''Kanjan'' () is a 1947 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 Covai A. Aiyamuthu and T. R. Gopu. The film stars S. V. Subbaiah, R. Malathi and

T. G. Kamala Devi T. G. Kamala Devi (born Thota Govindamma; 29 December 1930 – 16 August 2012), also known as Kamala Chandra Babu, was an Indian dubbing artist, playback singer and actor who primarily contributed to Telugu cinema as well as a few Tamil film ...

. No print of the film is known to survive, making it a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

Plot

The film centers on a wealthy old man and his attempt to court his son's girlfriend and make her his second wife. The film highlights social evils such as black-marketing, selling of young girls et al.

Cast

;Female cast *M. S. S. Bhagyam as Chellam *R. Malathi as Maragatham *

as Amaravathi * C. K. Saraswathi as Anjuham *K. S. Angamuthu as Kuppayi ;Male cast * S. V. Subbaiah as Kanjan * M. N. Nambiar as Velappan *

P. V. Narasimha Bharathi P. V. Narasimha Bharathi (24 March 1924 - 11 May 1978) was an Indian actor. He acted in ''Ponmudi'', directed by Ellis R. Dungan. TMS was searching for cine playback singer to enter. P. V. Narasimha Bharathi who was a friend of T. M. Soundarara ...

as Kumarasami *M. K. Mustafa as Loganathan *Nat Annaji Rao as Murugesan *B. Rajagopala Iyer as Subodar

Production

The film was produced by K. Velliangiri, a partner of Jupiter pictures when writer Covai A. Aiyamuthu wanted to make a film. Covai A. Aiyamuthu directed the film assisted by the company's editor T. R. Gopu who also did the editing. Covai A. Aiyamuthu wrote the story and dialogues too. Cinematography was handled by P. Ramasami and art direction was by P. B. Chowdri and Kuttiyappu. C. Thangaraj was in charge of choreography. The film was made at

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

Central Studios.

Reception

The film was a flop. An interesting event took place to show the enormity of its failure. At about this film was screened in Coimbatore, a college celebrated its annual day. There was a play staged by the students. A scene showed a sinner at judgement in

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...

's court. Yama says the sinner should be fried in boiling oil as punishment for his sins. Yama's accountant

Chitragupta Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, 'rich in secrets' or 'hidden picture') is a Hindu deity assigned with the task of keeping complete records of the actions of human beings and punishing or rewarding them according to their ...

says the punishment is not enough. So Yama says, the sinner's body should be cut into pieces and fed to vultures. Again Chitragupta says the punishment is not enough. Yama thinks and comes out with a novel punishment. He says the sinner should be made to see all 3 shows of ''Kanjan'' at a stretch in the local movie theatre. The joke does not end there. The sinner wails and appeals to Yama that he be better fried in boiling oil and his body be fed to vultures rather than he be made to watch the film. The producers K. Velliangiri and C. Sundaram who were also invitees laughed at the joke. Film historian Randor Guy wrote in 2010 that the film is "Remembered for its fine music and some of its cast who became major stars later.

Soundtrack

Music was composed by

S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu (a.k.a. SMS) (15 March 1914 – 26 May 1979) was an Indian composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was one of the oldest music directors. He worked as an in-house music composer for Central Studios an ...

while the lyrics were penned by Covai A. Aiyamuthu. A song ''Mandaril ezhil udayon engal Tamizhan'' (Tamils are the most elegant among mankind). It is said that the producers waited for 6 months after completing the shooting to record this song by Mariyappa. , , M. M. Mariyappa , , rowspan=12, Covai A. Aiyamuthu , , 03:16 , - , 2 , , "Varayo Muruga Manala Varuga" , , , , , - , 3 , , "Athai Magale Nillay" , , M. M. Mariyappa, K. V. Janaki , , 03:14 , - , 4 , , "Vayatrai Pichikku Thenpal" , , , , , - , 5 , , "Kaikku Pathu Valaiyal Venum" , , , , , - , 6 , , "Pichai Karananen" , ,

Thiruchi Loganathan Thiruchi Loganathan (24 July 1924 – 17 November 1989) was a playback singer of the Tamil film industry. He is known for his work in movies such as ''Manthiri Kumari'' (1950) and '' Parasakthi'' (1952). He was married to Rajalakshmi, daughter ...

, , 03:18 , - , 7 , , "Yare Nee Kooraye Mane" , , , , , - , 8 , , "Neelavanilave Adhavan Pole" , , K. V. Janaki, Thiruchi Loganathan , , 03:06 , - , 9 , , "Kallaneruvan En Ullathaiye" , , K. V. Janaki , , 03:09 , - , 10 , , "Neersoozhntha Natellam" , , M. M. Mariyappa , , 02:05 , - , 11 , , "Aaha Ini Yare Puvi Meethe Nampole" , , M. M. Mariyappa, K. V. Janaki , , 02:09 , - , 12 , , "Vazhka Thamizh Nadu Vazhka Vazhkave" , , , ,

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0332173 Indian drama films Indian black-and-white films Films about social issues in India Films scored by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Lost Indian films 1947 drama films 1947 films 1940s lost films Lost drama films Jupiter Pictures films