''Kongunattu Thangam'' () is a 1961 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

action adventure film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

directed by M. A. Thirumugam and produced by

Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar "''Eugen Sandow, Sandow''" Marudur Marudachalamurthy Ayyavoo Chinnappa Thevar (28 June 1915 – 8 September 1978) was a producer of Tamil cinema, Tamil films in the mid-1950s through the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for his films featuring a ...

. The film stars

M. R. Radha Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (14 April 1907 – 17 September 1979) was an Indian actor and politician active in Tamil plays and films. He was given the title "Nadigavel" (spearhead of acting) by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. He mostly play ...

C. L. Anandan Anandan (15 June 1933 – 25 March 1989), born as C. L. Anandan, was an Indian actor and producer who was active in Tamil cinema as well in Malayalam cinema during the second half of the 20th century. He was well known for his hero, supportin ...

and

Pushpalatha Pushpalatha is an Indian actress, who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language films. She has acted as heroine and character roles in more than 100 films. Her debut film was '' Sengottai Singam'', released in 1958. When ...

. It was released on 14 April 1961.

Plot

''Kongunattu Thangam'' is the story of a young woman named ''Thangam'' and her boy friend Rajavel rescuing Muthurathina Boopathy,

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

of Kongu Naadu, from the clutches of his concubine Amutha and uniting the Zamindar with his wife.

Cast

;Male cast *

Kuladeivam Rajagopal V. R. Rajagopal, known professionally as Kuladeivam Rajagopal, was an Indian actor and comedian who worked predominantly in Tamil films and plays. He was a popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Rajagopal made his film debut in ''Kaveri'' (1955). He ...

;Female cast *

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (1930 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted as both heroi ...

Tambaram Lalitha Tambaram Lalitha (also known as Thambaram Lalitha, Tambaram N. Lalitha) was an Indian stage and film actress who acted in about 100 films as heroine and in supporting roles. She died in 1983. Partial filmography # ''Town Bus'' (1955) # ''Kokil ...

*''Thilakam'' R. Rajakumari ;Support cast *Iqbal – Dilip (Horse) *Benny (Dog) ;Dance *

Lakshmirajyam C. Lakshmi Rajyam or shortly Lakshmirajyam (1922–1987) was a South Indian film and drama actress and film producer in 1930s to 1970s.Nata Ratnalu, Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy, Second edition, 2002, pp: 594–96 She is a native of Owk. She ...

*Kalaimathi Devi

Production

After producing ''

Thaikkupin Tharam ''Thaikkupin Tharam'' () is a 1956 Indian Tamil-language film, the directorial debut of M. A. Thirumugam. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and P. Bhanumathi. It was the first film produced by Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar under the then ne ...

'' in 1956, there was a misunderstanding between M. G. R. and

Devar ''Devar'' is a 1966 Hindi film directed by Mohan Sehgal. It stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Deven Verma and Shashikala. The music is by Roshan and the lyrics by Anand Bakshi; this is their only film together that met with success. The fil ...

who were good friends from the very beginning. Devar produced some films without MGR. However, both united in 1961 and Devar produced Thaai Sollai Thattadhe with MGR. Kongunattu Thangam is the last of the series Devar produced without MGR. Unlike other Tamil films of the day, this film focussed on the heroine than on the hero. A remarkable aspect of this film is Devar's use of a horse and a dog almost as main characters in the story. It would appear that the hero and heroine would not have achieved their goal without the help of the horse and the dog.

Soundtrack

Music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan and the lyrics were penned by

A. Maruthakasi A. Maruthakasi (13 February 1920 – 29 November 1989) was an Indian poet and film lyricist who wrote mainly in the Tamil language. He penned more than 4000 lyrics in more than 250 Tamil films. Early life Born in Melakudikadu in Tiruchirappal ...

Alangudi Somu Alangudi Somu (12 December 1932 − 6 June 1997) was an Indian Tamil film lyricist who wrote many popular songs in several films. He was active in the field from 1960 till late 1990s. About Alangudi Somu born on 12 December 1932 in Alangudi vil ...

, Puratchidasan and Kovai Kumaradevan.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 1960s action adventure films 1960s Tamil-language films Films directed by M. A. Thirumugam Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Indian action adventure films Indian swashbuckler films