''Naan Kanda Sorgam'' () is a 1960 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

fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre rose ...

film directed and produced by C. Pullayya. The film stars K. A. Thangavelu and

Sowcar Janaki Sankaramanchi Janaki (born T. Janaki; 12 December 1931), popularly known as Sowcar Janaki (Tamil) or Shavukaru Janaki (Telugu) or Sahukar Janaki (Kannada), is an Indian actress who has appeared in over 300, films, predominantly in Tamil, Tel ...

. It is a remake of the 1958

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 w ...

film '' Jamalaye Jibanta Manush'', and was simultaneously filmed in Telugu as '' Devanthakudu'' with a largely different cast. The film was released on 12 August 1960 and became a commercial success.

Plot

Meenakshi is the daughter of Parama Pillai, a

miser A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities, in order to hoard money or other possessions. Although the word is sometimes used loosely to characterise anyone who ...

ly millionaire. While she is drawn to public service, her father despises the idea. Meenakshi falls in love with Sundar, a theatre artiste who donates earnings to impoverished people. Parama Pillai despises him but, unknown to him, his daughter assists Sundar in his social welfare activities. When Parama Pillai realises this, he forbids Meenakshi to leave the house and even appoints two men to guard her. Sundar disguises himself as a woman and fools the millionaire into appointing him as Meenakshi's tutor. When Parama Pillai arranges Meenakshi's marriage with a rich but older man, Sundar saves her by helping her escape. Parama Pillai finds his daughter and locks her up, beating Sundar to an inch of his life. The rest of the film deals with how

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

and other gods help Meenakshi and Sundar unite.

Cast

Production

''Naan Kanda Sorgam'' was produced and directed by C. Pullayya under the banner Bharghavi Films. It was remade from the 1958

film '' Jamalaye Jibanta Manush'', and simultaneously filmed in Telugu as '' Devanthakudu'' with a largely different cast.

K. S. Gopalakrishnan K. S. Gopalakrishnan was an Indian screenwriter, director, producer, and lyricist, who worked in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. Since the early 1960s, he directed 70 films. He spent most of his career directing and producing movies with soc ...

wrote the dialogues. Nanjappa, assisted by P.S. Loganathan, handled the cinematography. Shooting for the film took place at Vijaya-Vauhini Studios. The film featured an ''apsara'' dance sequence choreographed by Gemini Ramamurthi.

Soundtrack

G. Aswathama composed the film's music. The lyricists were Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass,

, Parthiban, and T. K. Sundara Vadhyar. The film had a dance-drama called "Usha Parinayam" for which P. B. Sreenivas and

S. Janaki Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer from Andhra Pradesh. She is referred to respectfully as "Janaki Amma" and Nightingale of South India. She is one of the best-known playback singers in ...

lent their voices.

Release and reception

''Naan Kanda Sorgam'' was released on 12 August 1960. ''

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 be ...

'' said, "A hilarious comedy in the best tradition of Tamil genius has been brought to the screen by the plucky Producer-Director C. Pullayya in ''Nan Kanda Swargam''." Kanthan of ''

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 ...

'' lauded Thangavelu's performance, saying it brought the feel of heaven. According to historian Randor Guy, the film was a commercial success "mainly because of the unusual story line and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

elements."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0255411 1960 films 1960s fantasy comedy films 1960s Tamil-language films Films directed by C. Pullayya Films scored by Ashwatthama Films with screenplays by K. S. Gopalakrishnan Indian fantasy comedy films Tamil remakes of Bengali films Yama in popular culture