''Major Chandrakanth'' is a 1966 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

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-g ...

produced by A. V. Meiyappan and directed by

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

. Based on his play of the same name, the film stars

Major Sundarrajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1925 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated and ...

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 ...

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 ...

A. V. M. Rajan Shanmugasundaram, known by his stage name A.V.M. Rajan, (26 July 1935) is a former Indian actor in Tamil cinema who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Pudukottai, Shanmugasundaram was very eager to join cinema though he held a bachel ...

and

Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

. It revolves around a retired and blind

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

who gives asylum to a fugitive wanted for committing murder, unaware that the victim was his younger son. ''Major Chandrakanth'' was released on 11 November 1966, during

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

. It became a commercial success, and won two Chennai Film Fans' Association Awards: Best Film, and Best Supporting Actor (Muthuraman). Sundarrajan, who portrayed the title role, later became popularly known with the prefix "Major".

Plot

Mohan is a tailor who lives with his younger sister Vimala. Orphaned at an early age, Mohan goes through a life of hardship and fulfills all his sister's wishes. Rajinikanth, a womaniser, lures Vimala and cheats on her. Unable to face her brother, she commits suicide. Mohan confronts Rajinikanth and kills him in revenge. Now a fugitive, Mohan hides in the house of Chandrakanth, a retired and blind

Mohan is amused and fascinated by Chandrakanth's virtues and how he manages to live though he is blind. Mohan reveals why he is on the run from law and ironically, the deceased happens to be Chandrakanth's youngest son. Chandrakanth feels humiliated for nurturing Rajinikanth and is sorry for Mohan's plight. Ultimately, Chandrakanth's elder son Srikanth, an inspector, arrests Mohan along with his own father for showing hospitality to a criminal.

Cast

as Chandrakanth *

as Mohan *

as Srikanth *

as Rajinikanth *

as Vimala

Production

In October 1963, it was announced that

had sold the film rights of his play '' Major Chandrakanth''; the film adaptation would be directed by P. Madhavan for Nithyakalyani Films, and star

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 ...

, but was later shelved. Instead, the play was adapted into a

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 de ...

film '' Oonche Log'' in 1965, with a different cast and crew. A. V. Meiyappan later decided to produce a Tamil film adaptation of the play under his banner

AVM Productions AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...

with the same title, and Balachander was chosen as director, as it was Meiyappan's long-time desire that Balachander make a film for AVM. Sundarrajan, who portrayed the blind major Chandrakanth in the Tamil play, reprised his role in this film. The character's sons Srikanth and Rajinikanth were played by

and

respectively, replacing Venky and Govindarajan.

was cast as Vimala, unlike the play where the same character was unseen. The film was the only collaboration between her and Balachander.

was cast as Vimala's brother Mohan, replacing Gokulnath. The role was a departure from the comedic roles he was then generally known for. Cinematography was handled by

S. Maruti Rao Shelkey Maruti Rao (25 April 1921–2000) was an Indian cinematographer who worked mainly in Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Career Cinematography Rao was born in Thanjavur on 25 April 1921. He became interested in photography as a student. He ...

, the art direction by A. K. Sekhar, and the editing by R. G. Gopu. Meiyappan's sons Murugan, Kumaran and

Saravanan Saravanan is a Tamil male given name. Due to the Tamil tradition of using patronymic surnames, it may also be a surname for males and females. It is one of the names of the Hindu god Murugan. It may refer to: *Saravanan (actor) *M. Saravanan ( ...

were assistant producers. The final length measured .

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

V. Kumar V. Kumar ( ta, வரதராஜுலு குமார், ) (28 July 1934 – 7 January 1996) was a yesteryear Tamil cinema music director, born in Chennai, Tamilnadu on 28 July 1934 to Varadharajulu and Dhanabhakiyam couple, in July 1969 ...

, while the lyrics were written by Vaali and Suratha. The song "Kalyana Sapadu Podava" is set in the

Carnatic raga Carnatic raga refers to ''ragas'' used in Carnatic music. A Carnatic raga has several components - primordial sound (''nāda''), tonal system (''swara''), pitch (''śruti''), scale, ornaments ('' gamaka'') and important tones. Origins and histo ...

known as Sindhu Bhairavi. The song "Oru Naal Yaaro", picturised on Mohan going to prove to the audience in his neighbourhood that his Vimala is singing on the radio, became a chartbuster.

Release and reception

''Major Chandrakanth'' was released on 11 November 1966, during

. In a review dated 26 November 1966, ''

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 betw ...

'' said Sundarrajan brought not only "complete conviction and dignity" to his role but also "revels his rare characterisational depth and sensitivity." The reviewer also praised the performances of Nagesh, Jayalalithaa, Muthuraman and Rajan, the photography and the editing. A critic from ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' praised the performances of the cast, particularly Sundarrajan, but felt the film looked like a play in many places. The film won two Chennai Film Fans' Association Awards: Best Film, and Best Supporting Actor (Muthuraman).

Legacy

Following the film's commercial success, Sundarrajan became popularly known with the prefix "Major". During the making of ''

Apoorva Raagangal ''Apoorva Raagangal'' (; ) is a 1975 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. It stars Kamal Haasan, Sundarrajan, Srividya and Jayasudha, while Nagesh and Rajinikanth, in his feature film debut, play ...

'' (1975), Balachander rechristened newcomer Shivaji Rao Gaekwad as

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

, named after A. V. M. Rajan's character, and Rajinikanth went on to become one of the most successful

stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

of Tamil cinema.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{K. Balachander 1960s Tamil-language films 1966 drama films 1966 films AVM Productions films Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police Films about blind people in India Films directed by K. Balachander Films scored by V. Kumar Films with screenplays by K. Balachander Indian drama films Indian films about revenge Indian films based on plays