''Balayogini'' ( ''Girl Saint'') is a 1937 Indian film made in

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 ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

languages. It was directed by K. Subramanyam. It is one of the earliest Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to advocate reformist social policies. This film is considered to be first children's talkie film of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

.Blast From the Past – Balayogini 1937, The Hindu 10 April 2009
/ref>

Production

Subramanyam, was influenced by the reformist ideals of his father C.V. Krishnaswamy Iyer. He was moved by the social conditions around him to make reform oriented films. ''Balayogini'' (lit. Child Saint) was made to expose the plight and suffering of widows in middle class

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

communities in Tamil Nadu. Subramanyam produced this film under his "Madras United Artists Corporation" banner to express his criticism of the existing social norms and his disapproval of priesthood. He wrote the story, screenplay & dialogues and directed it himself. He cast his niece Saroja as the titular character. The film was started in 1936 and released in 1937. The completed film was 19,000 feet (210 minutes runtime) in length.

Plot

Sarasa's (

K. R. Chellam Kambayanatham Rangaswami Kanakavalli (born 1918), known professionally as K. R. Chellam, was an Indian actress who appeared in Tamil language films. Early life Kambayanatham Rangaswami Kanakavalli was born in 1918 to a middle-class Iyengar fam ...

) father is arrested by Police for being a debtor. She goes to the sub collector's (K. B. Vatsal) house to ask for help. The collector's widowed sister Janaki and her niece (

Baby Saroja Saroja Ramamrutham (Tamil:சரோஜா ராமாமிருதம் 28 January 1931 – 14 October 2019), better known by her screen name Baby Saroja, was an Indian actress who was known for her roles as a child actor in Tamil films of t ...

) take pity on her. They are driven out of the house by the angry collector. They take refuge in the house of their low-caste servant Munuswamy. Munuswamy dies and Janaki cares for his children as her own. This causes outrage in the conservative society and Munuswamy's house is burned down by a mob. The child Saroja changes everyone's mind with her arguments.

Tamil cast

;Male * C. V. V. Panthulu as Munisamy * Bharathan as Gopala Iyer * K. B. Vatsal as Balachandra * Salem Sundaram as Mahlinga Sastri * Mani Bhagavathar * Brahamdal ;Female *

as Sarasa *

as Saroja * Bala Saraswathi as Kamala * Baby Rukmini * K. N. Rajalakshmi * Seethalaksmi as Janaki

Telugu cast

* Baby S. Varalakshmi *

Arani Satyanarayana Aarani Satyanarayana or Arani Satyanarayana ( te, ఆరణి సత్యనారాయణ) (11 November 1898 – 2 July 1969) was a Telugu film and drama actor during the early period of Telugu cinema.Sahajanata Aarani Satyanarayana, Tolinat ...

* Vangara * Kamala Kumari * Thilakam

Soundtrack

The music was by Moti Babu and the lyrics were Papanasam Sivan. ‘Kanney papa, kanimuthu paapa’, rendered by Baby Saroja as a lullaby to her doll, became popular. * Kannae Paappa * Kshamiyimpumaa O Maama Kshamiyimpumaa * Radhey thozhi

Reception

The film was released on 5 February 1937 to critical and public acclaim. "Baby" Saroja was hailed as " Shirley Temple of India". Many girls were named "Saroja" after her. The film's success inspired a number of socially themed films in South India. Reviewing the film in the magazine ''Jaganmohini'' in February 1937, reviewer ''Vatsakumari'' wrote: A similar review was written in ''Manikodi'' magazine in its February 1937 issue: Film historian

Theodore Baskaran Sundararaj Theodore Baskaran (born 1940) is a film historian and wildlife conservationist from Tamil Nadu, India. Early life and education Theodore Baskaran was born in Dharapuram, (in present-day Tiruppur district, Tamil Nadu) in 1940. He co ...

has called it the most significant Tamil film of its period.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0270222, Balayogini, Tamil version 1937 films 1930s Tamil-language films Indian black-and-white films Films about children Films directed by K. Subramanyam 1930s Telugu-language films Films scored by Moti Babu Films scored by Maruti Seetharammayya