''Kaakum Karangal'' () is a 1965 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

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, directed by

A. C. Tirulokchandar A. C. Thirulokachandar (11 June 1930 – 15 June 2016), also known as A. C. Tirulokchandar, was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked mainly in Tamil films from the 1960s to 1988. He also directed a few films in Hindi and Telugu. ...

. Inspired by British writer

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

's 1925 novel '' The Painted Veil'', it was produced by Murugan Brothers, a subsidiary of

AVM Productions AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...

. The film stars

S. S. Rajendran Sedapatti Suryanarayana Rajendran, also known by his initials SSR (January 1928 – 24 October 2014), was an Indian actor, director, producer and politician who worked in Tamil theatre and cinema. Film career Rajendran made his acting de ...

and

C. R. Vijayakumari C. R. Vijayakumari is an Indian actress in the Tamil film industry from 1953 to 2003. Film career Vijayakumari is known for her ability to convincingly transform herself into the characters she portrays. She is noted for her Tamil diction an ...

, with

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 ...

L. Vijayalakshmi Lakshmanan Vijayalakshmi is an Indian actress and classical dancer whose career was from 1959 to 1969. She appeared in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. Early life and training Vijayalakshmi was born in Ernakulam and was ...

, S. V. Subbaiah,

Sivakumar Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar (born 27 October 1941), is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television. He made his actin ...

(in his acting debut) and Revathi playing supporting roles. It was released on 19 June 1965.

Plot

Shankar's father dies due to lack of medical assistance. His mother, with great difficulty, educates him to be a surgeon. One day, his visit to treat Mahalakshmi develops love for each other. Subbaiah, a rich man and father of Mahalakshmi, objects to this, but finally agrees, saying that she must leave his house. After some time, Mahalakshmi begets a child, but the child dies in a fire accident. This causes a misunderstanding between Shankar and Mahalakshmi. Shankar feels that his hands cannot perform surgery any more. He opts for a service with tribals at Senjipuram. There, he gets affected by viral fever. What happens from there is the rest of the film.

Cast

as Dr. Shankar *

as Mahalakshmi *

as Surendar *

Manimala Manimala is a small town and a village in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala, situated about from the nearest town Kanjirappally. It's declared as a folklore village since 2011 by the central government to promote folklore. Ge ...

as Somasundaram *

as Vijayalakshmi *

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 Shankar's mother * Revathi as Radha * S. V. Subbaiah as Ranganathan *

S. V. Ramadas S. V. Ramadas (1921-2004) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil-language films, most often as a villain. He acted in more than 700 films in a career spanning over four decades. Film career Among popular movies, he acted in Aayirathil Or ...

as Ramalingam

Production

The film marked the acting debut of

, then known by his

name at birth A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...

Palaniswamy. He had already signed a film titled ''Chithrapournami'', but that was shelved. Its directors

Krishnan–Panju R. Krishnan (1909–1997) and S. Panju (1915–1984), collectively referred to as Krishnan–Panju, were Indian film directors. The duo directed more than 50 films in South Indian languages and in Hindi. Early life R. Krishnan was born on 18 ...

recommended him to

for their film ''Kaakum Karangal''. Tirulokchandar, who was searching for the second lead actor to pair with Vijayakumari, selected Palaniswamy, who was rechristened Sivakumar by AVM founder

A. V. Meiyappan Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar (28 July 1907 – 12 August 1979), also known as A. V. Meiyappan, A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar or AVM, was an Indian film producer, director and philanthropist who established AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. He ...

. The film was produced by Murugan Brothers, a subsidiary of AVM. Due to the success of ''

Naanum Oru Penn ''Naanum Oru Penn'' () is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film stars S. S. Rajendran and R. Vijayakumari, with S. V. Ranga Rao, M. R. Radha, S. V. Subbaiah, C. K. Nagesh, Rajan and C. S. Pus ...

'' (1963), Meiyappan wanted its lead actors

and

to star. Saravanan felt Rajendran looked ill-suited for a sophisticated character, but Meiyappan remained adamant about casting him for the role. S. P. Muthuraman, who worked as one of the assistant directors in the film revealed that the crew had a tough time to make a small baby walk. Cinematography was handled by T. Muthusamy, and the editing by R. G. Gop. According to

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 ...

, the film's plot was inspired by the novel '' The Painted Veil'' by British writer

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

K. V. Mahadevan Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician known for his works in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, and Kann ...

. This was his first collaboration with AVM.

Release and reception

''Kaakum Karangal'' was released on 19 June 1965. T. M. Ramachandran of ''

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 ...

'' wrote, "The central theme is familiar to some extent, some of the sequences follow the beaten track and there is an overdose of melodrama. The picture, however manages to win the sympathy and appreciation of the audience on account of the poignancy and dignity with which the whole story has been told on screen". ''

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 ...

'' appreciated the performances of Rajendran and Vijayakumari in the first half, but felt the latter slipped in the film's second half. According to Saravanan, the film failed at the due to miscasting.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{The Painted Veil 1960s Tamil-language films 1965 drama films 1965 films AVM Productions films Films based on British novels Films directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films