''Dikkatra Parvathi'' is a 1974

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 by

Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (born 21 September 1931), commonly known as Singeetam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile directors of India. He is credited with hav ...

based on a novel by the same name written by

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

(Rajaji). The film stars Srikanth and

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

. It won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil The Indian Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awa ...

, while Lakshmi won many accolades for her performance and was reported to have narrowly missed the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wit ...

Plot

The story espouses the evils of drink, Parvathi (

) is a happy girl who recently married a loving husband, Karuppan( Srikanth). With kind parents-in-law and a doting husband, her life is blissful. Soon, she is blessed with a child. Karuppan wants to increase his earnings and decides to buy a cart, though Parvathi is unwilling, asserting it is happier to be content with what they have. However Karuppan takes a loan from a money lender and buys a cart. Initially, everything looks rosy. But Karuppan happens to cross the toddy shops on his way home. Slowly, he is initiated into the habit of drink and soon becomes an addict. Parvathi's life changes into one of hardship and woe. The neglect of Karuppan results in the death of the child. Parvathi's life becomes tragic. Karuppan is unable to repay the loan. The money lender's son takes advantage of the increasingly abominable attitude of her husband. Parvathi helplessly gives in to the approaches of the moneylender's son. Upon discovering this, Karuppan throws a scythe at the moneylender's son, nearly killing him. Karuppan is arrested. Parvathi is rejected by her kith and kin. Alone she struggles to get her husband released. On the advice of a lawyer, she makes a statement in the court that she is guilty, thinking it will facilitate the release of her husband. Karuppan is released, but angered by her statement, rejects her. Dismayed, Parvathi climbs up the hill and kills herself.

Cast

as Parvathi * Srikanth as Karuppan * Y. Gee. Mahendra *

Poornam Viswanathan Poornam Viswanathan (15 November 1921 – 1 October 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil films. He started performing on stage at age 18. He worked as a reader for All India Radio and went on to act in films such as ''C ...

Typist Gopu Gopalarathnam, known by his stage name Typist Gopu, was an Indian actor known for comedy and supporting roles. He acted in over 600 stage plays and 400 films. Career A native of Manakkal, Lalgudi in Trichy district, Gopalarathnam was active ...

Production

The film was shot in

Thorapalli Thorapalli or Thorapalli Agraharam is a village in Hosur taluk, Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Ponnaiyar river about 6 km south-east of Hosur close to the Hosur- Krishnagiri road (National Highway 44), a ...

, the birthplace of Rajaji, in a single 28-day schedule. The court scenes were shot in the actual court at

Hosur Hosur is an industrial city located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Hosur is one of the municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu. It is located on the bank of the river River Ponnaiyar, southeast of Bengaluru and west of Chennai, the state ...

and the local lawyers participated, for the first time in Tamil cinema. The film's ₹2.5 lakh (worth ₹3.3 crore in 2021 prices) budget was 80 per cent funded by the Film Finance Corporation of India which was subsequently renamed

National Film Development Corporation of India The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) based in Mumbai is the central agency established in 1975, to encourage high quality Indian cinema. It functions in areas of film financing, production and distribution and under Ministr ...

and set a precedent. When the producers and the director could not repay the loan, then

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

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 ...

, repaid the dues and purchased the film for the Tamil Nadu state. It was the first time in film history that a State Government had purchased a film after its release. It was the only film with a story based upon Rajaji's work. The signature of Rajaji in the letter of permission given to

is the last signature of his life.

Awards

in 1975 *

Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil The Filmfare Best Actress Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil ( Kollywood) films. The awards were extended to "Best Actress" in 1972. Film world, p 43 The year indicates the year o ...

for Lakshmi in 1975 *

Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil The Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil (Kollywood) films. Winners Nominations 1970s *1972 - '' Pattikada Pattanama'' *1973 - '' Bharatha Vilas'' *1974 - ''Dikkat ...

in 1975

Music

Chitti Babu composed two songs for the film, the lyrics of which were written by Rajaji and

Kannadasan Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq ...

; both were sung by

Vani Jairam Vani Jairam (born as Kalaivani on 30 November 1945), also credited as Vani Jayaram, is an Indian singer. She is best known as a playback singer in South Indian cinema. Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over five decades. She has do ...

. #"Aagaayam Mazhai Pozhindaal" - Vani Jairam #"Enna Kutram Seidheno" - Vani Jairam

References

External links

* {{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilmTamil 1974 films Films based on Indian novels Films about alcoholism 1970s Tamil-language films Films directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners Films scored by Chitti Babu