''Kodungallooramma'' is a 1968 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

-language film, directed and produced by

Kunchacko Kunchacko (19 February 1912 – 15 June 1976) was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Malayalam film industry. His venture Udaya Studios influenced the gradual shift of Malayalam film industry from its original base of Madra ...

. The film stars Prem Nazir, K. R. Vijaya,

Adoor Bhasi K. Bhaskaran Nair (1 March 1929 – 29 March 1990), known by his stage name Adoor Bhasi, was an Indian actor and film director from Kerala. Adoor Bhasi was almost always cast as the man who stands next to the hero. His hilarious actions and role ...

and

Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair (16 October 191611 March 1997) was an Indian poet, playwright, script writer, lyricist, orator, film director and actor, though he is best known as an actor in Malayalam cinema. He is the recipient of Padma Shri fr ...

. It was based on the Tamil poem '' Chilappathikaram'' by

Ilango Adigal Ilango Adigal ()() was a Jain monk and a poet, sometimes identified as a Chera prince. He is traditionally credited as the author of '' Cilappatikaram'', one of the Five Great Epics of Ancient Tamil literature. He is one of the greatest poets ...

and also tells the story of

Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple Sree Kurumba Bhagavati Temple (alternatively Kodungallur Devi Temple) is a Hindu temple at Kodungallur, Thrissur District, Kerala state, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Bhadrakali, a form of Mahakali or simply Durga or Aadi Parashakthi wo ...

, where the leading deity is also considered as Kannaki, the heroine of Chilappathikaram. The film had musical score by

K. Raghavan K. Raghavan (2 December 1913 – 19 October 2013), also fondly called Raghavan Master, was a Malayalam music composer and Carnatic Vocalist. Along with G. Devarajan, V. Dakshinamoorthy and Baburaj, Raghavan is often credited for the renaissance ...

Plot

Kovalan and Kannaki are a happily married couple living in the magnificent Chola kingdom. Their lives take a turn when Madhavi, a court dancer bewitches Kovalan with her mesmerising looks and beauty. Kovalan therefore leaves Kannaki for Madhavi and marries her. Despite everyone persuading Kannaki to leave and forget about Kovalan, she, on the other hand, would not and instead pray for his well being with the hope that he would return to her. In the meantime, Kovalan catches Madhavi red-handed sleeping with another man. Realising his mistake he returns to Kannaki, who welcomed him with happy tears and open arms, eventually forgiving him. Kovalan, who was now penniless, decided to start his business from scratch. He requested Kannaki for one of her anklets so that they could sell it and have some capital to start a business to which Kannaki readily heeded. So they move from the Chola kingdom to the Pandya kingdom. When Kovalan went to the nearest goldsmith to pawn the anklet, the goldsmith smelled something fishy because the anklet resembled the queen's stolen anklet. The information was sent to the king, who arrested Kovalan and beheaded him without trial. This shocks Kannaki so much that she becomes violent and angry and barges into the palace to prove her husband's innocence. On finding out about his mistake, the king requests Kannaki to calm down and asks for her forgiveness but she does not accept his apology. Grief-stricken with guilt and shame, the king and queen die. But this does not satiate Kannaki and she transforms into an enormous eight-armed figure and destroys the Pandiyan kingdom with fire. After having had enough of troubles from the Chola and the Pandya kingdoms, with a prayer in mind, Kannaki throws her remaining anklet towards the Chera kingdom where her soul would find peace. Since then the deity in Kodungallor temple is worshipped as Kannaki Amma.

Cast

* Prem Nazir as Kovalan * K. R. Vijaya as

Kannaki Kannagi ( ta, கண்ணகி) sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic ''Cilappatikaram''. Kannagi is described as the chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his unfai ...

as Chinese Merchant *

as Kovalan's Father *

Jose Prakash Jose Prakash (14 April 1925 – 24 March 2012) was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Malayalam cinema. He was a singer turned actor who had appeared in more than 300 films mostly in antagonist roles. He was awarded with the J. C. Daniel ...

as Cholarajavu * Manavalan Joseph as Swami * Adoor Pankajam as Konkimaami *

Aranmula Ponnamma Aranmula Ponnamma (8 April 1914 – 21 February 2011) was a National Award winning Indian actress known for her roles as mother of the protagonist in numerous films in a career spanning over five decades. She is widely described as a mother ...

as Kavunthi *

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 Madhavi *

Kaduvakulam Antony Kaduvakkulam Antony (9 November 1936 – 4 February 2001) was an Indian actor from Kerala who performed in more than 300 films as a comedian during the 1960s and 1970s. One journalist considers him to have been one of the best and most popular ...

as Cook *

Kalaikkal Kumaran Kalaikkal Kumaran (1919 - 8 August 1998) was a noted Malayalam film and very popular drama actor. He was well known for his comedy roles in dramas by Kalidasa Kalakendram. He acted in 65 films and more than 150 dramas. He appeared more than 15000 ...

as Dalapathi *Kanchana (old) as Thattathi *

Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair N. Sreedharan Nair (11 September 1922 – 19 October 1986), popularly known as Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair or just Kottarakkara, was an Indian actor who appeared Malayalam movies. He hailed from Kottarakkara in Kollam district of Kerala. Sre ...

as Pandya Rajavu * N. Govindankutty as Thattaan *

Nellikode Bhaskaran Nellikode Bhaskaran (21 April 1924 – 11 August 1988) was an Indian actor in Malayalam movies. His real name was Bhaskara Menon. He mostly played character roles and supporting roles. Awards Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala St ...

as Ganapathy * S. P. Pillai as Konkammavan * Khadeeja as Maharani

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

and the lyrics were written by

Vayalar Ramavarma Vayalar Ramavarma (March 25, 1928 – October 27, 1975), also known as Vayalar, was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam language. He was known for his poems which include ''Sargasangeetham'', ''Mulankaadu'', ''Padamudrakal'', ''Aayisha'' a ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0234047, Kodungalluramma 1968 films 1960s Malayalam-language films Films scored by K. Raghavan Films based on poems Silappatikaram