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''Aayirathil Oruvan'' () is a 1965 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
-language swashbuckler film produced and directed by
B. R. Panthulu Budaguru Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu (26 July 1910 – 8 October 1974) was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is best known for directing films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His most popular films are '' Karnan'', ''Veerapandiya ...
. The film stars
M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
and
Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
, with M. N. Nambiar,
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 * Manohar L ...
,
Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 film ...
,
S. V. Ramadas S. V. Ramadas (1921-2004) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil-language films, most often as a villain. He acted in more than 700 films in a career spanning over four decades. Film career Among popular movies, he acted in Aayirathil Or ...
,
Vijayalakshmi Vijaya lakshmi is a Hindu Indian feminine given name or surname, which means "goddess of victory". The name may refer to: People First name * Vijayalakshmi Atluri, Indian computer scientist *Vijayalakshmi (Kannada actress), Indian actress *Vijaya ...
and Madhavi in supporting roles. It revolves around a doctor who is sold into slavery for rebelling against the dictator of his nation, and later forced into a life of piracy. ''Aayirathil Oruvan'' was inspired by many pirate films, particularly '' Captain Blood'' (1935), and was Ramachandran's first with Panthulu. It was also the first of many collaborations between Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa. The story and screenplay were written by K. J. Mahadevan, and the dialogues by R. K. Shanmugham. The cinematography was handled by V. Ramamoorthy, and editing by R. Devarajan. The film was shot primarily in
Karwar Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India. Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...
. ''Aayirathil Oruvan'' was released on 9 July 1965. The film emerged a critical and commercial success, running for more than 150 days in theatres. It was a milestone for both Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, cementing the former's image as a "do-gooder" among the general public, and helping the latter enter politics. A digitised version of the film was released in 2014 and also became a success, running for over 175 days.


Plot

Manimaran is a doctor living in the country of Neidhal Naadu with his sidekick Azhaga. He helps cure the illness of one of the rebels against the dictator of Neidhal Naadu. The ruler's guards arrest the rebels, along with Manimaran for helping them. Manimaran and the rebels are sold as slaves by the ruler to a nearby island called Kanni Theevu (Virgin Islands), ruled by Sengappan. Manimaran leads the slaves and fights for their rights. Poongodi, the princess of Kanni Theevu and niece of Sengappan, the guardian of the orphaned princess, falls in love with Manimaran at first sight. Simultaneously, her servant Thenmozhi falls for Azhaga, after initial arguments. Despite the differences between Poongodi and Manimaran, Poongodi tries to woo him on many occasions. She even offers freedom from slavery only to him, who rejects the offer demanding freedom for all of the slaves. Meanwhile, the island is attacked by pirates headed by a captain. As Sengappan's troops are out of the island on another assignment, Sengappan pleads with Manimaran and the other slaves to help him. Manimaran demands freedom slavery in return for fighting the pirates, only to be betrayed later. The slaves make an escape plan of their own and successfully take over the pirate ship, with whom they fought earlier. Manimaran tells the pirate captain about their plight and asks him to help them reach Neidhal Naadu. The captain seemingly agrees, while actually taking them to his pirate island and holds them captive. He coerces them to work for him as pirates, or Manimaran will see all of his other men die. With no other option, Manimaran assents for the safety of his men. During one of his pirate hunts, Manimaran finds Sengappan and Poongodi. He brings Poongodi to the pirate island and tries to hide her from the pirate captain, but the pirate captain soon finds out. As per the island's policy, any treasure pirated must be auctioned, and so Poongodi is also auctioned. Manimaran bids the highest, buys her, and keeps her with him. Manimaran marries Poongodi, and as per the pirate island's laws, the pirate captain cannot attempt to separate a married couple. He attempts to take Poongodi by force, gets defeated by Manimaran in a sword fight, and reforms. He accompanies the slaves led by Manimaran, to achieve their goal of freeing Neidhal Naadu. In the ensuing war, the dictator is defeated but tricks into arresting them instead. However, in his court, the dictator begs Manimaran to take over the throne. Manimaran politely refuses, citing his intention to continue his work as a doctor, serving the people.


