''Thai Ullam'' () is a 1952 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Ramnoth. Starring V. Nagayya,

Manohar Manohar is a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: ;given name * Manohar Ajgaonkar, Indian politician * Manohar Das, 17th century Indian Hindu painter * Manohar Joshi, politician * Manohar Lal Chibber, soldier * Manoha ...

and R. Ganesh, the film has music composed by Nagayya and A. Rama Rao. It is an adaptation of the 1861 novel ''

East Lynne ''East Lynne'' is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood, writing as Mrs Henry Wood. A Victorian best-seller, it is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centring on infidelity and double identities. There have ...

'', by Ellen Wood. The film was released on 9 February 1952, and emerged both a critical and commercial success.

Plot

Cast

;Male cast * V. Nagayya as

Zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

Seethapathy *

as Manohar * R. Ganesh as Sekar * K. Ramasami as Clerk Kuppu * N. Seetharaman as Magistrate Masilamani * Chandra Babu as Sukumar * Kolathumani as Ponnambalam * C. V. V. Panthulu as Sabapathy ;Female cast * M. V. Rajamma as Nirmala *

Madhuri Devi Madhuri Devi (19 September 1927 – June 1990) was a lead actress in Tamil films from the late 1940s until the 1950s. She has paired opposite leading heroes like M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. G. R and known for acting in the films ''M ...

as Vasundhara * K. R. Chellam as Santhamma * T. P. Muthulakshmi as Janaki * Sakunthala as Singari *

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 Kanthimathi ;Supporting cast T. K. Kalyanam, G. V. Sharma, Nandaram, Loose Arumugam, and V. T. Kalyanam.

Production

K. Ramnoth, who had left

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 ...

on 15 August 1947, worked for Narayanan & Company, for which he made the film ''Thai Ullam'', an adaptation of the 1861 novel ''

'' by Ellen Wood. While

was cast as the male lead, T. S. Balaiah was considered for playing the antagonist. He however opted out of the project after demanding a salary of 75,000, which he was refused. Subsequently, he was replaced by a then struggling actor named R. Ganesh, who later became known as

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

Soundtrack

The songs were composed by Nagayya and A. Rama Rao, with lyrics by Kanakasurabhi,

Subramania Bharati C. Subramania Bharathi Birth name: C. Subramaniyan, the person's given name: Subramaniyan, father's given name: Chinnaswami. (C. Subramaniyan by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subramaniyan C ...

and Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai. The song "Vella Thamarai" is based on Bharati's poem of the same name. The song "Konjum Puraave" is based on the song "Thandi Hawayen" from the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

film '' Naujawan'' (1951). That, along with the songs "Kovil Muluthum Kanden", "Kathayai Kelada", "Vellai Thamarai" and "Poo Chendu Nee" attained popularity.

Release

''Thai Ullam'' was released on 9 February 1952, and distributed by Narayanan & Company themselves. The film was both a critical and commercial success, and a major breakthrough for Ganesh, who would later become a part of the "Big Three" of

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

, the other two being

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Gan ...

and M. G. Ramachandran.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0260425 1950s Tamil-language films 1952 films Films based on British novels Films directed by K. Ramnoth Films scored by Nagayya Films scored by A. Rama Rao