''Gayathri'' is a 1977 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 directed by R. Pattabhiraman and written by
Panchu Arunachalam
Panchanathan Arunachalam (22 March 1941 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian writer, director, producer and lyricist who worked in Tamil cinema. He was mentored by poet Kannadasan who was his uncle. He also worked as a lyricist in the Tamil cin ...
. It stars
Jaishankar
Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...
,
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
and
Sridevi
Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...
. The film was based on the novel of the same name by
Sujatha. It was released on 7 October 1977.
Plot
Rajarathnam is a rich man who lives with his sister Sarasu and a young house maid in
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
.
His sister arranges a marriage for him with Gayathri, a sixteen-year old who lives in
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...
. Soon after they marry, Gayathri moves to Rajarathnam's house and realises that the family has dark secrets.
Rajarathnam is actually a
blue-film producer who records pornographic movies - he secretly records himself and his new wife in their bedroom scenes without her knowledge, and sells the movies on the black market. Gayathri initially gives Rajarathnam the benefit of the doubt, but later discovers that Rajarathnam is already married to another woman, who is now insane.
Ganesh
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
, a friend of the writer Chellappa, tries to free Gayathri from the hands of Rajarathnam, without avail.
Cast
*
Jaishankar
Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...
as
Ganesh
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
*
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
as Rajarathnam
*
Sridevi
Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...
as Gaayathri
*
Rajasulochana
Chittajallu Rajeevalochana (15 August 1935 – 5 March 2013), better known as Rajasulochana, was an Indian classical dancer and actress. She has acted in more than 300 Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi language films.
Early life
She w ...
as Sarasu
*
M. N. Rajam as Gaayathri's mother
*Rajee as Indra
*Rajeshwari as Lalitha
*
S. A. Ashokan as Shama Iyer
*
Venniradai Moorthy
Vennira Aadai Moorthy (born 25 July 1936) is an Indian actor and comedian in Tamil cinema. He has starred in many Tamil films and television serials as a comedian and also played supporting roles. He is a lawyer by education, and holds a B.L. ...
as Chellappa
*
Delhi Kumar
Delhi Kumar (born 19 December 1955) is a former Indian actor known for playing various roles in teleserials like '' Chithi'', ''Metti Oli'', ''Anandham'', ''Malargal'', ''Enge Brahmanan'' & '' Bommalattam''. He has also acted in a few Tamil fi ...
as Gaayathri's father
Production
''Gaayathri'' is based on
Sujatha's novel of the same name, and was conceived during
the Emergency. The screenplay was written by
Panchu Arunachalam
Panchanathan Arunachalam (22 March 1941 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian writer, director, producer and lyricist who worked in Tamil cinema. He was mentored by poet Kannadasan who was his uncle. He also worked as a lyricist in the Tamil cin ...
.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
, with lyrics by Panchu Arunachalam. Singer
Sujatha Mohan
Sujatha Mohan (credited as Sujatha) is an Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. She has also sung for Kannada, Badaga, Hindi and Marathi movies. In a career spanning 48 years, she has recorde ...
made her debut as a singer through this film.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{Sujatha
1970s Tamil-language films
1977 films
Films based on Indian novels
Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja
Films with screenplays by Panchu Arunachalam
Indian black-and-white films