamitra *G. K. Seshagiri *Kamala –

Kaikeyi Kaikeyi,(Sanskrit: कैकेयी, IAST: Kaikeyī) is a princess of Kekeya and the queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Kaikeyi is the third queen and favourite consort of King Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital, A ...

*Rajam –

Kausalya Kausalya (, ) is a queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is the first senior queen consort of Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital Ayodhya. She is the mother of Rama, the male protagonist of the epic. She is a secondar ...

*S. Saraswathi –

Urmila Urmila (), is a Hindu goddess and the princess of Videha in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is considered to be an avatāra of Nagalakshmi, the serpent goddess. Urmila was married to Lakshmana and is known for her dedication towards her ...

* S. Balachander – Musician at Ravana's Court

Production

The film was produced by

under the direction of

, with K. Ramnoth serving as his assistant. V. Shantaram, who helmed the studio, decided to create a Tamil-language film to recoup losses from his 1933 Marathi film ''Sairandhri'', which had been a financial failure. To minimize expenses, Shantaram planned to reuse the sets from ''Sairandhri'' at

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

for this project. Seeking collaborators, he reached out to ''Sound and Shadow'', a

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 ...

-based film magazine, for assistance. The magazine’s team, comprising directors Murugadasa (Muthuswamy Iyer), A. K. Sekhar, K. Ramnoth, and financier G. K. Seshagiri, agreed to support Shantaram’s endeavour. They were joined by V. Sundaram Iyer and his children— S. Jayalakshm, S. Rajam, and Veenai S. Balachander—who played key roles in the production. All of them went to Kolhapur to participate in the new film.

, the children's music tutor, was brought on board to write the lyrics for the film’s songs. The film’s production involved several unique elements. The songs were recorded live on set, with actors singing in their own voices while the orchestra played off-camera. Portable instruments such as the

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

, and

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

were predominantly used for this purpose. The film was later remade in Telugu, featuring a different cast, with K. Ramnoth serving as the cinematographer and A. K. Sekhar as the art director.

Reception

The film was very popular and became a hit. S. Rajam and S. Balachander became famous and came to be known as "Prabhat prodigy stars". The film created a controversy among conservatives for having a brother and sister duo star as husband and wife.

References

External links