''Thirumalai Thenkumari'' () is a 1970 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

road film A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienatio ...

written and directed by

A. P. Nagarajan Akkamappettai Paramasivan Nagarajan (24 February 1928 – 5 April 1977) was an Indian film director, producer, actor and writer who set a trend in film making in Tamil cinema from 1965 to 1977. Film career Nagarajan started his own drama c ...

. Inspired by the 1969 film '' If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium'', it features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

consisting of

Sivakumar Palaniswamy, better known by his stage name Sivakumar (born 27 October 1941), is an Indian visual artist and former actor who has portrayed a wide range of leading and supporting roles onscreen in Tamil cinema and television. He made his acti ...

, Kumari Padmini,

Rama Prabha Rama Prabha is an Indian actress who performs in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. She has acted in more than 1,400 films and is credited as a character artist who shared screen space with superstars across all generation of South Indian Cinem ...

Shylashri Shylashri is an Indian actress who acted in Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam cinema. She was awarded the Rajyotsava Award in 2019 for her contributions to Kannada Cinema. Shylashri is known to be one of 3 daughters of a classical musician, Veena Gn ...

, Manorama,

Sirkazhi Govindarajan Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. Early life Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day Ma ...

and

Suruli Rajan Suruli Rajan was a Tamil film comedian/character artiste. He was a recipient of Tamil Nadu State Government's Best Comedian Award for the year 1981–82. Biography Suruli Rajan was born in 1938 in Periyakulam, near Theni. His father ''Ponna ...

. The film focuses on a group of passengers who embark on a pilgrimage across South India. It was commercially successful, and won three

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

Plot

Ten to twelve families from different walks of life, different age groups and different languages unite for a pilgrimage, beginning with

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is re ...

and going as far as

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

Cast

;Actors *

as Sekhar *

as Siva Chidambara Bhagvathar *

as Mannaru * K. D. Santhanam as Chokkalingam *

Typist Gopu Gopalarathnam, known by his stage name Typist Gopu, was an Indian actor known for comedy and supporting roles. He acted in over 600 stage plays and 400 films. Career A native of Manakkal, Lalgudi in Trichy district, Gopalarathnam was active ...

as Velu * Gopalakrishnan as Prohit *

Master Prabhakar Master Prabhakar, (born Prabhakar vaishyan) is an Indian actor, who primarily worked in Tamil cinema, and few Telugu films and acted in about 60 programmes for Doordarshan, between 1977 and 1987 and as a technician he has worked for few Bolly ...

as Ramani *

A. K. Veerasami A. K. Veerasamy was an Indian actor who acted in over 500 films in the Tamil language, in supporting and minor roles. One verse that he spoke of in the Mudhal Mariyadhai film, "''Enakku Oru Unmai Therinchavunum"'' dialogue is still far from ...

* A. Sasikumar as Mohan * Chandran Babu as Kumar * Haranath ;Actresses * Kumari Padmini as Geetha *

as Saroja Mohan * A. Sakunthala as Lalitha * Manorama as Muniyamma *

Gandhimathi Ganthimathi (30 August 1940 – 9 September 2011) was a Tamil stage and film actress. She acted in over 500 films. Early life Kanthimathi was born in Manamadurai in the then Ramanathapuram district of India. She started acting in dramas and ...

as Ramani's Grandmother *

* Vasantha * Nalina *

Usharani Usharani (29 May 1958 – 20 June 2020) was an Indian actress who acted mainly in Malayalam films. Personal life Usharani married Malayalam movie director N. Sankaran Nair in 1977. Filmography Tamil * Thirumalai Thenkumari (1970) * Kala ...

* P. Seethalakshmi as Rajeswari * S. N. Parvathy *

Nirmalamma Nirmalamma (18 July 1920 – 19 February 2009) was an Indian actress in the Telugu cinema. She has acted in more than 800 films. She was well known for her grandmother roles in several films.She won two Nandi Awards. Early life She was born in ...

Production

''Thirumalai Thenkumari'' was among the earliest road films in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

, and took inspiration from the 1969 film '' If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium''. Unlike the original, it was given a "religious twist", with its premise focusing on a group of passengers who embark on a pilgrimage across South India, visiting places like

and

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

. The film was actually shot in the places depicted onscreen, as opposed to using sets. Since it was previously believed in the

Tamil film industry Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollyw ...

that writer-director

's films were successful only because of their star cast and "mammoth" scales, rather than his directorial skills, he made this film, which featured mostly newcomers, to silence his critics. Cinematography was handled by W. R. Subba Rao, the art direction by Ganga, and the editing by T. Vijayarangam. The film, which was produced by C. Paramasivan under the banner Sree Vijayalakshmi Pictures, was completed within a month.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. He based the song "Thirupathi Malaivaazhum" on the

Suprabhatam Suprabhatam ( sa, सुप्रभातम्, lit=auspicious dawn, translit=Suprabhātam) is a Sanskrit prayer of the ''Suprabhātakāvya'' genre. It is a collection of hymns or verses recited early morning to awaken the deity in Hinduism. ...

. The song "Madhurai Arasaalum" is 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 hi ...

known as

Ragamalika Ragamalika, literally a garland of ragas, is a popular form of composition in Carnatic music where different segments of the composition are set to different ragas. It is also known as ''Raga Kadambakam,'' and forms parallel to the composition form ...

. "Thirupathi Malaivaazhum" and "Madhurai Arasaalum" were written by Ulundurpettai Shanmugam.

Release and reception

''Thirumalai Thenkumari'' was released on 15 August 1970. The film was a commercial success, and won in three categories at the

: Best Music Director (Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan), Best Male Playback Singer (Sirkazhi Govindarajan), and a Special Prize. In 2016, film 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 ...

said the film would be remembered for "The music, and fine performances by veteran actors".

References

External links

* {{A. P. Nagarajan 1970 films 1970s road movies 1970s Tamil-language films Films about Hinduism Films about vacationing Films directed by A. P. Nagarajan Films set in Bangalore Films shot in Andhra Pradesh Films shot in Kerala Films shot in Madurai Films shot in Mysore Films with screenplays by A. P. Nagarajan Hindu devotional films Indian comedy road movies Films scored by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan