''Thiruneelakantar'' is a 1939 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 film directed by

Raja Sandow Raja Sandow (born P. K. Nagalingam) was an Indian 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 be o ...

and starring

M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (1 March 1910 – 1 November 1959), also known by his initials as M. K. T. was an Indian actor and carnatic singer. Critics and film historians acknowledge Bhagavathar as the "First superstar of Ta ...

. The film, based on the life of Tirunilakanta Nayanar, was a big hit and was known for Thyagaraja Bhagavathar's acting apart from his songs. The noted

nadaswaram The ''nadaswaram'' is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala and in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. This i ...

player T. N. Rajarathinam Pillai makes a guest appearance.

Cast

as Thiruneelakantar * Sirukalathur Sama as Siva Yogi *Thirunelveli Papa as Neelaya Thatchi * N. S. Krishnan as Chokan * T. A. Mathuram as Bommi *

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 ...

as temple priest *

T. S. Durairaj T. S. Durairaj (31 December 1910 – 2 June 1986) was a Tamil language, Tamil film comedian, drama artist, producer and director in the early stages of the Tamil film industry (Kollywood). He received a Kalaimamani award from the Tamil Nadu ...

R. Balasaraswathi Raavu Balasaraswathi Devi (born 28 August 1928) is an Indian singer and actress who performed from 1930 to the 1960s in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She was the first light music singer on All India Radio and the first playback singer in the Telug ...

as Saraswathi *S. S. Rajamani as Kalavathi

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by Papanasam Sivan. The song "Dheena Karunakaraney" was well received and became a cult classic. The song ''Pavazhamaal'' is a

Thiruvisaippa Tiruvicaippa () denotes the ninth volumes of the ''Tirumurai'', the twelve-volume collection of Tamil Saivite, Shaiva devotional poetry. The works of eight authors belonging to the 10th century, namely Thirumaligai Thevar, Senthanar, Karuvur The ...

composed by Thiruvaliyamudhanar. T. N. Rajarathnam Pillai set the tune for this in the raga Nattai.

Release

Randor Guy of ''The Hindu'' wrote "Remembered for MKT’s scintillating songs and the comedy by NSK-TAM."

References

Notes

External links

* * (in public domain in India) 1930s biographical films 1930s Tamil-language films 1930s Indian films 1939 films Hindu devotional films Hindu mythological films Indian biographical films Films scored by Papanasam Sivan Indian black-and-white films {{1930s-Tamil-film-stub