''Kalidas'' (, ) is a 1931 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 ...
- and
Telugu-language
biographical film directed by
H. M. Reddy and produced by
Ardeshir Irani
Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani (5 December 1886 – 14 October 1969) was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He was the one of the greatest l ...
. It is notable for being the first
sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
in the Tamil and Telugu languages, and the first sound film to be made in a
language from South India. It was based on the life of the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
poet
Kalidasa; it featured P. G. Venkatesan in the title role and
T. P. Rajalakshmi as the female lead, with
L. V. Prasad
Akkineni Laxmi Vara Prasada Rao (17 January 1907 – 22 June 1994), known professionally as L. V. Prasad, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, and businessman. He was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and is the recipient of the Dad ...
, Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila, and M. S. Santhanalakshmi in supporting roles.
''Kalidas'', principally in Tamil, contained additional dialogue in Telugu and
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
. While Rajalakshmi spoke Tamil, Venkatesan spoke only Telugu due to his lack of fluency in Tamil, and Prasad spoke only Hindi. Despite its
mythological theme, the film featured songs from much later time periods, such as the compositions of
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
ian
Tyagaraja
Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...
, publicity songs of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
, and songs about
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
and the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
. The sound was recorded using German-made technology. ''Kalidas'' was shot in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
on the sets of India's first sound film ''
Alam Ara
''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a '' fakir'' (Muhammad Wazir Khan) ...
'' (1931) and was completed in eight days.
''Kalidas'' was released with high expectations on 31 October 1931, coinciding with
Diwali day. It was the only South Indian film to be produced and released that year. Despite numerous technical flaws, it received critical acclaim, with praise for Rajalakshmi's singing performance, and became a major commercial success. The success of ''Kalidas'' spawned other films based upon Kālidāsa, including ''
Mahakavi Kalidasa
''Mahakavi Kalidasa'' is 1955 Indian Kannada-language film directed by K. R. Seetharama Sastry, in his debut direction. The movie is based on the legends of the poet Kālidāsa. It stars Honnappa Bhagavatar as Kālidāsa, a Sanskrit poet who ...
'' (1955), ''
Mahakavi Kalidasu
''Mahakavi Kalidasu'' is a 1960 Indian Telugu-language biographical film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and written by Pingali. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Sriranjani Jr., with music composed by Pendyala. It was produced by K. Na ...
'' (1960) and ''
Mahakavi Kalidas'' (1966).
In addition to its commercial success, ''Kalidas'' was a major breakthrough for Rajalakshmi's career, and made her a
bankable singing star. Because no print, gramophone record, or songbook of the film is known to survive, it is a
lost film
A lost film is a feature
Feature may refer to:
Computing
* Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch
* Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob
* Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...
.
Plot
Vidhyadhari is the daughter of Vijayavarman, the king of Thejavathi. His minister wants the princess to marry his son but she refuses. Annoyed, the minister sets out to find another potential husband for Vidhyadhari. In the forest, the minister finds an illiterate
cowman sitting on a tree and cutting into the branch on which he is sitting. The minister persuades the cowman to come to the palace and has Vidhyadhari marry him. When Vidhyadhari realises she has been cheated, and is married to a farmhand, she prays to the goddess
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...
for a remedy. Kali appears before her, names her husband ''
Kalidas'' and endows him with phenomenal literary talents.
Cast
*
T. P. Rajalakshmi as Vidhyadhari
* P. G. Venkatesan as
Kalidas
*
L. V. Prasad
Akkineni Laxmi Vara Prasada Rao (17 January 1907 – 22 June 1994), known professionally as L. V. Prasad, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, and businessman. He was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and is the recipient of the Dad ...
as the temple priest
Other supporting roles were played by Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila and M. S. Santhanalakshmi.
Production
After the success of
India's first sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
''
Alam Ara
''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a '' fakir'' (Muhammad Wazir Khan) ...
'' (1931), its director
Ardeshir Irani
Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani (5 December 1886 – 14 October 1969) was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He was the one of the greatest l ...
wanted to venture into
South Indian cinema
The Cinema of South India refers collectively to the six distinct film industries based in Southern region of India namely Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, and Malayalam. Although these industries developed independently for a long p ...
.
In the same year, he chose
H. M. Reddy, his former assistant, to direct the first South Indian sound film, which would later become the first
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 ...
-
Telugu film ''Kalidas'', based on the life of the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
poet and playwright
Kalidasa.
Irani produced the film under Imperial Movi-Tone.
P. G. Venkatesan was chosen to play the title role.
L. V. Prasad
Akkineni Laxmi Vara Prasada Rao (17 January 1907 – 22 June 1994), known professionally as L. V. Prasad, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, and businessman. He was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and is the recipient of the Dad ...
—who later founded
Prasad Studios
Prasad Studios & Prasad Film Labs are motion picture post-production studios headquartered in Hyderabad, India, founded by Prasad Group in 1956. The production house has produced over 150 movies in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.
