''Abhimanyu'' is a 1948 Tamil-language film produced by Jupiter Pictures and starring S. M. Kumaresan as

Abhimanyu Abhimanyu is a legendary warrior from the ancient Hindu history ''Mahabharata''. He was born to the third Pandava prince Arjuna and the Yadu princess Subhadra, who was Krishna's younger sister. The ''Sambhava Parva'' of the Adi Parva sta ...

, a character from the '' Mahabharatha''. The screenplay was written by A. S. A. Sami, while

M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

assisted in the script. This was the second film for Karunanidhi as scriptwriter. The film also starred

M. N. Nambiar Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar (7 March 1919 – 19 November 2008) was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema, known mostly for his villain roles in an eight decade long career. He has also appeared in a few Malayalam films. ...

in a supporting role.

Plot

The film tells the story of the '' Pandava'' prince ''

''.

Cast

;Male cast * S. M. Kumaresan as

* P. V. Narasimha Bharathi as Krishnan *

S. V. Subbaiah S. V. Subbaiah (1920-1980) was an Indian actor who featured mainly in Tamil-language plays and films. He featured mostly in character roles that communicated emotional feelings. Early life Subbaiah hails from Sengottai in Tirunelveli distri ...

Shakuni Shakuni ( sa, शकुनि, , ) plays a key role in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is one of the main antagonists of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the prince of the kingdom of Gandhara when introduced, later becoming its king a ...

* M. G. Ramachandar as

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

n *

as Lakkanan * D. Balasubramaniam as

Duryodhana Duryodhana ( sa, दुर्योधन, ) also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being ...

n * Pulimoottai T. R. Ramasami as Ghatorkachan *

M. G. Chakrapani Maruthur Gopalan Chakrapani (13 January 1911 – 17 August 1986), commonly known as Ettan ("elder brother" in Malayalam), was an Indian actor and producer based in the Tamil film industry. He was the elder brother of actor-politician M. G ...

as Balarama * N. S. Narayana Pillai as

Drona Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...

r ;Male cast (Continued) * M. K. Mustafa as Karnan * T. M. Ramasami Pillai as Jankilimama * Nat Annaji Rao as Vidurar * K. Ramasami as Surapuli * S. A. Natarajan as

Jayadratha Jayadratha () is the king of the Sindhu kingdom featured in the Mahabharata. He was married to Dushala, the only sister of the hundred Kaurava brothers. The son of the king Vriddhakshatra, he is killed by Arjuna. He has a son named Suratha. Et ...

n * B. Rajagopala Iyer as Dharumar * N. Shankaramoorthi as Aravan * T. D. Srinivasan as Dushathanan ;Female cast * U. R. Jeevarathnam as Vathsala *

M. R. Santhanalakshmi M. R. Santhanalakshmi ( ta, எம். ஆர். சந்தானலட்சுமி; 1905–1957) was a Tamil film actress who played lead roles in movies of the 1930s and 1940s. Filmography References * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santhanal ...

Subhadra Subhadra ( sa, सुभद्रा, Subhadrā) is a Hindu goddess mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures like the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Bhagavata Purana''. She is described as the favourite child of Vasudeva and the younger sister of de ...

* R. Malathi as Rukmani *

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 Revathi * M. S. S. Bhagyam as Magic Girl * K. S. Angamuthu as Rioter * K. Lakshmikantha as Magic Girl Dancer

Production

Jupiter Pictures, a production company promoted by M. Somasundaram and S. K. Mohideen shifted to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

from

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

in 1948 after acquiring Neptune Studios. In 1948 they produced ''Abhimanyu'', a mythological tale from the epic Mahabharatha at Madras. During the 1930s and the 40s Tamil films were mostly based on when mythologicals, folktales, folk myths and socially themed films were rare. Somasundaram himself directed the film along with A. Kasilingam. The script was written by A. S. A Sami and

. This was the second film for Karunanidhi as script writer after ''

Rajakumaari ''Rajakumari'' () is a 1947 Indian Tamil language film directed by A. S. A. Sami, starring M. G. Ramachandran (credited as Ramachandar) and K. Malathi. It was released on 11 April 1947. Plot Cast ;Male cast * M. G. Ramachandar as Su ...

'' (1947). M. G. Ramachandran and

played supporting roles in the film. The film's music was composed by S. M. Subbaiah and C. R. Subbaraman. S. S. Rajendran was cast in the title role, but was relieved after only two weeks of shooting from the film as T. K. Muthusamy of the TKS Brothers drama troupe revealed that Rajendran was still under contract with them, and threatened legal action if the film continued production. Thus the role went to newcomer S. M. Kumaresan.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu (a.k.a. SMS) (15 March 1914 – 26 May 1979) was an Indian composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was one of the oldest music directors. He worked as an in-house music composer for Central Studios an ...

and C. R. Subburaman while the lyrics were penned by Papanasam Sivan, T. K. Sundara Vadhyar and Bhoomi Baalagadas. Singers are U. R. Jeevarathinam,

and Friend Ramasamy.

Playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...

s are Thiruchi Loganathan, M. M. Mariappa and K. V. Janaki.

Release and reception

''Abhimanyu'' was released on 6 May 1948.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0040069 1948 films 1940s Tamil-language films Films based on the Mahabharata Indian black-and-white films Films scored by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Films scored by C. R. Subbaraman Jupiter Pictures films