''Menaka'' is a 1955 Indian
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pud ...
film directed by V. C. Subburaman. It is a remake of the
1935 film of the same name, in turn based on the novel of the same name by
Vaduvur Duraisami Iyengar. The film stars
K. R. Ramasamy and
Lalitha.
The film was released on 5 January 1955, and emerged a critical and commercial failure.
Plot
The story is about a loving couple getting separated by designs of evil doers. However, after many sufferings, they reunite.
Cast
List adapted from the database of
Film News Anandan
Film News Anandan (born Mani) was an Indian film historian and photographer based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was popularly known as the "walking encyclopedia" of Tamil cinema.
Early life
Anandan was born as Mani. His father P. K. Gnanasagaram ...
and from
the Hindu review article.
;Male cast
*
K. R. Ramasamy
*
K. Sarangapani
Kumbakonam Sarangapani (1904-1984) was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. Though primarily a comedian, he occasionally played roles of hero and villain.
Family
Sarangapani was born in 1904 in Kumbakonam, Tanjore district. His ...
*
T. K. Ramachandran
*
D. Balasubramaniam
*Acharya
*Friend Ramasami
*T. N. Sivathanu
*M. S. Karuppaiah
*T. V. Sethuraman
*V. P. Balaraman
*V. P. S. Mani
;Female cast
*
Lalitha
*
Ragini
*
C. K. Saraswathi
C. K. Saraswathi (died 1998) was an Indian actress who featured mainly in Tamil films. She was active in the field from 1945 till 1998. During the early days she featured in character roles and in comedy tracks. Later she became famous for her a ...
*M. S. S. Bhagyam
*K. S. Angamuthu
*Indira
*S. K. Venubai
*K. S. Adilakshmi
*K. S. Rajam
*K. S. Chandra
;Dance
*
Padmini
*
Kushalakumari
Production
This is the second edition of the same story by
Vaduvur Duraisami Iyengar that he first published as a novel. Then it was staged as a successful play by TKS Brothers. It was made into a film in 1935 with the
same title.
K. R. Ramasamy who featured in a supporting role in the 1935 edition, was the hero in this 1955 edition.
The film was produced and directed by V. C. Subburaman. Screenplay and dialogues were written by A. T. Krishnaswamy. Cinematography was handled by P. Balasubramaniam, R. R. Chandran and M. S. Mani while the editing was done by B. V. M. V. Ramaraju was in charge of art direction while the choreography was done by V. Madhavan. Still photography was by R. N. Nagaraja Rao.
Soundtrack
Music was composed by
T. G. Lingappa
Thiruchirappalli Govindarajulu Lingappa (22 August 1927 – 5 February 2000) was an Indian music director who worked predominantly in Kannada language films. He also worked in Tamil and Telugu movies. He was the son of G. Govindarajulu Naidu wh ...
,
C. N. Pandurangan and
Vedha
''Vedha'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil language action drama film, directed by R. Nithyakumar starring Arun Vijay and Sheela. The music is composed by Srikanth Deva. The film opened to negative reviews.
Plot
Vijay ( Arun Vijay) is crazy about h ...
while the lyrics were penned by
Kannadasan
Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq ...
, Ku. Sa. Krishnamoorthy,
A. Maruthakasi, K. P. Kamatchisundaram,
K. D. Santhanam
K. D. Santhanam was an Indian actor, writer and lyricist who worked mainly in Tamil films.
Career
He was a teacher at Madurai Sri Mangala Bala Gana Sabha training young boys in dramatics. He was known as a strict disciplinarian. He punished ...
and
S. D. Sundharam.
Reception
''Menaka'' was poorly received by critics, and underperformed at the box office.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title
1955 drama films
1955 films
Films based on adaptations
Films based on Indian novels
Films scored by T. G. Lingappa
Indian drama films
Remakes of Indian films
1950s Tamil-language films
Films scored by Vedha (composer)
Films scored by C. N. Pandurangan