''Thai Ullam'' () is a 1952 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language film directed by
K. Ramnoth. Starring
V. Nagayya,
Manohar and
R. Ganesh, the film has music composed by Nagayya and A. Rama Rao. It is an adaptation of the 1861 novel ''
East Lynne'', by
Ellen Wood. The film was released on 9 February 1952, and emerged both a critical and commercial success.
Plot
Cast
;Male cast
*
V. Nagayya as
Zamindar
A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...
Seethapathy
*
Manohar as Manohar
*
R. Ganesh as Sekar
* K. Ramasami as Clerk Kuppu
*
N. Seetharaman as Magistrate Masilamani
*
Chandra Babu as Sukumar
* Kolathumani as Ponnambalam
* C. V. V. Panthulu as Sabapathy
;Female cast
*
M. V. Rajamma as Nirmala
*
Madhuri Devi
Madhuri Devi (19 September 1927 – June 1990) was a lead actress in Tamil films from the late 1940s until the 1950s. She has paired opposite leading heroes like M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. G. R and known for acting in the films ''Man ...
as Vasundhara
*
K. R. Chellam as Santhamma
*
T. P. Muthulakshmi as Janaki
*
Sakunthala as Singari
*
C. K. Saraswathi as Kanthimathi
;Supporting cast
T. K. Kalyanam, G. V. Sharma, Nandaram, Loose Arumugam, and V. T. Kalyanam.
Production
K. Ramnoth, who had left
Gemini Studios
Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio based in Madras, Tamil Nadu. It was launched when S. S. Vasan, a businessman of many ventures (including the ownership of Ananda Vikatan) bought Motion Picture Producers' Combines from Krishnaswamy Su ...
on 15 August 1947, worked for Narayanan & Company, for which he made the film ''Thai Ullam'', an adaptation of the 1861 novel ''
East Lynne'' by
Ellen Wood.
While
Manohar was cast as the male lead,
T. S. Balaiah was considered for playing the antagonist. He however opted out of the project after demanding a salary of 75,000, which he was refused.
Subsequently, he was replaced by a then struggling actor named R. Ganesh, who later became known as
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 as Kaadhal Mannan (King of Romance) for his romantic roles in films. G ...
.
Soundtrack
The songs were composed by Nagayya and A. Rama Rao, with lyrics by Kanakasurabhi,
Subramania Bharati and
Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai.
The song "Vella Thamarai" is based on Bharati's poem of the same name. The song "Konjum Puraave" is based on the song "Thandi Hawayen" from the
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
film ''
Naujawan'' (1951). That, along with the songs "Kovil Muluthum Kanden", "Kathayai Kelada", "Vellai Thamarai" and "Poo Chendu Nee" attained popularity.
Release
''Thai Ullam'' was released on 9 February 1952,
and distributed by Narayanan & Company themselves.
The film was both a critical and commercial success,
and a major breakthrough for Ganesh, who would later become a part of the "Big Three" of
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...
, the other two being
Sivaji Ganesan
Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...
and
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initialism M.G.R. and as Makkal Thilagam/Puratchi Thalaivar, was an Indian actor, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of ...
.
References
External links
*
{{East Lynne
1950s Indian films
1950s Tamil-language films
1952 films
Films based on East Lynne
Films directed by K. Ramnoth
Films scored by A. Rama Rao
Films scored by V. Nagayya
Tamil-language Indian films