''Sabapathy'' is a 1941 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

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by A. V. Meiyappan and

A. T. Krishnaswamy A. T. Krishnaswamy (1905–1987) was an Indian director best known for the film ''Sabapathy''. Career Krishnaswamy joined the A. V. Meiyappan unit as an assistant during the mid-1930s and worked on all AVM projects. He made his directorial d ...

, and produced by Meiyappan. An adaptation of

Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar Pammal Vijayarangam Sambandham Mudaliar (1873–1964), who has been described as "the founding father of modern Tamil theatre", was a playwright, director, producer and actor of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. He was a recipi ...

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

play of the same name, the film stars T. R. Ramachandran, Kali N. Rathnam,

C. T. Rajakantham C. T. Rajakantham (1917–2002) was a Tamil stage and film actress. She was the mother-in-law of playback singer Tiruchi Loganathan and grandmother of playback singers and popular music show judges T. L. Maharajan and Deepan Chakkravarthy ...

and

K. Sarangapani Kumbakonam Sarangapani (1904-1984) was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based ou ...

. It focuses on the antics of two dim-witted men named Sabapathy: a wealthy man and his servant. The film was released on 14 December 1941 and became a commercial success.

Plot

Sabapathy Mudaliar is the son of a rich socialite and politician, Rao Sahib Manikka Mudaliar, and a pet of his mother Thiripurammal. A laid-back man with little intelligence, he is appearing for his

Matriculation examination A matriculation examination or matriculation exam is a university entrance examination, which is typically held towards the end of secondary school. After passing the examination, a student receives a school leaving certificate recognising academi ...

. His servant, also named Sabapathy, is an innocent and even greater fool. Sabapathy Mudaliar does not focus on his studies; he constantly engages in teasing his teacher Chinnasami Mudaliar, and eventually fails in the Matriculation examination. Sabapathy Mudaliar's parents arrange his marriage with Sivakamu, an educated and intelligent woman, hoping this will make him responsible. After marriage, Sabapathy Mudaliar shifts to Sivakamu's house with his servant. His parents' plan fails as Sabapathy Mudaliar, instead of focusing on his studies, tries to have a good time with his wife at her house. The servant Sabapathy falls in love with Sivakamu's servant Kundumuthu and eventually marries her. Manicka Mudaliar brings his son back home and advises Sivakamu to help him focus on studies so that he completes his Matriculation and attends college along with her. Sivakamu, who took a break from studies for marriage, motivates him to study so that both can attend college together. Though Sabapathy Mudaliar has several distractions and no focus, Sivakamu teaches him the subjects and finally he passes his examination. His father, who had given up on his son, is finally happy to see his son passing the examination. The servant Sabapathy also becomes a knowledgeable person thanks to Kundumuthu. Both men declare that wife is the best companion in life.

Cast

;Male cast * T. R. Ramachandran as Sabapathy Mudaliar * Kali N. Rathnam as Sabapathy *

as Tamil Teacher Chinnasami Mudaliar *N. S. Kannan as Kumaraguru, Doctor Kuppusami *K. Devanarayanan as Murugesan *K. V. Sornappa as Krishnasami *K. Hirannaiah as Dhathiraman *S. Kuppusami Iyengar as Rao Sahib Manicka Mudaliar *Kunjithapadam Pillai as Chidambarathadigal *K. P. Rathnapathar as Dinakarasami Naidu *K. S. Jagadisa Iyer as Hotel Viswanatha Iyer ;Female cast *R. Padma as Sivakamu *

as Kundumuthu *P. R. Mangalam as Thiripurammal *V. M. Pankajam as Kanni Ammal *C. K. Kamalam as Theivayanai Ammal ;Music concert *

P. A. Periyanayaki P. A. Periyanayaki (14 April 1927 – 1990) was an Indian playback singer and actress who worked mainly in Tamil-language films. She also performed stage concerts as a Carnatic singer. Early life She hails from Thiruvadhigai near Panruti. ...

– Vocals *C. V. Dhanalakshmi –

Fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

*V. Neelamburi –

Mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

Production

''Sabapathy'' was a

play written by

in 1906, his first one. It revolved around a young, unintelligent ''

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 ...

'' and his foolish servant both sharing the name Sabapathy. The inspiration for the servant Sabapathy came from Mudaliar observing the man Fridays of some of his friends. He considered Narasimhan, the personal assistant of his lawyer friend V. V. Srinivasa Iyengar, as having served as the base to building the character, and the title character of the

Samuel Lover Samuel Lover (24 February 1797 – 6 July 1868), also known as "Ben Trovato" ("well invented"), was an Irish songwriter, composer and novelist, and a portrait painter, chiefly in miniatures. He was the grandfather of Victor Herbert. Life Lov ...

novel ''Handy Andy'' as an influence. The story was written in eight parts, each of which was capable of being staged as a separate play. Mudaliar himself played the ''zamindar'', while many of his troupe members played the servant. The play attained immense popularity and was staged many times. Director

suggested to producer A. V. Meiyappan, with whom he was working in Pragathi Pictures, to make a film based on Mudaliar's play, and Meiyappan agreed. T. R. Ramachandran and Kali N. Rathnam were chosen to play the roles of the ''zamindar'' and the servant respectively. Having finalised Ramachandran to play the ''zamindar'', Meiyappan brought him to Mudaliar for his approval, which was given after a brief test of his capability to do justice to the role. Ramachandran was paid 35 per month for acting in the film. R. Padma, a Lux model, was paired alongside Ramachandran and C. T. Rajakantham was paired opposite Rathnam. The budget of the film was 40,000 (worth 5 crore in 2021 prices).

Release and reception

''Sabapathy'' was released on 14 December 1941, and distributed by South Indian Pictures. The film was a major box office success. The jokes about Tamil teachers and the name confusion between the hero and the simpleton were well received by the audience. The film bought acclaim to the director A. T. Krishnaswamy and the hero T. R. Ramachandran. The comedic duo of Kali N. Rathnam and C. T. Rajakantham also became famous rivalling the fame of

N. S. Krishnan Nagercoil Sudalaimuthu Krishnan, popularly known as Kalaivanar () and also as NSK, was an Indian actor-comedian, theatre artist, playback singer and writer in the early stages of the Tamil film industry – in the 1940s and 1950s. He is conside ...

- T. A. Mathuram. As of 2020, it is still popular and is regularly shown in Tamil T.V. Channels.

References

External links

* {{AVM Productions 1940s Tamil-language films 1941 comedy films 1941 films AVM Productions films Indian black-and-white films Indian comedy films Indian films based on plays