''Kula Deivam'' () is a 1956 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 ...

directed by

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 ...

and written by

Murasoli Maran Murasoli Maran (17 August 1934 – 23 November 2003) was an Indian politician and an important leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party which was headed by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for 3 ...

. It is a remake of the 1954

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the ...

film ''Banga Kora''. The film stars S. V. Sahasranamam and

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 hero ...

, while

Rajagopal Rajagopal or Raja Gopal is a common name in India. Notable persons with that name include: *Chandran Rajagopal (1974–2001), Indian foreign worker and murderer executed in Singapore * Rajagopal (professor and researcher), Indian business and mar ...

, S. S. Rajendran,

Chandrababu Joseph Panimayadas Chandrababu Rodriguez (1927–1974) was an Indian actor, comedian, director, singer and dancer, whose Chaplinesque-style on-screen movements and singing style made him popular from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. He had ...

S. A. Ashokan S. A. Ashokan, born as Antony and often spelled Asokan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and theatre. He was popular mainly for playing negative roles but was also a successful character actor. Early life Ashokan was b ...

and

Vijayakumari Vijayakumari is an Indian stage, television and film actress. She was a stage actress at Kerala People's Arts Club and Kalidasa Kalakendra. She is the winner of the Kerala State award for best stage actress. Currently she is the Secretary of Kal ...

play supporting roles. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by R. Sudarsanam. Maruthi Rao and Panju (under the alias S. Panjabi) handled cinematography and editing respectively. ''Kula Deivam'' was released on 29 September 1956, and became a commercial success, winning the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil The Indian Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several aw ...

. ''Banga Kora'' went on to be remade in Hindi as ''

Bhabhi Bhabhi may refer to: * ''Bhabhi'' (1938 film) * ''Bhabhi'' (1957 film), a 1957 Hindi film * ''Bhabhi'' (1991 film), a 1991 Hindi film * ''Bhabhi'' (TV series), a 2002 Hindi TV series aired on StarPlus * ''Savita Bhabhi Savita Bhabhi is a ...

'' and in Kannada as '' Jenu Goodu''. Pandari Bai reprised her role in both the versions.

Plot

Cast

;Male cast * S. V. Sahasranamam as Muthaiah * S. S. Rajendran as Rajaiah * M. K. Mustafa as Muthaiah *

V. R. 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 ...

as Chinnaiah * D. Balasubramaniam as Kannappan * T. R. Natarajan as Jeeva * Duraisami as Karmegham * Master Murali as Kanmani *

as Babu * A. Karunanidhi as Latha's brother-in-law *

as Doctor ;Female cast * M. Pandari Bai as Shantha * M. N. Rajam as Thara * C. R. Vijayakumari as Mangalam * M. Mynavathi as Latha * M. R. Santhanalakshmi * P. S. Gnanam as Muthaiah's aunt * K. S. Angamuthu as Neighbor * D. Indira as Nalina ;Dance *

Kumari Kamala Kumari Kamala (born 16 June 1934) is an Indian dancer and actress (also known as Kamala Lakshman). Initially featured as a child dancer, Kamala appeared in almost 100 Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films throughout her career. In the 1970s, sh ...

;Male support cast * P. S. Venkatachalam, Sethu, Kottapuli Jayaraman, A. S. Kannan, Ganapathi, Thiruvenkatam, Kittan and Pottai Krishnamoorthy.

Production

''Kula Deivam'' was remade from the 1954 Bengali film ''Banga Kora''. It was directed by the duo

, and the dialogues were written by

, making his cinematic debut. Stage actor V. R. Rajagopal, who appeared in this film, later adapted the film's title as a prefix to his name.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by R. Sudharsanam and lyrics were written by Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiyar,

Bharathidasan Bharathidasan Birth name: K. Subburathinam, the person's given name: Subburathinam, father's given name: Kanagasabai. (K. Subburathinam by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subburathinam Kanag ...

, Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram, K. P. Kamatchi and

M. K. Athmanathan M. K. Athmanathan (1925 – 15 July 2013) was a music director and lyricist in Tamil language, Tamil cinema. He was honoured by the Tamil Nadu government with the Kalaimamani award in 1978. Her wife named thanlakshmi He has two daughters and one so ...

. A Kriti composed by Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyer, ''Thaaye Yasodha Undhan'', was included in the film for a dance sequence of Kumari Kamala.

Release

''Kula Deivam'' was released on 29 September 1956, delayed from a 20 September release. The film was a commercial success, and ran for over 100 days in theatres. Randor Guy of ''The Hindu'' noted that the film was "Remembered for the socially relevant storyline, excellent performances by Sahasranamam and Pandari Bai, pleasing music and touching on-screen narration". The film won

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Tamil 1950s Tamil-language films 1956 drama films 1956 films AVM Productions films Films directed by Krishnan–Panju Films scored by R. Sudarsanam Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films Tamil remakes of Bengali films