''Periya Idathu Penn'' () 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
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film, directed by
T. R. Ramanna. The film stars
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
,
B. Saroja Devi
Bangalore Saroja Devi (born 7 January 1938) is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abhinaya Saraswathi''" (Saraswathi of ...
,
M. R. Radha
Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (14 April 1907 – 17 September 1979) was an Indian actor and politician active in Tamil plays and films. He was given the title "Nadigavel" (spearhead of acting) by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. He mostly play ...
and
T. R. Rajakumari. It was released on 10 May 1963. The film was blockbuster, the highest-grossing film of the year and ran more than 100 days. The film was remade in Telugu as ''
Sabhash Suri'' and in Hindi as ''
Jawab''. The story of the 1982 Tamil film ''
Sakalakala Vallavan'' was also inspired by this film.
Plot
Murugappan (
MGR M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987) was the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
MGR may also refer to:
* ManaGeR (MGR), graphical window system
* Merry-go-round train, British freight-train design
Mgr. is an honorific or abbreviation for:
* Manager ...
) is a small-time farm labourer who lives with his widowed elder sister Gangamma (
T. R. Rajakumari) in a village. Kaïlasam Pillaival (
M. R. Radha
Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (14 April 1907 – 17 September 1979) was an Indian actor and politician active in Tamil plays and films. He was given the title "Nadigavel" (spearhead of acting) by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. He mostly play ...
) is the
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
of the village, Sabapathy (
S. A. Asokan
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 bo ...
) and Punitha (
Saroja Devi
Bangalore Saroja Devi (born 7 January 1938) is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abhinaya Saraswathi''" (Saraswathi of ac ...
) are his children. Punitha is studying in college in a nearby town, while Sabapathy is not educated. Like the father, the children are both arrogant about their wealth and try to rule the villagers. Murugappa tries to question their authority and this leads to frequent clashes with the zamindar's family. Pitamdhi (
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 ...
) is a wealthy college mate of Punitha, who is crazy about her. Sabapathy falls in love with Thillaiammal (Manimala), who has been informally engaged to Murugappa for a long time. Both Pillaival and Gangamma ask for her hand in marriage on the same day.
To avoid a direct clash with the zamindar, her father says that he took a vow that his daughter would marry the winner of a
silambam
Silambam is an Indian martial art originating in South India in the Indian subcontinent. This style is mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature. The World Silambam Association is the official international body of Silambam.
Origin
References in ...
competition. Punitha promises to marry Pitamdhi if he dopes a drink which Murugappa drinks during the fight. Sabapathy wins the fight and marries Thillaiammal. Punitha goes back on her word and an angry Pitamdhi confesses his duplicity to Murugappa, who confronts Punitha, the two get into an argument during which Murugappa wows to marry Punitha. The two families get into another clash regarding the villagers' right to worship at the temple at the same time as Pillaival. In retaliation he sends his henchmen to beat up Murugappa and burn down their house. When Gangamma confronts him, he rapes her and she disappears after writing a suicide note to her brother urging him to leave the village and make a living elsewhere. Pillaival is haunted by the fear that Gangamma would return from the grave to take revenge.
Murugappan goes to the city where he meets Pitamdhi again. Pitamdhi does a
Pygmalion
Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to:
Mythology
* Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue
Stage
* ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
* ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
on him and Murugappa emerges from the tutelage as Azhagappa competent in English, and even knows to play the piano. He meets Punitha at a club and the two begin dating. She fails to connect the suave Azhagappa with the village bumpkin Murugappa and falls for him. Pillaival gets an anonymous letter informing him that his daughter is in love with someone in the city and he sends for her immediately and confronts her. She admits to being in love with Azgagappa and her family decides to get them married. Azhagappa and Pitamdhi as Arulappan and his secretary meet Pillaival and the marriage takes place. He meets Thillaiammal's father (Sethupadhi) and reveals his identity to him. He discovers that Pillaival is responsible for his sister's death and the whole family becomes aware. Sabapathy tries to support his father and Punitha opposes him. Azhagappa reveals his real identity, Murugappa and walks out of the marriage. He finds it impossible to live with Punitha after knowing what her father did to his sister.
