''Aalayam'' () is a 1967 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, nati ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by the duo

Thirumalai–Mahalingam A. Bhimsingh or Bhim Singh (1924–1978) was an Indian filmmaker who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Apart from Tamil, he made films in other languages that include 18 films in Hindi, 8 films in Telugu, 5 films in Malayalam and 1 film in ...

and written by

A. Bhimsingh A. Bhimsingh or Bhim Singh (1924–1978) was an Indian filmmaker who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Apart from Tamil, he made films in other languages that include 18 films in Hindi, 8 films in Telugu, 5 films in Malayalam and 1 film in ...

. Based on the play ''Nenje Nee Vaazhga'', it stars

Major Sundarrajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1925 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated and ...

, with

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 ...

Srikanth Srikanth or Sreekanth is a common Indian first name. * Srikanth (Tamil actor, born 1940), Tamil film actor active in films from 1965 * Srikanth (Tamil actor, born 1980), Tamil actor active in films after 2002 * Srikanth (Telugu actor), Telugu acto ...

and V. K. Ramasamy playing supporting roles. The film happens in one day, largely in an office and revolves around the theme of human values of honesty and integrity. The soundtrack was composed by T. K. Ramamoorthy. The film's cinematography was handled by Vittalrao, while A. Pauldurai Singam handled the editing. The film was released on 11 August 1967. It was critically acclaimed, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

Plot

Ramalingam is an honest, principled man, working as a clerk in a company. He values integrity and discipline as the doctrines of daily life. But his honesty is put to test when his son-in-law Raghu comes to him with a big problem. Raghu has misplaced some money in the bank in which he works, and he requests Ramalingam to give him money so that he could make good the loss. Ramalingam expresses his inability to raise such an amount at short notice. At that instant, a businessman approaches Ramalingam with a bribe of Rs. 5000 to get his work done. Ramalingam sends him away in a rage. His daughter Kamala and wife keep pressuring him to help Raghu. The inner conflicts that torture Ramalingam in that single day and the final decision that he takes form rest of the film.

Cast

Production

''Aalayam'' was an adaptation of the stage play ''Nenje Nee Vaazhga'', written by S. Raman, who wrote under the pseudonym Pilahari. Major Sundarrajan played the role of a poor Brahmin clerk, a departure from the roles he was previously known for:

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 ...

s or wealthy, assertive men. Gopu who did the character of typist in the play repeated his character in the film and went on to be known as Typist Gopu. The film's editing was by A. Paulduraisingam, cinematography by G. Vittal Rao and H. Shantaram handled art direction. The final length of the film was .

Music

The soundtrack was composed by

T. K. Ramamoorthy Trichirappalli Krishnasamy Ramamoorthy (15 May 1922 – 17 April 2013) was an Indian Tamil music composer and violinist. Ramamoorthy was known as ''Mellisai Mannar'' ( ta, மெல்லிசை மன்னர்; "The King of Light Music") ...

, with lyrics 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 ...

Release and reception

''Aalayam'' was released on 11 August 1967. '' Kalki'' appreciated the film for Thirumalai–Mahalingam's direction, and absence of Tamil cinema clichés like duets. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil, and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film – Second Prize.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{TamilNaduStateFilmAwardBestFilm 1960s Indian films 1960s Tamil-language films 1967 drama films 1967 films Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films Indian films based on plays Tamil-language Indian films