''Poomalai'' () is 1965 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, nativ ...

-language

woman's film The woman's film is a film genre which includes women-centered narratives, female protagonists and is designed to appeal to a female audience. Woman's films usually portray "women's concerns" such as problems revolving around domestic life, the fa ...

, directed by

P. Neelakantan Palaniyaandi Neelakantan (2 October 1916 – 3 September 1992) was a Tamil film director, who was active for nearly four decades. Life He was born at Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. He graduated to movies from stage play. His play '' Naam Iruvar'' ...

and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film was produced by

Murasoli Maran Murasoli Maran (17 August 1934 – 23 November 2003) was an Indian politician and an important leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party which was headed by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for ...

under Karunanidhi's production company Meghala Pictures, which also distributed the film. It stars

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 ...

, C. R. Vijayakumari and

Anjali Devi Anjali Devi (; 24 August 1927 – 13 January 2014) was an Indian actress, model and producer in Telugu and Tamil films. She was well known for her role as the Devi Sita in ''Lava Kusa'' as well as for the titular roles in movies like Chenchu ...

, with S. A. Ashokan,

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 ...

and Manorama in supporting roles. The film focuses on the title character, a happy-go-lucky girl whose life changes for the worse when she is raped. It was released on 23 October 1965.

Plot

Poomalai is a happy-go-lucky girl living with her father and elder brother. Her life changes for the worse when she is raped.

Cast

as Sundaram * C. R. Vijayakumari as Poomalai *

as Maragatham *

as Chittu * Manorama as Myna * S. A. Ashokan as Anand *

Rajasree Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari, born 31 August 1945), also known as Rajasri or Rajashri, is an Indian actress active from 1956 to 1979. She is particularly famous for her portrayal as a princess in several folklore Telug ...

as Nalina * T. S. Muthaiah as Poomalai and Anand's father * V. R. Thilakam as Leela * M. S. Bhakkyam as Subbhamma

Production

''Poomalai'' was directed by

, written by M. Karunanidhi and produced by

under Meghala Pictures. Art direction was handled by B. Nagarajan, cinematography by Amirtham and editing by R. Devarajan. Karunanidhi appeared as himself onscreen, giving the film's opening monologue. Although Karunanidhi was the owner of Meghala Pictures, he was not credited as the film's producer.

Themes

Historian R. Kannan said that Karunanidhi used to ingeniously weave contemporary politics into the dialogues he wrote for films, and named a dialogue in ''Poomalai'' where the sister speaks highly of her brother and threatens to shoot anyone speaking ill of him as an example.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by R. Sudharsanam. The lyrics were written by Mayavanathan, Seetharaman, Kavi Rajagopal, Kumaradevan and M. Karunanidhi.

Release

''Poomalai'' was released on 23 October 1965, during that year's

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

day. Meghala Pictures distributed the film themselves in Madras, while other distributors did so in other districts of Tamil Nadu. According to historian

Vamanan Vamanan is an Indian writer, journalist, documentary film-maker and film music historian based in Chennai. He is known for his documentation of the lives of Tamil film music composers, singing stars and playback singers. Vamanan was awarded the T ...

, the film landed Karunanidhi in deep debt.

Reception

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 betw ...

'' wrote on 30 October, "An otherwise loose screenplay is propped up by the beautiful dialogues by M. Karunanidhi and fine portrayals by Rajendran (the hero), R. Vijayakumari (the heroine), veteran Anjali Devi (the widowed sister of the hero) and comedian Nagesh. Neelakantan's direction is nothing to write home about, but with the material at his disposal, he has made it into a good tear-jerker, appealing to family audiences, especially women." Writing in ''

Sport and Pastime ''Sport and Pastime'' was a weekly sports magazine published by The Hindu Group from 1947 to 1968. Founded by S. K. Gurunathan, the magazine was eventually stopped in 1968. It was replaced with ''Sportstar ''Sportstar'' is an Indian monthly ...

'', T. M. Ramachandran lauded the performances of Rajendran, Vijayakumari and appreciated the performances of Nagesh, Anjali Devi, Manorama, Ravi, Asokan, Muthiah and Rajsri. He added that Karunanidhi's screenplay and dialogues were the film's "saving graces", but criticised Neelakantan's direction for succumbing to "trivialities and box-office considerations". ''

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 ...

'' praised the film for Vijayakumari's performance and Neelakanta's direction.

References

External links

* {{P. Neelakantan 1960s Tamil-language films 1965 drama films 1965 films Films about rape in India Films about women in India Films with screenplays by M. Karunanidhi Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films Indian feminist films