''Sevasadanam'' () is a 1938 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by

K. Subrahmanyam Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam (19 January 1929 – 2 February 2011) was a prominent international strategic affairs analyst, journalist and former Indian civil servant. Considered a proponent of ''Realpolitik'', Subrahmanyam was an influential vo ...

. It is one of the early Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to advocate reformist social policies. This was the first film for M. S. Subbulakshmi and the Tamil debut of Telugu actress S. Varalakshmi.

Plot

An abused wife Sumathi ( M. S. Subbulakshmi) is driven out of her house by husband and later forced into prostitution. Later she reforms her ways and devotes her life to running an institution for the children of prostitutes.

Production

After the success of '' Balayogini'' (1937), director Subramanyam was encouraged to make more socially oriented films. In 1938 he decided to make a film version of

Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of ...

's novel '' Bazaar-e-Husn'' and bought the rights for 4,000 (worth 72 lakh in 2021 prices). While ''Balayogini'' was about the travails of widows, ''Sevasadanam'' dealt with domestic abuse, prostitution and women's liberation. Subramanyam wrote the screenplay himself and made the film under his Madras United Artists Corporation Banner. The completed film was 18,900 feet in length with a run time of 210 minutes.

Cast

* M. S. Subbulakshmi - Sumathi * F. G. Natesa Iyer - Eashwara Iyer * S. Varalakshmi *S. G. Pattu Iyer * Kumari Kamala *"Jolly" Kittu Iyer *Jayalakshmi *Ram Pyari

Reception

''Sevasadanam'' was released on 2 May 1938. It was a critical and commercial success. Ananda Vikatan favourably reviewed the film on 8 May 1938: As was the case with ''Balayogini'', conservative Hindus were upset with ''Sevasadanam''. The veteran Marxist leader

N. Sankaraiah N. Sankaraiah (born 15 July 1921) is an Indian Communist Party politician and independence activist. After passing Matriculation, Sankaraiah started studying History from American College, Madurai in 1937. He was one of the founders of Madras ...

, has described Seva Sadhanam as an "unusual film" for choosing the subject of marriages between young girls and old men (which had social sanction). According to him, the film successfully broughout the "sufferings of the girl" and the "mental agony of the aged husband". Sankariah particularly appreciated Natesa Iyer's performance in the role of the old man, which he said " was impressive". Tamil film critic and historian Aranthai Narayanan observes in his book ''Thamizh Cinemavin Kathai'' (The Story of Tamil Cinema) that "Seva Sadhanam proved a turning point in the history of Tamil cinema. In the climax, the aged husband, now a totally changed man, was shown as casting aside with utter contempt his `sacred thread', which symbolises his Brahmin superiority. It came as a stunning blow to the then Brahmin orthodoxy."

Availability

No print of ''Sevasadanam'' is known to survive, making it a lost film. While K. Subrahmanyam's family only have a few surviving photographs related to the film in their possession, the complete set of 78 rpm gramophone records in their original envelopes has survived in the collection of musicologist

V. A. K. Ranga Rao Ravu Venkata Anandakumara Krishna Ranga Rao, better known as V.A.K Ranga Rao, is an Indian music scholar, dancer, film historian, book reviewer, art critic, and orator. He was born to Ravu Janardana Krishna Ranga Rao, the younger brother of Raj ...

in Chennai.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0274825, Sevasadan * http://www.dhingana.com/maa-ramanan-song-sevasadanam-tamil-oldies-399aa31 *Film India Magazine 1938 a
Archive.org
1938 films Adaptations of works by Premchand 1930s Tamil-language films Films scored by Papanasam Sivan Lost Indian films Indian drama films 1938 drama films Indian black-and-white films 1938 lost films Lost drama films Films directed by K. Subramanyam Films based on works by Premchand