''Kacha Devayani'' is a 1941 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 produced and directed by K. Subramanyam. The film is based on a love story from Mahabharatha's Aadi parva and in Matsyapuranam and featured

Kothamangalam Seenu ''Kothamangalam Seenu'' (17 February 1910 - 30 August 2001) was a Tamil Stage, Cinema actor and a Carnatic music singer. Early life Kothamangalam Seenu whose birth name is V. S. Srinivasan, was born in Vathirairuppu (anglicised as ‘Watrap'), ...

and T. R. Rajakumari in the lead roles.

Plot

Kacha is the son of Brahaspati, the Guru and leader of

Devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

(heavenly people).

Devayani Devayani ( sa, देवयानी, translit=Devayānī) is a character in Hindu literature. She is described to be the daughter of Shukra, the acharya (preceptor) of the asuras, and his wife Jayanti, the daughter of Indra. She marries K ...

is the daughter of

Sukracharya Shukra (Sanskrit: शुक्र, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word that means "clear" or "bright". It also has other meanings, such as the name of an ancient lineage of sages who counselled Asuras in Vedic history. In medieval mythology and Hindu as ...

, Guru of

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...

s (Demons). Frequently Devas and Asuras went to war with each other. Sukracharya knew a mantra called mridsanjeevani which has the power to revive the dead back to life. Therefore, whenever there was war, the Asuras who were killed were brought back to life whereas Devas lost their men. Devas decided to send Kacha as a disciple of Sukracharya and told Kacha to tactfully learn the mridsanjeevani mantra. Kacha went to Sukracharya and introduced himself as the son of Brahaspati and requested Sukracharya to accept him as a sishya (disciple) for 1000 years. Sukracharya gladly agreed. Devayani saw Kacha and fell in love with him. The Asuras learned that Kacha is the son of their enemy and they waited for an opportunity to do away with him. 500 years has passed. One day Kacha herded Sukracharya's cattle to the forest to feed them. Asuras decided this is the opportunity for them as Kacha was alone. They also went to the forest, killed Kacha, cut the body into pieces and fed the tigers. When the cattle returned home without Kacha, Devayani was anxious. She told her father that someone must have killed Kacha and asked her father to revive Kacha's life as she is in love with him. So Sukracharya used his mantra and revived Kacha who returned from the forest hale and hearty. After some years had passed, Kacha went to the forest again, this time to pluck some rare flowers. Asuras killed him again. They burnt his body and took the ashes. Then they mixed the ashes with a drink and offered it to their Guru who drank it. Again Devayani pleaded with her father to revive Kacha. Sukracharya responded, "He is in my stomach now. If I revive him, he will tear my body and come out. So, I will die. Tell me whom do you want to be with, he or me?" Devayani was in a dilemma. She said he has to offer some other solution because she needs both Kacha as well as her father. Sukracharya pondered for a while and realised that there was only one way to solve this. He taught the mrdisanjeevani mantra to Kacha who was inside his stomach. Kacha learned it thoroughly. Then Sukracharya chanted the mantra and Kacha came out tearing away Sukracharya's body. Sukracharya died. However, Kacha chanted the mantra and revived Sukracharya. When the 1000-year period was over, Kacha informed Sukracharya that he wished to return to heaven. Sukracharya agreed and allowed him to go. But Devayani stopped Kacha on the way and asked him to marry her. Kacha refused saying she is his Guru's daughter and therefore she is also like a Guru to him. Further, he said, as he was reborn from the stomach of Sukracharya, and hence felt Devayani is like a sister to him. Hearing this, Devayani went into a rage and cursed him that when a need arises, Kacha will forget the mantra he learned from her father. Kacha was hurt and cursed her that no Brahmin will marry her and that whatever she wishes, will not happen. Thus ended the lives of both Kacha and Devayani. The efforts by Devas were in vain and they were in the same plight. They prayed to Lord

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 ...

who advised them to go to Lord

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

. Consequently, Vishnu brought them immortality through ''

Amrita ''Amrita'' ( sa, अमृत, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred to i ...

''.

Cast

Cast according to the song book ;Male cast *

as Kachan * Vidwan Srinivasan as

r * Master Rajagopal as

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 ...

r * S. Ramachandra Iyer as Vrshaparva *

Kothamangalam Subbu Kothamangalam Subbu (born S. M. Subramanian, 10 November 1910 – 15 February 1974) was an Indian poet, lyricist, author, actor and film director based in Tamil Nadu. He wrote the cult classic Tamil novel ''Thillana Mohanambal'' and was awarded ...

as Madanasuran * C. N. Sadasivaiah as Disciple * P. R. Rajagopala Iyer as Disciple * Ramanujachariar as Kukkudasuran * R. S. Ramaswami Iyengar as Devendran * Thanjavur Mani Iyer as Brahaspathi * B. Rajagopala Iyer as Parameswaran ;Female cast * T. R. Rajakumari as

* K. Nagalakshmi as Simhasini * T. S. Rajammal as

Indrani Indrani (Sanskrit: इन्द्राणी, IAST: ''Indrāṇī, lit.'' Indra's queen), also known as Shachi (Sanskrit: शची, IAST: ''Śacī''), is the queen of the devas in Hinduism. Described as tantalisingly beautiful, proud and ki ...

* V. Subbulakshmi as Sarmishta ;Supporting cast * C. V. Ramachandran * Sambamurthi Iyer * Vittal Rao

Production

Kacha Devayani was made in Telugu in 1938 and it was a success. It prompted K. Subramanyam to remake it in Tamil. This Tamil version, with T. R. Rajakumari in the lead, was also a success. Later, in 1955, K. Subramanyam remade the film in Kannada with

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 ac ...

as the female lead.

Soundtrack

Music was composed by V. S. Parthasarathy Iyengar and the lyrics were penned by

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema ...

and his brother P. R. Rajagopala Iyer. There were 28 songs in the film. Singers are Vidwan Srinivasan,

, T. R. Rajakumari,

and Master Rajagopal. Playback singers are not known.

References

Kacha and Devayani: Tales From Indian Classics{{Cite web, url=http://www.4to40.com/folktales-for-kids/folktales-in-english/kacha-and-devayani-tales-from-indian-classics/, title = Kacha and Devayani: Tales from Indian Classics, date = 20 May 2020 1941 films 1940s Tamil-language films Hindu mythological films Indian black-and-white films Films scored by Vidwan V. S. Parthasarathy Ayyankar