''Gangavathar'' is a 1942 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, nati ...

-language

Hindu mythological film This is a list of genres of Literary genre, literature and entertainment (Film genre, film, television, Music genre, music, and Video game genre, video games), excluding :Visual arts genres, genres in the visual arts. ''Genre'' is the term for ...

directed by C. K. Sathasivam popularly known as C. K. Sachi and produced by Sundaram Sound Studio, Madras. The film starred

N. C. Vasanthakokilam Nagapattinam Chandrashekharan Vasanthakokilam (1919 – 7 November 1951) was a Carnatic singer and actress. Her work included the performances of kritis by Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar and in the years after Indian independence, sh ...

. The film was released on the 13th of February, coinciding with

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...

, a Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Plot

The film is based on the story in

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

beliefs related to the descent of the goddess Ganges to Earth.

Cast

The list is adapted from the film's review article in

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 ...

. ;Male cast *Nagercoil K. Mahadevan –

Bhagiratha Bhagiratha (Sanskrit: भगीरथ, ''Bhagīratha'') is a legendary king of the Ikshvaku dynasty in Hindu literature. He is best known for his legend of bringing the sacred river Ganges, personified as the Hindu river goddess Ganga, from heav ...

*C. V. V. Panthulu –

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

B. R. Panthulu Budaguru Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu (26 July 1910 – 8 October 1974) was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is best known for directing films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His most popular films are '' Karnan'', ''Veerapandiya ...

*P. G. Venkatesan –

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

D. Balasubramaniam D. Balasubramaniam was an Indian actor whose career spanned from the late 1930s through the late 1950s. He was well known for his roles in mythological films and later switched to character roles. Filmography References Male actors in Tam ...

*M. Lakshmanan *R. Rajagopalan *

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 ...

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 ...

*M. R. Swaminathan ;Female cast *

–

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

*T. S. Damayanthi –

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

V. N. Janaki Vaikom Narayani Janaki (30 November 192319 May 1996), also known as Janaki Ramachandran, was an Indian politician, actress and activist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 23 days after the death of her husband M. G. Ramachandra ...

– Heavenly maiden *

S. K. Padmadevi S. K. Padmadevi (1924 – 19 September 2019) was an Indian actress in the Kannada and Tamil film industries. Padmadevi started working in Kannada theatre in 1930 and remained active on stage till 1960. Later she was associated with All India Ra ...

*T. V. Lakshmi *

C. T. Rajakantham C. T. Rajakantham (1917–2002) was a Tamil stage and film actress. She was the mother-in-law of playback singer Tiruchi Loganathan and grandmother of playback singers and popular music show judges T. L. Maharajan and Deepan Chakkravarthy E ...

*P. R. Mangalam *T.V.A. Poorani

Production

The film was produced by Sundaram Sound Studio,

Adyar, Chennai Adyar is a large neighbourhood in south Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the southern banks of the Adyar River. It is surrounded by the Tharamani in the West, Tiruvanmiyur, Thiruvanmiyur to the South, Besant Nagar in the East, Kott ...

Soundtrack

List of songs sung by N. C. Vasanthakokilam in this film. # "Paanganacholai Alangkaaram" # "Kalaivaani AruL Purivaai" # "Aanandham ALavillaa Miga Anandham" # "Idhuvenna Vedhanai" # "Jaya Jaya Buvanapathe Paalaya Jaya Karunajalathe" # "Aanandha Maaya Vaanulagidhe" # "Kaavin Manohara Kaatchiyin Maanbe"

Reception

Writing in 2012, film 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 ...

said "The film did fairly well mainly due to its music and NCV's songs."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 10981450 1940s Tamil-language films 1942 films Hindu mythological films Indian black-and-white films