''Deiva Thai'' () is a 1964 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 film, produced and co-written by

R. M. Veerappan R. M. Veerappan (also referred to as RMV or Rama Veerappan) is an Indian politician, an early Dravidian Leader, and a movie producer and screenwriter from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is the founder and leader of the MGR Kazhagam party. ...

, directed by P. Madhavan and starring

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 ...

. It was released on 18 July 1964 and became one of the most successful Tamil films of the year.

Plot

Sivagami, a widow, brings up her only son Maran, in the worship of Karunagaran, as his father had died in tragic circumstances. She hides from him for a long time, the real version of the facts. Indeed, Karunagaran, inveterate player of

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

, killed a player accidentally during a game in which the player beats him by cheating, shocked to realise that he is the reason for his death, Karunagaran escapes from that quickly. Maran becomes a C.I.D. officer and settles in the new mission to dismantle the traffickers' network. It turns out that the man who heads this terrorist organisation is none other than his father, Karunagaran. Maran and the one who is called up now, Baba (alias Karunagaran), ignore each other, their family ties, except Sivagami, are in the centre of a

cornelian dilemma A Cornelian dilemma (''dilemme cornélien'') (also spelt in translation with two "l"'s i.e. "Corneillian") is a dilemma in which someone is obliged to choose one option from a range of options all of which reveals a detrimental effect on themselves ...

. To choose between her husband or his son? To assure his role of faithful wife or that of an affectionate mother?

Cast

as C.I.D. Maran *

B. Saroja Devi Bangalore Saroja Devi (born 7 January 1938) is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abhinaya Saraswathi''" (Saraswathi of ...

as Megala * M. N. Nambiar as Madhan * S. A. Ashokan as Karunakaran *

S. V. Sahasranamam Singanallur Venkataramana Iyer Sahasranamam (29 November 1913 – 19 February 1988), also known as S. V. S., was an Indian actor and director. Primarily a theatre actor, he also worked in over 200 films, mainly in Tamil cinema. Early lif ...

as D.I.G. Mohan *

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 Vidwan Sargunam *

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (1930 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted as both heroi ...

as Sivakami *

S. N. Lakshmi Sennalkudi Narayana Lakshmi (1927 – 20 February 2012) was an Indian actress, who appeared in supporting roles, often playing roles of a mother or grandmother in films. A recipient of the state government's Kalaimamani and Kalaiselvam awards, ...

as Megala's grandmother *

Senthamarai Senthamarai may refer to: * Senthamarai (actor) Senthamarai was an Indian actor who acted in Tamil cinema and theatre. Career Senthamarai was born on 13 April 1935 at Kancheepuram. His family included his father Thiruvenkadam, his mother Vedamm ...

as Doctor

Production

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

, while working in the Accountant General's office, was offered to write the dialogues for the film by its lead actor

. Balachander was initially reluctant, as he was more theatre-oriented, but on the insistence of his friends he decided to work on the film. The producer

convinced Balachander to write the dialogues and launched him in the silver screen business. During filming, director P. Madhavan threatened to quit due to Ramachandran's interference, but ultimately due to Veerappan's persuasion, Ramachandran continued acting in the film without interfering further.

Soundtrack

The music 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 ...

Release and reception

''Deiva Thai'' was released on 18 July 1964, and distributed by Emgeeyaar Pictures. ''

The Sunday Standard ''The Sunday Standard'' was an English-language weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka published by Standard Newspapers (Private) Limited, part of Communication and Business Equipment (Private) Limited (CBE). It was founded in 2006 and published from Colo ...

'' wrote "Indeed, it is all a twice-told tale. And yet, the picture enthrals a section of the audience for which it is intended, thanks to the fast tempo of surroundings and director Madhavan's success in wringing the best out of the few emotional sequences despite a weak and loose script". T. M. Ramachandran wrote in ''

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 ...

'', "The story may be ordinary but it is imaginatively treated". Kanthan of ''

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 ...

'' praised the dialogues by Balachander. It was one of the most successful Tamil films of the year.

References

External links

{{K. Balachander 1960s Tamil-language films 1964 films Films directed by P. Madhavan Films scored by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy Films with screenplays by K. Balachander