''Meenda Sorgam'' () is a 1960 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, na ...

-language

romantic musical film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

, written and directed by

Sridhar Sridhar is a given name that is also sometimes used as a surname. Notable people with this name include: * Sridhar (actor), Indian actor in the Kannada film industry * Anup Sridhar, badminton player * C. V. Sridhar, screenwriter and film director * ...

. The film stars

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

and Padmini, with

K. A. Thangavelu Karaikal Arunachalam Thangavelu (15 January 1917 – 28 September 1994) popularly known as "Danaal Thangavelu", was an Indian actor and comedian popular in the 1950s to 1970s. Not known for physical, acrobatic comedy like his contemporarie ...

T. R. Ramachandran Thirukampuliyur Ranga Ramachandran (9 January 1917 – 30 November 1990) was an Indian actor and comedian who acted mainly in Tamil films. He was cast mostly in lead or supportive roles, especially in comical parts, from the 1940s to the 1960s. Kn ...

, N. Lalitha and Manorama in supporting roles. It was released on 29 July 1960, and failed commercially.

Plot

Nirmala is a poor but talented dancer who falls in love with Sekar, a rich man's son. But Sekar is forced into a marriage with Prathiba, a rich man's spoilt daughter. Inconsolable, Nirmala promises her lover that she will never give public performances. Due to various circumstances, Sekar's finances suffer losses and his house is put up for auction. To rescue him from a dire future, Nirmala breaks her promise and gives a dance performance. With the money thus earned, she saves his house. But Sekar is unaware of this. When he learns the truth, he begins searching for her. In the meantime, Prathiba, who is now reformed, commits suicide. Sekar locates Nirmala, who is on the verge of committing suicide, and they are reunited.

Cast

as Sekhar * Padmini as Nirmala *

as Sachithanandham Pillai *

as Gopu * N. Lalitha as Prathiba * Manorama as Sachu * K. N. Kamalam as Kamalam * K. Nataraj as Nirmala's dance Teacher * Sairam as Azhagu * P. S. Venkatachalam as Duraisami ;Dance * Sasi, Revathi, Sakunthala, Rita, Bala, Rajam,
Jaya, Shantha, Jayanthi, Nirmala, Nalini, Mohana,
Leela, Kamala, Nagu, Vittoba, and Rajeswari.

Production

Madhuram Pictures initially began a film called ''Agal Vilakku'' () with S. S. Rajendran and

E. V. Saroja E. V. Saroja (1935 - 2006) was an Indian actress and dancer. She was born on 3 November 1935 as Engan V. Saroja. She belonged to Engan village of Thiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu. Her debut film was '' En Thangai'' in 1952 starring M. G. Ramacha ...

starring.

penned the script for that film; however the film was dropped after the first filming schedule due to Saroja's pregnancy. The company decided to make a new film ''Meenda Sorgam'' and chose T. R. Raghunath as director and

and Padmini as lead actors. However Raghunath wanted Rajendran as the lead and left the film due to uncertainty in finalising the lead actor which led the film's crew to insist Sridhar to direct this film. The film was produced by T. A. Dorairajan, cinematography was handled by A. Vincent, and editing by N. M. Shankar.

C. V. Rajendran C. V. Rajendran (12 March 1937 – 1 April 2018) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi film industries. He was a cousin of famous director C. V. Sridhar. Film career He worked ...

, a relative of Sridhar, joined the film as an assistant director, making this the first of many collaborations between him and Sridhar.

Soundtrack

Music was composed by

T. Chalapathi Rao Tatineni Chalapathi Rao (22 December 1920 – 22 February 1994) was an Indian music composer who worked in Telugu cinema. His career spanned more than three decades from early 1950s, till 1980s. He was the cousin of T. Prakash Rao. Early life ...

and lyrics were written 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 ...

, Subbu Arumugam and P. S. Gopalakrishnan. Sridhar signed on Rao as the composer after working with him in '' Amara Deepam'' (1956). He initially wanted

Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram (13 April 1930 – 8 October 1959) also known as Pattukottaiyar was an Indian Tamil poet and lyricist. Considered to be the most popular Tamil lyricist of the 1950s, he is particularly remembered for the philo ...

to write the lyrics, but could not hire the poet due to his death. The song "Kalaiyae En Vazhkaiyin" is set in

Bageshri Raga Bageshri or Bageshree () is a Hindustani classical raga. It is a popular night raga, which is meant to depict the emotion of a woman waiting for reunion with her lover. It is said to have been first sung by Miyan Tansen, the celebrated c ...

raga, and "Aadum Arul Jothi" is set to Kalyani.

Release and reception

''Meenda Sorgam'' was released on 29 July 1960. ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'' praised the performances of the cast, particularly Ganesan, Padmini and Thangavelu, along with Vincent's cinematography. 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 ...

'' appreciated Ganesan's performance, but felt it lacked newness, though the film could be watched more than once. According to historian

Randor Guy Madabhushi Rangadorai (born 8 November 1937), better known by his pen name Randor Guy, is an Indian lawyer, columnist and film and legal historian associated with the English language newspaper ''The Hindu''. He is also the official editor of the ...

, the film did not succeed commercially, as it was thought to be too highbrow and idealistic.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{C. V. Sridhar 1960 films 1960s romantic musical films 1960s Tamil-language films Films directed by C. V. Sridhar Films scored by T. Chalapathi Rao Films with screenplays by C. V. Sridhar Indian black-and-white films Indian romantic musical films