''Bhaktha Chetha'' () is a 1940

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

film directed and produced by

K. Subrahmanyam Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam (19 January 1929 – 2 February 2011) was a prominent international strategic affairs analyst, journalist and former Indian civil servant. Considered a proponent of ''Realpolitik'', Subrahmanyam was an influential vo ...

. The film featured

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema ...

as the titular character with G. Subbulakshmi,

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 ...

, S. R. Janaki and Master R. Thirumalai playing supporting roles.

Plot

Chetha (Papanasam Sivan) is a cobbler of a lower caste and a devotee of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

living in a slum situated near

Hastinapura Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain tex ...

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 ...

(Kothamangalam Subbu) believes that people like Chetha do not possess any right to worship God and treats Chetha in an inferior way. An unexpected turn of events occur when Chetha's son, Seva (Master R. Thirumalai), falls in love with Drona's daughter, Shantha (G. Subbulakshmi), who reciprocates his feelings. Chetha is shocked to learn of their love, but accepts it when he realises that God does not consider any distinction between caste and creed. However, Drona, on learning of Seva's love, becomes livid and immediately orders Chetha to make one thousand pairs of

Sandal Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can some ...

s before daybreak, and that he will be beheaded in public if he fails to accomplish the task. Chetha starts making the sandals. After a point, he becomes completely exhausted and closes his eyes to rest. When he opens them however, he is surprised to find out that the one thousand pairs are ready. He realises that it is God's work. Seeing the task completed, Drona too realises the devotion of Chetha to Vishnu and happily accepts the marriage of Seva and Shantha.

Cast

Adapted from ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' *

as Chetha *G. Subbulakshmi as Shantha *

*S. R. Janaki *Master R. Thirumalai as Seva

Production

''Bhaktha Chetha'' marked the acting debut of G. Subbulakshmi & Master R. Thirumalai (the one and only film he did).

directed and produced the film under his own banner Madras United Artistes Corporation. The dialogues were written by Subrahmanyam himself. For the film, a life-size cut-out of Subbulakshmi dressed in an expensive silk sari was installed in a hoarding site opposite

Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is also referred to as Government Law College or GLC, Chennai. It was established in ...

. The saris were changed every week. According to film critic and historian

Randor Guy Madabhushi Rangadorai (born 8 November 1937), better known by his pen name Randor Guy, is an Indian lawyer, columnist and film and legal historian associated with the English language newspaper ''The Hindu''. He is also the official editor of the ...

, this was the first and last time such a promotional technique had been done for a Tamil film in Chennai.

Soundtrack

V. S. Parthasarathy Iyengar composed the film's music and score while

wrote the lyrics for the songs. One of the songs sung by Subbulakshmi, "Kanden Kanden" became popular.

Reception

''Bhaktha Chetha'' was a success at the box office. Guy notes that the film is "remembered for the new heroine Subbulakshmi and the daring theme." The film was remade in

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 ...

as ''

Jeevana Mukthi ''Jeevan Mukthi'' is a 1942 Indian Telugu-language film produced by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Plot summary Jeevudu, an untouchable cobbler, leads a saintly life with his wife Seva and son Bhavudu. Because of his devotion, Lord Vishnu appe ...

'' (1942). The remake was a flop.

References

{{reflist 1940 films 1940s Tamil-language films Indian drama films Indian black-and-white films Films directed by K. Subramanyam 1940 drama films