Cast

;Male cast *
M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
as Manimaran * M. N. Nambiar as the pirate captain *
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 * Manohar L ...
as the dictator of Neidhal Naadu *
Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 film ...
as Azhaga *
S. V. Ramadas S. V. Ramadas (1921-2004) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil-language films, most often as a villain. He acted in more than 700 films in a career spanning over four decades. Film career Among popular movies, he acted in Aayirathil Or ...
as Sengappan ;Female cast *
Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
as Poongodi *
Vijayalakshmi Vijaya lakshmi is a Hindu Indian feminine given name or surname, which means "goddess of victory". The name may refer to: People First name * Vijayalakshmi Atluri, Indian computer scientist *Vijayalakshmi (Kannada actress), Indian actress *Vijaya ...
as the pirate queen * Madhavi as Thenmozhi


Production

After producing and directing films like ''
Veerapandiya Kattabomman Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Tamil Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu, India. He refused to accept the sovereignty of the British East India Company and waged a war against them. He was captured by the Briti ...
'' (1959), ''
Kappalottiya Thamizhan ''Kappalottiya Thamizhan'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri. It is based on the 1944 book of the same name by M. P. Si ...
'' (1961) and '' Karnan'' (1964),
B. R. Panthulu Budaguru Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu (26 July 1910 – 8 October 1974) was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is best known for directing films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His most popular films are '' Karnan'', ''Veerapandiya ...
was in debt since they did not perform well commercially or recover their costs. He later approached
M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
and sought his help to recover from those losses. Panthulu was adamant that Ramachandran act in his film or he would shelve it as he considered the storyline tailormade for him. Ramachandran agreed, and this laid the foundation for ''Aayirathil Oruvan''. The story and screenplay were written by K. J. Mahadevan, and the dialogues by R. K. Shanmugham. The film was inspired by many pirate films such as '' Captain Blood'' (1935), ''
The Crimson Pirate ''The Crimson Pirate'' is a 1952 British-American international co-production Technicolor tongue-in-cheek comedy-adventure film from Warner Bros. produced by Norman Deming and Harold Hecht, directed by Robert Siodmak, and starring Burt Lancaste ...
'' (1952) and ''
The Black Pirate ''The Black Pirate'' is a 1926 American silent action adventure film shot entirely in two-color Technicolor about an adventurer and a "company" of pirates. Directed by Albert Parker, it stars Douglas Fairbanks, Donald Crisp, Sam De Grasse, an ...
'' (1926). It was Ramachandran's first film with Panthulu, and the-then newcomer
Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
. Panthulu signed on Jayalalithaa after being impressed with the "rushes" of her performance in his own film ''
Chinnada Gombe ''Chinnada Gombe'' () is a 1964 Indian Kannada-language film, directed and produced by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Panthulu, Kalyan Kumar, Kalpana, M. V. Rajamma and Jayalalitha. The film has musical score by T. G. Lingappa. The film was s ...
'' (1964). Ramachandran was paid 23,500 for acting in the film. Shooting for some fight scenes and ship transportation scenes took place in
Karwar Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India. Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...
.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's '' Panam'' to 1965's '' Aayirathil Oruvan''. After their split, Ramamoorthy wo ...
, a duo consisting of
M. S. Viswanathan Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as ''Mellisai Mannar''. He compose ...
and T. K. Ramamoorthy. It was the last film where they worked together until ''
Engirundho Vandhan ''Engirundho Vandhan'' () is a 1995 Tamil-language comedy film directed by Santhana Bharathi. The film stars Sathyaraj, Roja and Aamani, with Vijayakumar, Janagaraj, Kalyan Kumar, Vinu Chakravarthy, R. Sundarrajan, Bhanu Chander and Thya ...
'' (1995). The song "Atho Andha Paravai" remains one of the most popular songs from the film. It was remixed and featured in the 2010 film '' Aayirathil Oruvan'', unrelated to its 1965 namesake. The song was remixed by
D. Imman Immanuel Vasanth Dinakaran (born 24 January 1983), better known as D. Imman, is an Indian film composer and singer, predominantly working in Tamil cinema. Also worked in Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi film industry. His first film as mu ...
with different vocals, tune and instrumentations in ''
Madrasi Madrasi, also spelled as Madrassi, is a term used as a demonym and a regional slur for people from southern India. In earlier usage it was a demonym to refer to the people of Madras Presidency; however this use of the term is now outdated. S ...
'' (2006). The song "Naanamo" was remixed by
Bharadwaj Bharadwaj ( hi, भारद्वाज) is a surname mostly used by Brahmins. Notable people with the surname include: * Abhay Bharadwaj (1954–2020), Indian advocate turned politician *Anasuya Bharadwaj (born 1982), Indian television presenter ...
as "Rosemary" in ''
Pallikoodam Pallikoodam or Ezhuthupally Pally is a word in Malayalam and Tamil that denotes a school. These were mostly village schools run by individual teachers (Ezhuthu pally Aashaans or Asans or Gurus) and were distinct from Kalaris that taught martia ...
'' (2007).


