''Sivagangai Seemai'' () is a 1959 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

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and s ...

film directed by

K. Shankar Kannan Shankar (17 March 1926 - 5 March 2006) was an Indian film editor, screenwriter and director. He directed more than 80 films in South Indian languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada as well as in Hindi. Film career Shank ...

and 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 ...

. Based on the life of the

Maruthu Pandiyar The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) were Diarchal Kings of Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu, India, towards the end of the 18th century. They were known for fighting against the East India Company. They were finally executed by ...

s, the film stars S. S. Rajendran, S. Varalakshmi, Kamala Lakshmanan and

M. N. Rajam ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of res ...

. It was released on 19 May 1959.

Plot

After the execution of

Veerapandiya Kattabomman Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Tamil Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu, India. He refused to accept the sovereignty of the British East India Company and waged a war against them. He was captured by the Briti ...

on 16 October 1799 at Kayattar, Chinna Marudhu gave asylum to Kattabomman's brother Oomadurai. The British used this reason to invade and attack

Sivaganga Sivaganga () is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sivaganga is a rani velunachiyar kingdom of Tamil Nadu. It is an important city in this district for official and commercial purposes. Its n ...

in 1801 with a powerful army. The Maruthu Pandiyars and their allies were quite successful and captured three districts from the British. The British considered it as a serious threat to their future in India that they rushed additional troops from Britain to put down the

s' rebellion.

Cast

;Male cast * S. S. Rajendran as Muthazhagu * P. S. Veerappa *

T. K. Bhagavathi T. K. Bhagavathi (born 1917) was an Indian actor in Tamil stage dramas and cinema. He was the youngest brother of T. K. Shanmugam. He was famous for playing major roles in dramas and films for 45 years from 1935 to 1979. His debut film was Menak ...

* M. K. Mustafa * D. V. Narayanasami * G. Muthukrishnan * P. S. Venkatachalam * Raja Wahab Kashmiri as Colonel Welsh * K. M. Nambirajan * Dakshinamurthi * Rathnam * Karikol Raj * S. P. Veerasami * S. A. G. Sami ;Female cast * S. Varalakshmi *

* Kamala Lakshmanan as Chittu * N. Lalitha * Kumari Radha * Jaya * Sakunthala ;Dance *

Sayee–Subbulakshmi Sayee and Subbulakshmi, popularly known as Sayee–Subbulakshmi, were two Indian female Bharatanatyam dancers who performed on stage in South Indian and Hindi films. They were a ''twin dance'' duo and were popular during the 1950s and 60s. They w ...

Production

The film began production under the title ''Oomaiyan Kottai'' with

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 ...

starring, but it got shelved as Ramachandran was busy with politics. The same project was revived as ''Sivagangai Seemai''. This was

's second home production and he wrote the film's script.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features 16 songs composed by

Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's '' Panam'' to 1965's '' Aayirathil Oruvan''. After their split, Ramamoorthy wo ...

. Lyrics were by Kannadasan. The song "Kanavu Kanden" is set in Mukhari raga.

Release and reception

''Sivagangai Seemai'' was released on 19 May 1959, delayed from April. Because the majority of male characters in the film had thick moustaches, the Tamil magazine ''

Kumudam ''Kumudam'' is a Tamil weekly magazine published in Chennai, India. It was founded in 1948 by S.A.P. Annamalai, and his close friend and confidante P.V. Parthasarathy. Now the magazine is published under the Kumudam Group, which also publishes ...

'' called it "''Sivagangai Meesai''", with "''Meesai''" meaning "moustache". 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 ...

'' said the film was not visually appealing, and overabundant with verbosity. The film was not a success, but because of its theme and historic content, it acquired

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

status in later years.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{K. Shankar 1950s historical drama films 1950s Tamil-language films 1950s war drama films 1959 drama films 1959 films Epic films based on actual events Films directed by K. Shankar Films scored by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy Films set in the British Raj Indian epic films Indian historical drama films Indian war drama films