''Vanambadi'' () is a 1963 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

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

, directed by G. R. Nathan, produced by K. Murukesan 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 ...

, and written by Valampuri Somanathan. A remake of the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film ''Sesh Porichoy'', it stars S. S. Rajendran and

Devika Devika Devadoss (born Prameela Devi) (25 April 1943 – 2 May 2002) was an Indian actress who worked in Tamil, Telugu with few Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi film industry. She was a popular lead actress in the 1960s. Devika is the grand daughter ...

, with

R. Muthuraman Muthuraman Radhakrishnan (4 July 1929 – 16 October 1981) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. He was a leading actor during the 1960s and 1970s and was fondly called as ''Navarasa Thilagam''. He had paired w ...

, S. V. Sahasranamam,

T. R. Rajakumari Thanjavur Radhakrishnan Rajayee (5 May 1922 – 20 September 1999), known by her screen name T. R. Rajakumari, was an Indian actress, Carnatic singer and dancer. She has been called the first "dream girl" of Tamil cinema. Film career Ra ...

T. R. Ramachandran Thirukampuliyur Ranga Ramachandran (9 January 1917 – 30 November 1990) was an Indian actor and comedian who acted mainly in Tamil films. He was cast mostly in lead or supportive roles, especially in comical parts, from the 1940s to the 1960s. Kn ...

, R. S. Manohar, Pushpalatha,

Sheela Sheela Ravichandran (Born 22 March 1945) is an Indian actress and director who appears predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Paired with Prem Nazir, they hold the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films (130) together as he ...

and

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

. The film was released on 9 March 1963 and emerged a success.

Plot

Meena, a young woman, escapes from the clutches of a womanizing Zamindar. She attempts suicide and is saved by an elderly couple, who adopt her. They wish her to wed their nephew Sekhar, and the wedding is arranged. But during the ceremony, another man shows up claiming Meena to be his wife. She is arrested for the attempted murder of the Zamindar. But she says she does not know him. Her adoptive brother Mohan and a friend Nithyanandham try to solve the mystery. Meena runs away from the family to relieve them of the anguish she has caused them and they later find her as a stage/playback singer calling herself as Kausalya Devi. But Kausalya Devi claims she has never seen them before. How they resolve the mystery forms rest of the story.

Cast

* S. S. Rajendran as Sekhar *

as Uma/Meena/Sumathi/Kausalya Devi *

as Mohan * S. V. Sahasranamam as Thanikachalam *

as Nithyanandham * R. S. Manohar as Gopal *

Javar Seetharaman Javar ( fa, جور, also Romanized as Jūr) is a village in Baraan-e Shomali Rural District, in the Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persi ...

as Dr. Shivasankaran *

as Ravi *

as Parvathi *

Pushpalatha Pushpalatha is an Indian actress, who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language films. She has acted as heroine and character roles in more than 100 films. Her debut film was ''Sengottai Singam'', released in 1958. When P ...

as Kalyani *

as Chithra * V. S. Raghavan as Somasundaram *

O. A. K. Thevar O. A. K. Thevar (1924–1973) was an Indian actor. He acted in over 200 films and stage plays. He is known for his antagonistic roles. In 1955 he acted his debut movie ''Maman Magal''. His notable movie are Mahadhevi, Thaikkupin Tharam, Uth ...

as Zamindar Marthandam * M. E. Madhavan as Sundaramoorthy * Janaki * Radhabhai *

Jyothi Lakshmi Jyothi Lakshmi (2 November 1948 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian actress who appeared in more than 130 movies. In the early 1970s, she was well noted for her leading roles and songs in movies. She also acted in female-oriented movies and was a ...

as a dancer

Production

''Vanambadi'' is a remake of the

film ''Sesh Porichoy''. It was produced by K. Murukesan and

, directed and photographed by G. R. Nathan, written by Valampuri Somanathan, and edited by S. Surya. It was the last film for

as an actress.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

K. V. Mahadevan Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films. He is best known for his contributi ...

and lyrics for all songs were written by Kannadasan. The song "Gangaikarai" is set in

Abheri Abheri (pronounced ābhēri) is a raga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is a ''Janya'' raga (derived scale), whose ''Melakarta'' raga (parent, also known as ''janaka'') is ''Kharaharapriya'', 22nd in the 72 ' ...

raga, and "Thookanna Kuruvi" is set in " Suddha Dhanyasi with Charukesi".

Release and reception

''Vanambadi'' was released on 9 March 1963. 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 ...

'' positively reviewed the film, saying the titular skylark was singing well. The film was commercially successful, and Devika was particularly appreciated for playing the double role.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=8946526 1960s Tamil-language films 1960s thriller films 1963 films Films about twin sisters Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Indian black-and-white films Indian thriller films Tamil remakes of Bengali films Twins in Indian films