...
—appeared in a comic role as a temple priest.
Theatre artiste
T. P. Rajalakshmi was chosen to play the female protagonist; according to film historian
Randor Guy, she was the "automatic choice to play the heroine." Before this, Rajalakshmi had acted in many
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
s, and ''Kalidas'' was her first sound film.
Supporting roles were played by Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila, and M. S. Santhanalakshmi.
The sound was recorded by German technicians using German-made equipment.
''Kalidas'' was shot in Bombay (now
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
) on the sets of ''Alam Ara''; it was completed in eight days, using either or of film, as sources differ. Film historian
Film News Anandan
Film News Anandan (born Mani) was an Indian film historian and photographer based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was popularly known as the "walking encyclopedia" of Tamil cinema.
Early life
Anandan was born as Mani. His father P. K. Gnanasagaram ...
stated that ''Kalidas'' "was produced in a hurry, and was technically flawed."
While ''Kalidas'' primary language was Tamil, the film's actors spoke a variety of languages, including Tamil (Rajalakshmi), Telugu (Venkatesan) and
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
(Prasad).
Because Venkatesan's first language was Telugu, and he could not correctly pronounce Tamil words, his dialogue was in Telugu.
According to Guy, Irani was initially unsure if the German sound recording equipment would record the Tamil language; to assuage his doubts, he had some actors speak and sing in Tamil, with Venkatesan in Telugu. Because the equipment had already been used to record Hindi, he had other actors speak that language; the equipment recorded each language clearly.
Owing to the use of multiple languages, sources including Film News Anandan,
Birgit Meyer
Birgit Meyer (born 21 March 1960) is a German professor of religious studies at Utrecht University.
Career
Meyer was born on 21 March 1960 in Emden, Germany. She studied comparative religion, pedagogy, and cultural anthropology at the University ...
, and Guy have refused to call ''Kalidas'' the first Tamil sound film; Guy instead called it India's first multilingual film. In the 2010 book ''Cinemas of South India: Culture, Resistance, Ideology'', Sowmya Dechamma states that Telugu dialogues were included in the film, apparently to "increase its market potential in the two important language markets of southern India."
Music
''Kalidas'' featured fifty songs composed and written by
Bhaskara Das.
Film historian
S. Theodore Baskaran mentions in his 1996 book, ''The Eye of the Serpent: An Introduction to Tamil Cinema'', that all of the songs were in Tamil. Birgit Meyer contradicted Baskaran in her 2009 book ''Aesthetic Formations'', stating that the film had Telugu songs, a view that was supported by Sowmya Dechamma in ''Cinemas of South India: Culture, Resistance, Ideology''.
Although the film was based on
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
, it featured compositions from
much later time periods, such as those by the
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
ian
Tyagaraja
Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...
, and
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
publicity songs.
Film News Anandan stated Reddy was "probably pleased to add on anything artistic that came his way. Relevance was hardly an issue."
The 2008 book ''Tamil Cinema: The Cultural Politics of India's Other Film Industry'' by Selvaraj Velayutham and ''Aesthetic Formations'' by Birgit Meyer stipulate that the nationalistic songs featured in the film had nothing to do with the main plot, while Randor Guy states during that period, "Historical accuracy wasn't as important as the music. It wasn't uncommon for the deities to sing modern poems or nationalist songs."
Baskaran noted that this marked the "beginning of cinema being used as an instrument of political
propaganda."
The patriotic song "Gandhiyin Kai Rattiname" ("The
Charkha that
Gandhi">ahatmaGandhi handles"), also known as "Raattinamam ... Gandhi Kai Bhanamaam ...", was sung by T. P. Rajalakshmi,
and was unrelated to the story of Kalidas; the song extolled the charkha (spinning wheel), a Gandhian symbol of
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
. Rajalakshmi also performed two of Tyagaraja's compositions, "Enta Nerchina" and "Suraragadhara", the latter of which was based on the ''
Sankarabharanam'' raga, for the film. Another song which Rajalakshmi performed, "Manmada Baanamadaa", became immensely popular, and was described by Guy as "the emotional outburst of love by the heroine".
Another song, "Indhiyargal Nammavarkkul Eno Veen Sandai", spoke about the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
and the need for unity among Indians. Guy described "Manmada Baanamadaa" as the "first hit song of Tamil Cinema".
Release
![Kalidas 1931 poster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Kalidas_1931_poster.jpg)
An advertisement announcing the release of ''Kalidas'' was published on 30 October 1931 in ''The Hindu'', where it was proclaimed that the film was the "first talkie to be screened in the city with Tamil and Telugu songs".
''Kalidas'' was first released theatrically at the Madras (now
Chennai
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 ...
) based theatre Kinema Central (now known as the Murugan Theatre) on 31 October 1931,
during the festive occasion of
Diwali and coincided with the
Civil Disobedience Movement
The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a ...
.
