| Aayirathil Oruvan | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | B.R. Panthulu |
| Produced by | B.R.Panthulu |
| Starring | M. G. Ramachandran Jayalalitha |
| Music by | M. S. Viswanathan |
| Release date(s) | 1965 |
| Running time | 167 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Aayirathil Oruvan (Tamil: ஆயிரத்தில் ஒருவன், meaning One man in a Thousand; spelt as Ayirathil Oruvan in the CBFC certificate) is a 1965 swashbuckling action-adventure film in Tamil directed by B.R. Panthulu. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalitha in the lead roles. The film further stars other widely known actors such as M. N. Nambiar, R. S. Manohar, Nagesh and L. Vijayalakshmi. The film is perhaps well-known and still remembered for its final song "Atho Antha Paravai Pola" ("Live like that bird") which is considered a great creation, portrayed brilliantly by M.S. Viswanathan and Panthulu. The song is of a western style and is still adored by Tamil music lovers.
The movie was inspired from another swashbuckling Errol Flynn starrer, Captain Blood produced by First National Pictures and Warner Brothers.
Contents |
The movie story is based on the story of sea-pirates and independence achieved against a cruel tyrant. Manimaran (MGR), is a "Maruththuvar" (Doctor) who helps cure the illness of one of the rebels against the dictator (Manohar) of Neidhal Naadu. The ruler's guards arrest the rebels, along with Manimaran for helping them. Manimaran and the rebels are sold as slaves by the ruler to the nearby island called 'Kanni Theevu' (Tamil for Virgin Islands), ruled by Sengappan. Manimaran leads the slaves, and fights for their rights.
Poongodi (Jayalalitha), daughter of Sengappan, falls in love with Manimaran at the first sight. Despite the differences between them, she tries to woo him on many occasions. She even offers freedom from slavery only to him, who rejects the offer demanding freedom for all of the slaves. Meanwhile, the island is attacked by pirates headed by a leader (Nambiyar). As Sengappan's troops are out of the island on another assignment, Sengappan pleads with Manimaran and the other slaves to help him. Manimaran demands freedom slavery in return for fighting the pirates, only to be betrayed later
The slaves make an escape plan of their own and successfully take over the pirate ship, with whom they fought earlier. Manimaran explains to the pirate captain/leader, about their plight and asks him to help them reach Neidhl Naadu. The captain, apparently agrees, while actually taking them to his pirate island and holds them captive. He coerces them to work for him as pirates or Manimaran will see all of his other men die before him. With no option in place, Manimaran agrees to work as a pirate to escape the situation. In one of his pirate hunts, he finds Sengappan and Poongodi. He brings Poongodi to the pirate island, and tries to hide her from the pirate leader. Nanjappan, the right hand of the pirate leader, finds out tells the leader about Poongodi. As per the policy of the island, any treasure pirated must be auctioned and so Poongodi is also auctioned. After a tight bidding, Manimaran bids the highest, buys her and keeps her with him.
After few dramatic events, Manimaran gets married to Poongodi and as per the pirate island's laws the pirate leader cannot attempt to separate a married couple. The pirate leader attempts to take Poongodi by force, gets defeated by Manimaran in a sword fight and reforms into a good man. He accompanies the slaves lead by Manimaran, to achieve their goal of freeing their motherland, Neidhal Naadu from the clutches of its cruel dictator. In the ensuing war, the dictator is defeated but tricks into arresting them instead. However, in his court the dictator along begs Manimaran to take over the throne. Everyone else also supports the idea. However, Manimaran politely rejects the offer and further states that he wants to continue his noble work as a doctor, serving the people. He then takes leave from the royal court and walks away with his wife and his med kit.