Release

''Aayirathil Oruvan'' was released on 9 July 1965. Though the film was released only in three theatres in
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 ...
 – Midlands, Mekala and Sri Krishna, it emerged a critical and commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres. However, no event was held to celebrate the film's 100th day theatrical run, unlike other Tamil films of the period. On 16 October 1965, Padmini Pictures released a press statement saying this was a conscious decision due to "these days of national emergency".


Reception

On 17 July 1965, ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' criticised the story as formulaic and performances, but praised the action sequences, cinematography, and music. On 31 July, T. M. Ramachandran wrote for ''
Sport and Pastime ''Sport and Pastime'' was a weekly sports magazine published by The Hindu Group from 1947 to 1968. Founded by S. K. Gurunathan, the magazine was eventually stopped in 1968. It was replaced with ''Sportstar ''Sportstar'' is an Indian monthly ...
'', "Although some of the scenes in the film have a familiar ring, the picture, on the whole, sustains the interest of the audience on account of some clever treatment by the director". On 1 August, Munusamy and Manikkam jointly reviewed the film for ''
Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
''. Munusamy liked the fact that there was no onscreen death; Manikkam concurred, saying that despite so many villains and fight scenes, there was not even a single death seen, and felt the title ''Aayirathil Oruvan'' rightly reflected Ramachandran's status as one good man in the midst of a thousand villains. ''
Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...
'' appreciated the filmmakers for taking an old story and making it more vibrant.


Legacy

''Aayirathil Oruvan'' was a milestone for both Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, who went on to co-star in more than 20 films; the latter considered the film "paved the way for erentry into politics". Historian G. Dhananjayan said it became a landmark in Tamil cinema for "its grand making and unique approach of even villains reforming". On Ramachandran's centenary in January 2017, Nivedita Mishra of ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' included his performance in ''Aayirathil Oruvan'' in her list compiling "some of his most memorable performances". The film was instrumental in cementing Ramachandran's image as a "do-gooder" among the general public.


Re-release

Forty-nine years after the original theatrical release, the film was digitally enhanced for a planned re-release in January 2014. Apart from scope conversion from 35 mm to digital scope, the film also had a completely re-recorded background music played out by an assistant of M. S. Viswananthan. The digital conversion was done by Prasad EFX,
Chennai 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 ...
, who had previously restored ''Karnan'' and ''
Pasamalar ''Pasamalar'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri Ganesan, with K. A. Thangavelu M. N. Nambiar and M. N. Rajam in supporting roles. It revolves ar ...
'' (1961). Since the negatives were entirely damaged, the entire running length was converted. The film was distributed by Divya Films which had earlier released ''Karnan'' in digital format. The digitised version of ''Aayirathil Oruvan'' was released on 14 March 2014, and had a theatrical run of 175 days, becoming a silver jubilee hit.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

* {{B. R. Panthulu 1960s action adventure films 1960s Tamil-language films 1965 films Films directed by B. R. Panthulu Films scored by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy Films set on fictional islands Films shot in Karnataka Indian action adventure films Indian swashbuckler films Pirate films Seafaring films