Punitha discovers that she is pregnant and with the help of her sister-in-law Thillaiammal, meets Murugappan and tells him the truth. Murugappan is caught between his desires to live with his wife and avenge his sister's death. Sabapathy discovers her there and gets into a fight with Murugappan. Confronted by a deadlock situation, Punitha initially contemplates suicide, but decides to live and have the baby. Pitamdhi meanwhile, falls in love with Thillaiammal's young sister Valli (
Jothilakshmi) and learns silambam from their father in order to wed her. Murugappan and Punitha have a baby boy and are still unable to be together. Murugappan longs to see his baby and goes to her house secretly at night. He finds that Pillaival has been stabbed.
Punitha and Sabapathy think that their father was killed by Murugappan, who tries to follow the killer and finds out that it is his sister. She says that she was in hiding, waiting for a chance to avenge herself and advises him to return to his wife and son. Meanwhile, he is confronted by Sabapathy and the police pursue Gangamma, who jumps off a bridge and kills herself. All they find is a note from her confessing to Pillaival's murder and urging Murugappan to return to his wife, Punitha. Pitamdhi marries Valli and the family unites.
Cast
*
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
as Azhagappan alias Murugappan
*
B. Saroja Devi
Bangalore Saroja Devi (born 7 January 1938) is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abhinaya Saraswathi''" (Saraswathi of ...
as Punitha
*
M. R. Radha
Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan (14 April 1907 – 17 September 1979) was an Indian actor and politician active in Tamil plays and films. He was given the title "Nadigavel" (spearhead of acting) by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. He mostly play ...
as Kailasam Pillai
*
S. A. Ashokan as Sabapathy
*
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 Arulappan alias Pitamdhi
* N. S. K. Kolappan as Kolappa
*
T. R. Rajakumari as Gangamma, Murugappan's elder sister
*
Manimala
Manimala is a small town and a village in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala, situated about from the nearest town Kanjirappally. It's declared as a folklore village since 2011 by the central government to promote folklore.
Ge ...
as Thillaiammal
*
Jyothi Lakshmi
Jyothi Lakshmi (2 November 1948 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian actress who appeared in more than 130 movies. In the early 1970s, she was well noted for her leading roles and songs in movies. She also acted in female-oriented movies and was a ...
as Valli
* Sethupadhi as The father of Thillaiammal and Valli
Production
Jyothi Lakshmi
Jyothi Lakshmi (2 November 1948 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian actress who appeared in more than 130 movies. In the early 1970s, she was well noted for her leading roles and songs in movies. She also acted in female-oriented movies and was a ...
made her acting debut with this film.
Soundtrack
The music was composed by
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's '' Panam'' to 1965's '' Aayirathil Oruvan''. After their split, Ramamoorthy wo ...
. Once,
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 ...
arrived at 4:00am at Viswanathan's house when Viswanathan was asleep, but the guard denied him entry; Kannadasan wrote "Avanukku enna thoongivittan, agapattavan naan allava" on a paper and gave it to the guard, who gave the paper to Viswanathan when he woke up. Those lines became the basis for a song.
Release and reception
''Periya Idathu Penn'' was released on 10 May 1963. The film was well received by
P. V. Cherian (then the chairman of the
Madras Legislative Council
Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...
) and
Jothi Venkatachalam
Jothi Venkatachalam (born 27 October 1917, date of death unknown) was an Indian politician who served as Governor of Kerala and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu.
Life and career
Jothi Venkatachalam was born in Maymyo, hill cit ...
(then the Madras Minister for Health). The latter praised the film's moral values. 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 ...
'' said every scene was worth applauding.
References
External links
*
{{T. R. Ramanna
1960s Tamil-language films
1963 films
1963 romantic comedy films
Films directed by T. R. Ramanna
Films scored by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Indian romantic comedy films
Tamil films remade in other languages