''Sivakavi'' is a 1943 Indian Tamil-language film directed, initially, by

P. K. Raja Sandow Raja Sandow (born P. K. Nagalingam) was an Indian film actor, film director and producer. He began his career as an actor in silent films and later became a prominent actor and director in Tamil and Hindi films of the 1930s. He is considered to ...

and later,

S. M. Sriramulu Naidu Subbarayalu Munuswami Sriramulu Naidu (1910-1976), also known as Sreeramulu Naidu, was an Indian businessman and movie producer from Coimbatore who founded the Pakshiraja Studios in 1945. Life He was responsible for the early development of th ...

. It starred M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, S. Jayalakshmi, Serukalathur Sama, Thirupurambal,

T. R. Rajakumari Thanjavur Radhakrishnan Rajayee (5 May 1922 – 20 September 1999), known by her screen name T. R. Rajakumari, was an Indian actress, Carnatic singer and dancer. She has been called the first "dream girl" of Tamil cinema. Film career Ra ...

, N. S. Krishnan and

T. A. Mathuram T. A. Mathuram (14 October 1918 – 23 May 1974) was an Indian stage and film actress and singer. Biography and career Mathuram was born in Srirangam on 14 October 1918 in a family of artists. Her first Tamil film was Rathnaavali released in ...

. The film's screenplay was written by Thiru Muruga Kirubanandha Variyar. The film was shot at

Central Studios Central Studios was an Indian film studio in the neighbourhood of Singanallur, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, started by B.Rangaswamy Naidu (a.k.a. B. R. Naidu) and other prominent industrialists like Swamikannu Vincent of Coimbatore in 1935 to ma ...

and released by Pakshiraja Films in Coimbatore. The film was released on 10 April 1943.

Plot

Cast

;Male cast * M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar as Sivakavi * Serukalathur Sama as Cheenakkan * P. B. Rangachari as Independent Bandyman * V. Sundarama Iyer as Pedagogue * D. Balasubramaniam as Chozha Natarajan *

S. Rajam S. Rajam (10 February 1919 – 29 January 2010) was a distinguished Indian Carnatic musician and painter from the state of Tamil Nadu. He was a student of the Carnatic musician Papanasam Sivan and the older brother of Tamil film director and m ...

as Old Man, Boy, Hunter * N. S. Krishnan as Saravana Muthu * Nat Annaji Rao as Kalingaraya Prabhu * Vasudeva Pillai as Sambantham Pillai * Master Sethuraman as Murugan * Ramaiah Shastri as Chozha's scholar * Sundara Bhagavathar as Chozha's scholar * Pulimootai Ramasamy as Saravana Muthu's friend ;Female cast * S. Jayalakshmi as Amrithavalli (Sivakavi's wife) * M. S. Thirupurambal as Valli (Cheenakkan's wife) *

as Vanji *

as Yogambal * D. Kappalakshmi as Dasi * K. R. Rayalakshmi as Dasi * Pushpakanthammal as Dasi * Kannapani Bai as Dasi *

C. K. Saraswathi C. K. Saraswathi (died 1998) was an Indian actress who featured mainly in Tamil films. She was active in the field from 1945 till 1998. During the early days she featured in character roles and in comedy tracks. Later she became famous for her a ...

as Amrithavalli's friend

Production

Principal photography began in 1942 with

as the director. But soon afterwards, there were disputes between him and the producer

. With the progress of the filming, the disagreement between the two reached such high proportions that eventually, Sriramulu Naidu dismissed Raja Sandow and took over the reins himself. The script for the film was written by Elangovan.

, in one of her early roles, plays a court dancer or ''devadasi'' who falls in love with M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. S. Jayalakshmi who was married at that time played the character of Amrithavalli. Her brother S. Rajam played the role of Lord Muruga. Her father Sundaram Iyer played the role of a teacher of young Srikavi in sequences with N. S. Krishnan and others.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film consisted of 29 songs were composed by

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 cine ...

who also penned the lyrics for all songs while G. Ramanthan took care of orchestration. Sivan originally penned the song "Vadaname Chandra Bhimbamo" as "Mugam Adhu Chandra Bimbamo". When M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar pointed out to Sivan how "Mugam Adhu" sounded like "

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

", Sivan changed it to "Vadaname". The song "Soppana Vazhvil" was based on Vijayanagari raga which resembles Sivaranjini raga. The song "Amba Manam" is based on Pantuvarali raga. The song "Vallalai Paadum" is based on Senchuruti raga. The song "Vasantharuthu" is based on Vasantha raga. The song "Kavalayai" is based on Natakurinji raga. The song "Vadhaname" is based on Sindhubairavi raga. The song "Ellam Sivan Seyal" is based on Thodi raga. The song "Manam Kanidhe " is based on Rathipatipriya raga. The soundtrack was well received with the songs particularly "Soppana Vazhvil" and "Vadanamae" were well received. G. Dhananjayan said in his book ''Pride of Tamil Cinema'' that the songs contributed to the film's success. According to critic Randor Guy, the film is remembered for its scintillating songs mostly rendered by Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. Singer Charulatha Mani wrote for The Hindu on the song "Vallalai" that, "M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar’s voice is at its pliable best in this piece, and challenging sangatis flow unfettered, like liquid gold". For the song "Vadhaname", she said "the complete octave is explored with splendid vocalisation in ‘...Madura Gaanamo...’, in lightning speed".

Release

''Sivakavi'' was released on 10 April 1943. The film was a major success and ran for a prolonged period even in non-Tamil speaking areas in the Madras Presidency.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=6239226 1940s Tamil-language films 1943 films Films scored by Papanasam Sivan Indian black-and-white films Films directed by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu