Then Nilavu
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''Thennilavu'' (; ) is a 1961 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
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film written, produced and directed by
C. V. Sridhar Chitthamoor Vijayaraghavalu Sridhar (22 July 1933 – 20 October 2008) was an Indian screenwriter and film director. He has directed nearly 60 films in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi language, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu Languages. Ea ...
. 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
Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen with ...
, with K. A. Thangavelu, M. N. Nambiar,
M. Saroja M. Saroja was an Indian actress and comedian who worked in Tamil cinema. She was frequently paired alongside K. A. Thangavelu. Career Director K. Subramaniam introduced Saroja to the film industry, when she was 14 years old. She played the role ...
and Vasanthi in supporting roles. The film's plot is about a man who, due to mistaken identity, is appointed as a manager by a young woman for her father's honeymoon in
Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
. The man and the woman fall in love but things go awry when the real manager arrives in Kashmir. ''Thennilavu'' is the first film Sridhar produced through his production company Chitralaya Pictures; it is also the first South Indian film to be made in Jammu and Kashmir; additional filming took place in Madras (now
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
) and
Kodaikanal Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...
. Principal photography took about two months to complete.
A. M. Rajah Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah, popularly known as A. M. Rajah, was an Indian playback singer and music director. Early life A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Cchamanchipuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His father died when he was thr ...
composed the soundtrack and
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 ...
wrote the lyrics. Cinematography was handled by A. Vincent, art direction by Ganga and editing by T. R. Srinivasulu. The film was released on 30 September 1961 and became a commercial success.


Plot

A man named Raj meets a woman named Shanti in
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and falls in love with her. Shanti does not reciprocate his love and leaves for her home in
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
. Shanti's father Sokkalingam and his new wife Thangam decide to honeymoon in
Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
; Shanti also wants to come. A friend of Sokkalingam suggests an alliance between Shanti and his nephew Raj, who is now in Madras. Raj-2 abandons his wife Lalitha, who he had secretly married, when he learns of this proposed alliance; he leaves for Bangalore but misses the train. Raj-1 arrives in Bangalore, where Sokkalingam mistakes him for his friend's nephew. Sokkalingam and Thangam leave for Kashmir with Raj-1 and Shanti, who still dislikes Raj-1 but eventually returns his love. Raj-2 reaches Kashmir in search of Sokkalingam. Lalitha, fearing the safety of her husband, also reaches Kashmir in search of him. Lalitha meets Raj-1 and stays in his house; she also meets Sokkalingam and tells him she is married to "Raj". Sokkalingam misinterprets this as Raj-1 and fires him as Shanti's manager. Meanwhile, Raj-2 meets Sokkalingam, explains everything and replaces Raj-1 as Shanti's manager, despite Shanti's dislike for him. Shanti later learns Lalitha is Raj-2's wife and reconciles with Raj-1 while Sokkalingam and Thangam are still unaware. Raj-2 learns Shanti loves Raj-1 and becomes jealous. At the same time, he meets Lalitha, who he orders to return, otherwise she will be killed. Lalitha flees but secretly writes Raj-2 a love letter. Raj-2, touched by the letter, decides to take Lalitha on a boat ride but plans to kill her and frame Raj-1. When Lalitha joins Raj-2 on the boat ride, he forcefully rides the boat, causing her to fall into the lake. Subsequently, he frames Raj-1. Sokkalingam reports Lalitha's murder to the Kashmir Police, who chase Raj-1, who elopes with Shanti—his only source of an alibi. Raj-1 and Shanti run into a forest for shelter, where they discover Lalitha is still alive and has been captured by a group of terrorists. Raj-1 and Shanti are put into the same prison as Lalitha, who reveals she washed ashore and was discovered by one of the terrorists. He started torturing Lalitha and she pushed him over a cliff to his death, and was imprisoned for murder. A gypsy dancer from the terrorist group helps them escape the prison but nearby guards see them and start shooting at them. The three escapees climb onto a boat, which develops a crack and starts sinking, leading to Raj-1's separation from Lalitha and Shanti. Raj-1 swims ashore and the police capture him. During Raj-1's trial in the high court, Shanti and Lalitha arrive, leading to his acquittal. The letter Lalitha wrote to her husband is discovered and after reading the last line, in which Lalitha advised her husband to kill her if wanted, the court suspects Raj-2 of her attempted murder. Lalitha claims she fell into the lake and does not identify Raj-2 as her husband. The case is dismissed, and Sokkalingam and Thangam continue their honeymoon.


Cast

;Male cast * Gemini Ganesh as Raj-1 * K. A. Thangavelu as Sokkalingam * M. N. Nambiar as Raj-2 ;Female cast *
Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen with ...
as Shanthi *
M. Saroja M. Saroja was an Indian actress and comedian who worked in Tamil cinema. She was frequently paired alongside K. A. Thangavelu. Career Director K. Subramaniam introduced Saroja to the film industry, when she was 14 years old. She played the role ...
as Thangam * Vasanthi as Lalitha Other supporting roles were played by K. Natarajan, V. Mahalingam,
Padmini Priyadarshini Padmini Priyadarshini (later Padmini Ramachandran) was an Indian actor, dancer and choreographer. She acted in supporting roles during the 1950s and 1960s in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films. She established a dancing school in Bangalore named ''Na ...
, Veeraragavan and Balakrishnan.


Production


Development

In the early 1960s,
C. V. Sridhar Chitthamoor Vijayaraghavalu Sridhar (22 July 1933 – 20 October 2008) was an Indian screenwriter and film director. He has directed nearly 60 films in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi language, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu Languages. Ea ...
founded Chitralaya Pictures after making films for Venus Studios. When discussing with his associates what should be the company's first film, Sridhar devised the story of ''
Nenjil Or Aalayam ''Nenjil Or Aalayam'' () is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed, produced and written by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Kalyan Kumar, Devika and R. Muthuraman while Nagesh, Manorama and Kutty Padmini play supporting roles. ...
'' but later decided the company's first film should not be a tragedy and devised the lighter ''Thennilavu''. A. Vincent was the cinematographer, Ganga was the art director and T. R. Srinivasulu was the editor.
Film News Anandan Film News Anandan (born Mani) was an Indian film historian and photographer based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was popularly known as the "walking encyclopedia" of Tamil cinema. Early life Anandan was born as Mani. His father P. K. Gnanasagaram ...
was Chitralaya's
public relations officer The public relations officer (PRO) or chief communications officer (CCO) or corporate communications officer is a C-suite level officer responsible for communications, public relations, and/or public affairs in an organization. Typically, the CCO ...
for the film. Sridhar cast most of the actors who appeared in his directorial debut ''
Kalyana Parisu ''Kalyana Parisu'' () is a 1959 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Sridhar. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and B. Saroja Devi while K. A. Thangavelu, Vijayakumari, M. Saroja, S. D. Subbulakshmi, A. Nageswara Ra ...
'' (1959);
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 ...
(credited as Ganesh), K. A. Thangavelu, M. N. Nambiar and
M. Saroja M. Saroja was an Indian actress and comedian who worked in Tamil cinema. She was frequently paired alongside K. A. Thangavelu. Career Director K. Subramaniam introduced Saroja to the film industry, when she was 14 years old. She played the role ...
. Despite being replete with
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
film offers,
Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen with ...
accepted to star as the female lead. This was the Tamil film debut of Vasanthi.


Filming

''Thennilavu'' is the South Indian film to be shot in Jammu and Kashmir, unlike most Tamil films of that period, which were mostly filmed in studios. The first scene was filmed during an India-Pakistan cricket match at
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, commonly known as the Chepauk Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1916, it is the second oldest cricket stadium in the country after Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Formerly known as Ma ...
, Madras (now
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
). This scene was also used as the background for the film's opening credits. One scene that was filmed in Madras depicts several buildings near Marina Beach that were under construction. While filming at
Dal Lake Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in th ...
, where the song "Nilavum Malarum" was filmed, Vyjayanthimala almost drowned but was rescued by the cameraman. The song "Oho Endhan Baby" was picturised on Ganesan and Vyjayanthimala
water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...
; Vyjayanthimala refused to use a
body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
. Other shooting locations included Shalimar Bagh,
Pahalgam Pahalgam (), known as Pahalgom (; in Kashmiri) is a town and a notified area committee, near Anantnag city in the Anantnag district of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a popular tourist destination and hill ...
and
Gulmarg Gulmarg (), known as Gulmarag (; ) in Kashmiri, is a town, hill station, popular skiing destination, and notified area committee in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located at a distance of from Baramulla and from S ...
.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
lasted about two months. In retrospect, Sridhar noted he was determined to ensure all scenes in Kashmir were filmed well because returning to re-film them would be impossible. Because Kashmir did not have facilities, film rolls had to be sent to Vijaya Laboratory in Madras for processing. Before the film's release, the censor board objected the climax where the lead character clashes with the
Gurjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tra ...
community as it would lead to severing ties between India and Kashmir; this forced Sridhar to shoot a different climax at parts of
Kodaikanal Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...
resembling Kashmir. The final cut of the film measured .


Soundtrack

A. M. Rajah Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah, popularly known as A. M. Rajah, was an Indian playback singer and music director. Early life A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Cchamanchipuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His father died when he was thr ...
composed ''Thennilavu'' music and
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 ...
wrote the lyrics.
A. Maruthakasi A. Maruthakasi (13 February 1920 – 29 November 1989) was an Indian poet and film lyricist who wrote mainly in the Tamil language. He penned more than 4000 lyrics in more than 250 Tamil films. Early life Born in Melakudikadu in Tiruchirappal ...
was originally signed on as the film's lyricist and wrote three songs but differences arose between Rajah and Maruthakasi during the making of another Sridhar film ''
Vidivelli ''Vidivelli'' () is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, B. Saroja Devi and M. N. Rajam; Ganesan also produced it under Prabhuram Pictures, a subsidiary of his own company Siva ...
'' (1960) and Maruthakasi swore not to work with Rajah again, and forced him to abandon the songs already written for ''Thennilavu''. Vyjayanthimala was affectionately called "Pappa", which Kannadasan translated into English as "Baby" and wrote the song "Oho Endhan Baby". Writing for ''
Scroll.in ''Scroll.in'', simply referred to as ''Scroll'', is an Indian digital news publication owned by the Scroll Media Incorporation. It publishes content in both Hindi and English languages. Founded in 2014, the website and its journalists have won ...
'', Sruthisagar Yamunan noted many Tamil film songs in the 1960s have repetitive interludes, "the same notes and orchestration repeating before every
charanam Charanam (meaning ''foot'') in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music) is usually the end section of a composition which is sung after the anupallavi. There may be multiple ''charanams'' in a composition which make up different stanzas, bu ...
", citing "Paattu Padava" as an example. Both "Oho Endhan Baby" and "Paattu Padava" are set in the
Carnatic raga Carnatic raga refers to ''ragas'' used in Carnatic music. A Carnatic raga has several components - primordial sound (''nāda''), tonal system (''swara''), pitch (''śruti''), scale, ornaments ('' gamaka'') and important tones. Origins and histo ...
known as
Keeravani Keeravani (pronounced ) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 21st ''Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. The 21st ''melakarta'' rāgam as per Muthuswami D ...
, while "Nilavum Malarum Paaduthu" is set in
Mohanam Mohanam is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāga (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is usually described as a '' janya'' rāga of Harikamboji (28th Melakartha Raga) ...
. N. Krishnaswamy, writing for ''
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 ...
'' in 1988, said "Kaalaiyum Neeye" is set in
Hamsanandi Hamsanandi (pronounced hamsānandi) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is a hexatonic scale (''shadava'' rāgam, which means "of 6"). It is a derived scale (''janya'' rāgam), as it does not have ...
, a view that is shared by Shoba Narayan, who was writing for ''
Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
'' in 2009. Singer
Charulatha Mani Charulatha Mani (born 21 January 1981) is an Indian-born Australian Carnatic and playback singer. She has been performing Carnatic concerts since 1999. She has also sung for movies. Charulatha has appeared in numerous TV shows and radio progra ...
said it only has "Hamsanandi-like phrases" and is not strictly based on the raga itself. Carnatic musicologist Sundararaman identifies it as being set in the Hindustani raga Basant, while K. Easwaralingam, writing for ''
Thinakaran Thinakaran is a daily Tamil newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is published by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. Its sister newspaper are ''Sunday Observer'', '' Silumina'', ''Dinamina'' and '' Daily News''. The daily newspaper has a circulation of ...
'', said it is set in
Hamsadhvani Hamsadhvani (meaning "the cry of the swan"), is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of Carnatic tradition of Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is a ''janya'' rāga of the ...
. "Oorengum Thaedinaen" is set in
Charukesi Charukesi (pronounced chārukēś‌i) is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 26th ''Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Tarangini in Muthuswam ...
. "Paattu Padava" was later adapted into a different song titled "All Your Beauty", which appears in the film ''
Goli Soda ''Goli Soda'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by S.D. Vijay Milton, who handled the Cinematography as well. Produced by his brother Bharath Seeni under Roughnote Production, the film stars Kishore, Sree Raam ...
'' (2014). It was also recreated as the theme song for the 2022 TV series ''Iniya''.


Release and reception

''Thennilavu'' was released on 30 September 1961. 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 ...
'' praised the performances of the cast and the photography in Kashmir but criticised the story. ''
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 ...
'' gave a more negative review, playing on the film's title by saying "''Thennilavu'' Veen Selavu" (''Thennilavu'' is a waste of money). It was a success at the box office, running in theatres for over 100 days.


Legacy

''Thennilavu'' inspired the filming of more Indian films in Kashmir.
Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu'' ...
said; "People from an older era may claim that the definitive Gemini romance was ''Missiamma'', which reportedly was our grandmothers' ''Titanic'', what with the actor wooing a charmingly young Savitri to the strains of ''Vaarayo Vennilaave''. I, however, go with 'Thennilavu'' if only for the too-cool image of him in swimming trunks, water-skiing alongside the charmingly young Vyjayanthimala."
Mohan Raman Mohan Raman, also known as Mohan V. Ram (born 3 April 1956), is an Indian actor and writer. In 2017 and 2019, he was a Jury member for the National Film Award for Best Writing on Cinema. Raman is a film historian and writes for ''The Hindu''. He ...
named ''Thennilavu'' one of "the best examples" where Thangavelu played a "father" role. Thangavelu's dialogue "''Kashmirikku ponakka cash meeruma?!''" ("Will we have cash left if we go to Kashmir?") attained popularity. A
sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...
brand named after the film was launched by Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti in 1961. The song "Paattu Padava" was included in the opening scene of the 2020 Canadian film '' Funny Boy''.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External links

* {{C. V. Sridhar 1960s Tamil-language films 1961 films 1961 romantic comedy films Films directed by C. V. Sridhar Films set in Bangalore Films set in Jammu and Kashmir Films shot in Jammu and Kashmir Indian black-and-white films Indian romantic comedy films