() is a 1941 Indian Hindu mythological film, directed by

Ellis R. Dungan Ellis Roderick Dungan (May 11, 1909 – December 1, 2001) was an American film director, who was well known for working in Indian films, predominantly in Tamil cinema, from 1936 to 1950. He was an alumnus of the University of Southern Californi ...

and associate J. Moylan. The film stars

Kothamangalam Subbu Kothamangalam Subbu (born S. M. Subramanian, 10 November 1910 – 15 February 1974) was an Indian poet, lyricist, author, actor and film director based in Tamil Nadu. He wrote the cult classic Tamil novel ''Thillana Mohanambal'' and was awarded ...

Kothamangalam Seenu ''Kothamangalam Seenu'' (17 February 1910 - 30 August 2001) was a Tamil Stage, Cinema actor and a Carnatic music singer. Early life Kothamangalam Seenu whose birth name is V. S. Srinivasan, was born in Vathirairuppu (anglicised as ‘Watrap'), ...

and K. R. Chellam. Co-starring were T. R. Rajakumari,

M. S. Sundari Bai Madurai Saurashtra Sundari Bai (2 March 1923 – 12 March 2006) was an Indian actress, singer and dancer who worked mainly in Tamil cinema from the 1940s to the 1970s. Sundari Bai was the wife of writer and director Kothamangalam Subbu. Her mos ...

and S. R. Janaki.

Plot

On a festival day, Sage

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

(Master Rajagopal) meets the

Sun God A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. T ...

, also known as

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a ...

, (Kothamangalam Subbu) and sings praises of him. He is accosted by Thailakethu, The king of Yakshas (K. S. Gopalakrishnan), who does not like Narada praising the Sun God. He is upset and decides to teach Narada a lesson. Thapathi ( K. R. Chellam) is the daughter of the Sun God, and she falls in love with King Samvaran (Kothamangalam Seenu), even without meeting him. The Yakshas King is in love with her. So, he tries to blackmail her into giving up the king. The King's first wife Sulochanan (T. R. Rajakumari) undertakes several sacrifices to save her husband. She also prays to the Sun God, and after being helped by Narada, the evil designs of the Yakshas King are destroyed. The King marries Thapathi and they all live happily thereafter.

Cast

The list is adapted from the film's review article in The Hindu. ;Male cast *

* ''Master'' Rajagopal as Sage

* K. S. Gopalakrishnan as Thailakethu King of

Yakshas The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

as King Samvaran * Papanasam Rajagopala Iyer ;Female cast * K. R. Chellam as River Thapathi * T. R. Rajakumari as Queen Sulochana * S. R. Janaki *

* V. Subbulakshmi

Production

The script was written by K. S. Gopalakrishnan and the dialogues were penned by

. Sailen Bose and Kamal Ghose handled the Camera. The film was made at MPPC Studios that was owned by

K. Subramanyam K. Subramaniyam (20 April 1904 – 7 April 1971), born Krishnasamy Subramaniyam, was an Indian film director of the 1930s and 1940s. Dancer Padma Subrahmanyam is his daughter. Biography Subramanyam was involved in the establishment of the T ...

. (Later, S. S. Vasan bought this studio and renamed it as

Gemini Studios Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio based in Madras, Tamil Nadu. It was launched when S. S. Vasan, a businessman of many ventures (including the ownership of Ananda Vikatan) bought Motion Picture Producers' Combines from Krishnaswamy Subr ...

Soundtrack

Music was composed by V. S. Parthasarathi Ayyangar while the lyrics were written by the Papanasam brothers –

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 ...

and Papanasam Rajagopala Iyer.

Reception

Despite director

's impressive camera work, the film did not do well at the box office. Film 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 ...

, writing in 2013, said the film is "Remembered for the deft direction of Dungan, and the impressive lens work of Sailen Bose and Kamal Ghosh...

Notes

References

{{Ellis R. Dungan 1941 films 1940s Tamil-language films Indian black-and-white films Hindu mythological films Hindu devotional films Films about Hinduism Indian films based on actual events Indian epic films Religious epic films Indian biographical films Indian musical films Films directed by Ellis R. Dungan 1941 musical films 1940s biographical films