''Ezhai Padum Padu'' () is a 1950 Indian

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

K. Ramnoth K. Ramnoth (1912–1956) was an Indian cinematographer and director active in Tamil cinema. Career Ramnoth was born in 1912 at Pujapura, Thiruvananthapuram, Trivandrum. After passing his Bachelor degree, he arrived in Chennai in search of a ...

. It was simultaneously shot 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 ''Beedala Patlu''. It was an adaptation of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'',

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's 1862 novel. The film was released on

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

day. For his memorable portrayal of

Javert Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a polic ...

in this film, N. Seetharaman came to be called as ''Javert'' Seetharaman. It was produced by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu of

Pakshiraja Studios Pakshiraja Studios was a motion picture movie studio in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, established by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu in 1945. The studio predominantly produced movies in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam languages, also having made on ...

Plot

Tough and ruthless Police Inspector Javert recaptures a small-time criminal Kandhan who has escaped from prison. Kandhan turns a new leaf with the help of a Christian Bishop. When he is released from prison he starts a glass making company. He changes his identity and becomes successful. He becomes the mayor of his town. Inspector Javert finds out about his new life and threatens to expose him. On one occasion Kandhan saves Javert's life. Javert commits suicide unable to turn Kandhan in to the authorities out of his sense of gratitude.

Cast

Cast according to the opening credits of the film ;Male Cast *

V. Nagayya V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1978) also known as Chittoor Nagayya was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. ...

as Kandhan Dayalan *

T. S. Balaiah Thirunelveli Subramaniyan Balaiah (23 August 1914 – 22 July 1972) was an Indian actor. He is best known for playing supporting roles in Tamil films. Born in Sundankottai, near Udankudi in Thoothukudi, Balaiah was introduced to the cine fiel ...

as Ramgopal *

T. S. Durairaj T. S. Durairaj (31 December 1910 – 2 June 1986) was a Tamil film comedian, drama artist, producer and director in the early stages of the Tamil film industry (Kollywood). He received a Kalaimamani award from the Tamil Nadu Government in ...

as Masilamani Mudaliar *

Serukulathur Sama Swaminathan Vaidyanathan (26 June 1904—11 January 1963), known by his stage name Serukulathur Sama, was an Indian stage and film actor who was primarily known for playing the role of the Hindu god Krishna in Tamil language Hindu mythological f ...

as Christian Bishop (Saadhu Uthamar) * N. Seetharaman as Inspector Javar * V. Gopalakrishnan as Umakandhan *

Kali N. Rathnam Narayana Padaiyatchi Ratnam (c. 1897 – August 1950), popularly known as "Kali" N. Ratnam, was a Tamil stage and film artist known for his roles as a comedian in Tamil movies of the 1930s and 1940s. Renowned Tamil actor and politician M. G. Ra ...

as Nagam * M. R. Swaminathan as Nagan's Cousin * S. Peer Mohamed as Vedhagiri Mudaliar * Nat Annaji Rao as Judge * T. K. Kalyanam as Ranga Das ; Male Support Cast K. S. Kanaiah, S. V. Shanmugam Pillai, S. V. Shanmugam, V. S. Rao, Manickam ;Female Cast * Lalitha as Anjala * Padmini as Lakshmi * Kumari N. Rajam as Rajam * P. S. Gnanam as Naagi * S. R. Janaki as Kandhan's Sister * Baby Meenakshi as Baby Lakshmi * Ragini as Female Dancer * Thangam as Female Dancer * Kalyani as Female Dancer * Rita as Female Dancer * Janaki as Female Dancer * Radhamani as Female Dancer

Production

''Ezhai Padum Padu'' was produced by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu at

in Coimbatore. K. Ramnoth was hired as the director and

was cast as Kandan (based on

Jean Valjean Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...

). Initially, Nagercoil K. Mahadevan, was cast as the bishop who reforms the thief. But after a few scenes were shot, Sriramulu Naidu replaced him with

Serukalathur Sama Swaminathan Vaidyanathan (26 June 1904—11 January 1963), known by his stage name Serukulathur Sama, was an Indian stage and film actor who was primarily known for playing the role of the Hindu god Krishna in Tamil language Hindu mythological f ...

. Elangovan (Thanigachalam) wrote the script for ''Ezhai Padum Paau'' based on Sudhanandha Bharathi's translation of ''Les Miserables''. Sriramulu Naidu was known for his strict schedule. Once when director Ramnoth was absent from the set, one of the actors – V. Gopalakrishnan – left the set thinking that there would be no filming on that day. An incensed Naidu filmed the scene (a love song sequence) using an actress (Ragini) dressed up as a man instead of Gopalakrishnan.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack had ten songs composed by

S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu (a.k.a. SMS) (15 March 1914 – 26 May 1979) was an Indian composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was one of the oldest music directors. He worked as an in-house music composer for Central Studios an ...

. The lyrics by V. A. Gopalakrishnan. ;Tamil Soundtrack ;Telugu Soundtrack Music is by

and G. Aswathama. Lyrics were by

Aarudhra Arudra (born Bhagavatula Sadasiva Sankara Sastry; 31 August 1925 – 4 June 1998) was an Indian author, poet, lyricist, translator, publisher, dramatist, playwright, and an expert on Telugu literature. He is also known for his works in Telugu cin ...

Release and reception

''Ezhai Padum Padu'' was released on Diwali day (9 November), 1950. It was a commercial and critical success.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * {{Les Misérables 1950 films 1950s multilingual films 1950s Tamil-language films 1950s Telugu-language films Films based on Les Misérables Films directed by K. Ramnoth Films scored by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Indian black-and-white films Indian multilingual films eo:Beedala Patlu