When the film reels were taken to Madras, thousands of people gathered at the city's
central railway station and followed the reel box along
Wall Tax Road to Kinema Central, throwing rose petals, breaking open coconuts, and burning incense.
The posters of the film read, ''Tamil Telugu pesi paadu padam'' ( en, "Tamil Telugu talking singing film").
An earlier attempt at producing a Tamil sound film, a
four-reel short (identified by S. Theodore Baskaran as ''Korathi Dance and Songs''), was screened alongside ''Kalidas'' as a side attraction. It starred Rajalakshmi, and the gypsy dancer Jhansi Bai. In a 2015 interview with ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'', Rajalakshmi's daughter Kamala stated that during the film's release, "people in Madras used to stand outside theatres for a distance of about 4-5km to witness
ajalakshmiacting in her first ''pesum padam''. She was welcomed with a roar here. Her name was announced from speakers installed on roads and
autorickshaws, as a talkie was something new for the people."
''Kalidas'' was commercially successful, grossing over 75,000 and easily covering its budget of 8,000 (worth 1.5 crore in 2021 prices) according to a 2013 estimate by ''
Hindu Tamil Thisai''. Film producer and writer
G. Dhananjayan said the film succeeded because it was a "novelty for the audience to witness an audio visual with dialogues and songs of their language".
In his 1997 book ''Starlight, Starbright: The Early Tamil Cinema'', Randor Guy described ''Kalidas'' as a "crude experiment" that had poor
lip sync
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.
Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...
; when characters opened their mouths there was no sound, and when dialogue or song was heard, artistes remained silent. He said the public did not care about technical niceties and flocked to see the film. Film critic and journalist
Kalki Krishnamurthy
, birth_name = Ramasamy Aiyer Krishnamurthy
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Puthamangalam, near Manalmedu
, death_date =
, death_place = Chennai, India
, occupation = journalist, critic and writer
, nationality = Indian
, education = H ...
, in his review of the film for ''
Ananda Vikatan
''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India.
History and profile
''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
'', noted that he was awestruck by the costumes used. He praised Rajalakshmi's performance and her dancing but criticised her singing, saying that she had to go see a doctor to get her vocal cords fixed. The Tamil newspaper ''
Swadesamitran
''Swadesamitran'' was a Tamil language newspaper that was published from the then Madras city from 1882 to 1985. One of the earliest Tamil newspapers and the longest in print, ''Swadesamitran'' was founded by Indian nationalist G. Subramania Iyer ...
'' printed a favourable review for ''Kalidas'' on 29 October 1931, two days prior to its theatrical release, where the reviewer, in contrast to Krishnamurthy's comments, appreciated Rajalakshmi's singing.
Legacy
The arrival of sound in South Indian cinema, with the release of ''Kalidas'', triggered a migration of theatre artists into cinema. ''Kalidas'' was the only South Indian film to be produced and released in 1931.
No print or gramophone record of the film is known to survive, making it a
lost film
A lost film is a feature
Feature may refer to:
Computing
* Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch
* Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob
* Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing char ...
.
''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
'' stated in 2014 that the film had "turned to dust" long before the
National Film Archive of India was established in 1964. The only remaining artefacts include a few
stills, advertisements, and an image of the cover of the songbook.
As of December 2002, Film News Anandan had preserved several photographs related to the film.
''Kalidas'' was a major breakthrough in Rajalakshmi's career, and made her a "
bankable singing star". Other films based on the life of Kālidāsa include the
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
film ''
Mahakavi Kalidasa
''Mahakavi Kalidasa'' is 1955 Indian Kannada-language film directed by K. R. Seetharama Sastry, in his debut direction. The movie is based on the legends of the poet Kālidāsa. It stars Honnappa Bhagavatar as Kālidāsa, a Sanskrit poet who ...
'' (1955), which won the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of severa ...
, the Hindi film ''Kavi Kalidas'' (1959), the Telugu film ''
Mahakavi Kalidasu
''Mahakavi Kalidasu'' is a 1960 Indian Telugu-language biographical film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and written by Pingali. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Sriranjani Jr., with music composed by Pendyala. It was produced by K. Na ...
'' (1960),
the Tamil film ''
Mahakavi Kalidas'' (1966), and the Kannada film ''
Kaviratna Kalidasa'' (1983).
See also
* ''
Keechaka Vadham
''Keechaka Vadham'' () is an Indian silent film produced, directed, filmed and edited by R. Nataraja Mudaliar. The first film to have been made in South India, it was shot in five weeks at Nataraja Mudaliar's production house, India Film Comp ...
'', the first South Indian silent film
*
List of lost films
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{authority control
1930s biographical films
1930s Tamil-language films
1930s Telugu-language films
1931 films
1931 lost films
1931 multilingual films
1931 musical films
Films about Kalidasa
Films directed by H. M. Reddy
Films set in ancient India
Films shot in Mumbai
Hindu mythological films
Indian biographical films
Indian black-and-white films
Indian multilingual films
Indian musical films
Lost Indian films