''Payithiyakaran'' (English title: ''Madman?'') is a 1947 Tamil-language film produced by and starring

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 ...

. It was based on the play of the same name staged by Krishnan's drama troupe. It was the first film for Krishnan after his acquittal in the

Lakshmikanthan murder case The Lakshmikanthan murder case was a high-profile criminal trial that was conducted in the then Madras Presidency between November 1944 and April 1947. The cause of the trial was the murder of C. N. Lakshmikanthan, a Tamil film journalist. Laksh ...

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

played a supporting role in the film.

Plot

''Paithiyakaran'' was based on V. Shantaram's ''Duniya Na Mane'', which in turn was based on the Marathi novel, ''Na Patnari Goshta'' by written by

Narayan Hari Apte Narayan Hari Apte, popularly known as Nanasaheb Apte (11 July 1889 – 14 November 1971) was a Marathi popular novelist, writer of advice books and editor from Maharashtra, India. Early life and education Apte was born on 11 July 1889 in the ...

. It was a socially themed movie which advocated for widow remarriage and against older men marrying women much younger than them.

Cast

''Cast according to the opening credits of the film'' ;Male cast * M. G. R as Moorthi * N. S. K * Mathuram * Sahasra Namam as Sekhar * Kaka Radhakrishnan * C. S. Pandian *

D. Balasubramaniam D. Balasubramaniam was an Indian actor whose career spanned from the late 1930s through the late 1950s. He was well known for his roles in mythological films and later switched to character roles. Filmography References Male actors in Tam ...

* K. Chandrasekharan ;Female cast * S. J. Kantha * T. A. Jayalakshmi * S. R. Janaki *

Saraswathi Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a god ...

* Baby Vadiva * Bhagavathi * Saroja (Dance)

Production

When N. S. Krishnan was in prison for the

, his wife and comedian T. A. Mathuram started a drama troupe called ''N. S. K Nataka Sabha''. The troupe mainly staged plays written by and starring S. V. Sahasranamam. ''Paithiyakaran'' (lit. The mad man) was one of those plays. When Krishnan was first sentenced to jail, Mathuram took a break from her acting career. Later she came out her self-imposed exile to generate revenues for financing her husband's appeal to the privy council. ''Paithiyakaran'' was based on

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

's 1937 film''

Duniya Na Mane Duniya may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Duniya'' (1968 film), a Hindi romantic thriller * ''Duniya'' (1984 film), a Hindi film * ''Duniya'' (2007 film), an Indian Kannada-language film * ''Duniya'' (album), a 1997 album by Raageshwar ...

''. Mathuram converted the troupe into a film production company and made a film based on the play. The film advocated reformist social policies like widow remarriage. It was directed by the director duo of P. Krishnan and S. Panju. While the film was in production, Krishnan was acquitted in the murder case and was released from prison. A new role was written for him in the film. Mathuram played dual roles as the heroine and as Krishnan's comedic foil. Krishnan made fun of his stint in prison through the song ''jailukku poi vantha'' in which he described in prison life, his fellow inmates and the types of prisoners he met. Music for the film was composed by

C. R. Subburaman C. R. Subbaraman also known as C. S. Ram (1916–1952) was a famous South Indian film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar–Gan ...

and M. S. Gnanamani. ''Pattukoru pulavan bharathi'' - a work of the poet

Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai (27 July 1876 – 26 September 1954) was a Tamil language, Tamil poet born to Sivadhanu Pillai and Aadhilakshmi. He was born in the southern district of Tamil Nadu in Kanniyakumari district in a village called Th ...

was used in the film as lyrics for a song featuring T. A. Jayalakshmi.

(later Chief minister of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

) played a supporting role in the film. The completed film was 16,201 feet in length. According to ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' and ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

'',

S. S. Rajendran Sedapatti Suryanarayana Rajendran, also known by his initials SSR (January 1928 – 24 October 2014), was an Indian actor, director, producer and politician who worked in Tamil theatre and cinema. Film career Rajendran made his acting de ...

played a minor role.

Reception

The film was released on 26 September 1947 and was a box office hit. The film's success enabled Mathuram's production house to produce four more films and N. S. Krishnan began a successful stint as director.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paithiyakkaran (1947 Film) 1947 films Films directed by Krishnan–Panju 1940s Tamil-language films Films scored by M. S. Gnanamani Films scored by C. R. Subbaraman Indian films based on plays Indian comedy-drama films Films about widowhood in India 1947 comedy-drama films Indian black-and-white films