''Kunkhumam'' () is a 1963 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

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

Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy (1913-1987) was a veteran Tamil drama author, celebrated screenwriter and lyricist in Tamil films from the 1950s through the 1970s. He mostly wrote stories, screenplay and dialogue for films starring M. G. Ramachandran a ...

. The film stars

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

, Urvashi Sharada (in her

debut),

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 ...

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 ...

and

R. Muthuraman Muthuraman Radhakrishnan (4 July 1929 – 16 October 1981) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. He was a leading actor during the 1960s and 1970s and was fondly called as ''Navarasa Thilagam''. He had paired w ...

. The film, produced by K. Mohan, was released on 2 August 1963.

Plot

Sundaram and Gomathi are lovers; the latter is an orphan and lives with her uncle's family. Sundaram travels to the United States for further studies. When he returns four years later, he is shocked to see that his mother Vedhavalli is a widow and was told that his father Sambasivam committed suicide due to the disgrace that he was unable to pay back the loans. Sundaram leaves to Bombay for an interview, where comes across the murder of broker Govindan and is shocked to see that the murderer is Punniyakodi, who is later introduced as Gomathi's father in a police investigation. Sundaram helps Punniyakodi to escape and in turn is suspected by the police instead. Police Superintendent Raja is appointed to investigate the murder case. When Gomathi's uncle refuses to let her marry Sundaram, she leaves home, following Vedhavalli to Madurai. Sundaram travels back to Madras where he bumps into a certain Susila on the road. Sundaram finds Govindan's family and offers help, who initially refuses but later accepts when persuaded and explained to. While leaving Govindan's house, Sundaram learns that Punniyakodi is living as a fugitive, had changed his name as James and staying with a crook Kanthan. Sundaram seeks his friend Dass's help in taking care of Punniyakodi for the time being, goes to Madurai and explains to Vedhavalli and Gomathi that he is a murderer and wanted by the police, but Vedhavalli refuses to accept Sundaram as her son due to the conviction. Sundaram, upon reading an advertisement in the newspaper, joins as a tuition teacher in disguise as Kalamegam. There, Sundaram learns that Susila's father is Justice Somanathan, her cousin is Inspector Raja, servants Arasan and Kanniyamma. Meanwhile, Superintendent Raja hatches a plan to move Vedhavalli and Gomathi to Dass's house so to ease the capture Sundaram if he happens to visit them, but James leaves Dass's home following Kanthan's temptation. Susila refuses Raja's advances and develops a soft corner for Kalamegam, but later learns that he is Sundaram and his deeds, but lies to Justice Somanathan that he is a good man. Susila also lets Sundaram escape when Raja finds out about this. Vedhavalli, who is a staunch believer of justice, hates Sundaram for his conviction and arranges for Gomathi to marry Daas, but Gomathi refuses. In turn, Gomathi pleads to Sundaram to marry Susila as Susila had helped them out a lot to prove Sundaram's innocence before getting shot by the police, mistaken for Sundaram. A trial takes place where Sundaram accepts all the charges against him. A twist in the story occurs when Somanathan produces Punniyakodi and Kanthan in court. Punniyakodi admits in court that he was cheated by Kanthan into shooting broker Govindan, where Kanthan earlier had told Punniyakodi that the revolver was unloaded. Lastly, Punniyakodi admits that he is actually Sambasivam and was introduced as Punniyakodi to the police by Sundaram, who was only doing all these in order to save him. The judges sentence Kanthan for murder, further trials for Sambasivam and six months for Sundaram. At the end of the story, Sambasivam applies Kungumam to Vedhavalli at the request of Sundaram.

Cast

as Sundaram * Saratha as Susila *

as S. P. Raja *

as Gomathi *

S. V. Ranga Rao Samarla Venkata Ranga Rao (3 July 1918 – 18 July 1974), popularly known as SVR, was an Indian actor, producer, and director known for his works majorly in Telugu and Tamil films. He is regarded as one of the finest actors in the history of ...

as Punniyakodi / James / Sambasivam *

M. V. Rajamma M. V. Rajamma (10 March 1918 – 23 April 1999) was an Indian actress, producer and playback singer of films mostly in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu languages from the 1930s through 1970s. She has the distinction of having acted as both heroine and ...

as Vedhavalli *

S. V. Sahasranamam Singanallur Venkataramana Iyer Sahasranamam (29 November 1913 – 19 February 1988), also known as S. V. S., was an Indian actor and director. Primarily a theatre actor, he also worked in over 200 films, mainly in Tamil cinema. Early lif ...

as Justice Somanathan *

as Dass *

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 ...

as Arasan * Manorama as Kanniyamma * S. A. Kannan as Chinnaiya * Radhabhai as Rajamani *

O. A. K. Thevar O. A. K. Thevar (1924–1973) was an Indian actor. He acted in over 200 films and stage plays. He is known for his antagonistic roles. In 1955 he acted his debut movie ''Maman Magal''. His notable movie are Mahadhevi, Thaikkupin Tharam, Utha ...

as Kanthan / Govindhan *

K. R. Indira Devi K. R. Indira Devi (1949–2017), born as Indira Devi, was an Indian actress who was active in Tamil Cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. She was well known for her supporting roles, but was also a successful dubbing artist. In a ...

as Rani

Production

Ganesan dressed in drag for the film by wearing a

sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

Soundtrack

The music 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 ...

Reception

Writing for ''

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 ...

'', T. M. Ramachandran called it "an utterly poor film" and also noted, "What amazes one is the complete absence of directorial touches of Krishnan and Panju .by giving the public such a crude film as ''Kunkhumam''".

References

External links

* {{Krishnan–Panju 1960s Tamil-language films 1963 films Films directed by Krishnan–Panju Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan