Kalidas (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kalidas (Translation: "The Servant of Kali")[1] was the first Tamil sound film, and the second sound film ever produced in South India. It was produced by Ardeshir Irani, and directed by Irani's former assistant H. M. Reddy for the banner Imperial Movie-Tone. The film was based on the life of the third century Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa, and features P. G. Venkatesan as the titular character, with T. P. Rajalakshmi playing the female lead character.

Although primarily a Tamil film, it included dialogue in Telugu and Hindi as well. (It was billed in Swadesamitran as the "First Tamil-Telugu Talking Picture".) However, because its fifty songs were all in Tamil, it is considered a Tamil film only. The film was shot in Bombay on the sets of India's first sound film Alam Ara, and was completed in eight days. Amidst much hype, Kalidas was released on 31 October 1931. The film received critical acclaim and became a commercial success, grossing INR75,000 against its INR8,000 budget. It is currently a lost film.

Plot

A still from the film

Vidhyadhari is the daughter of Vijayavarman, the king of Thejavathi. His minister wants the princess to marry his son but she refuses. Annoyed, the minister sets out to find a different husband for her. In the forest, he comes across a foolish cowherd sitting on a tree and cutting down the very branch on which he is sitting. The minister persuades him to come to the palace and has Vidhyadhari marry him. When Vidhyadhari realises she has been cheated and married to a cowherd, she prays to the goddess Kali for redress. The deity appears before her, names her husband "Kalidas" and endows him with phenomenal literary talents.

Cast

Other supporting roles were played by Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila[2] and M. S. Santhanalakshmi.[3]

Production

Kalidas was the first Tamil sound film, and the second sound film produced in South Indian cinema overall.[4] It was based on the life of the third century Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa. It was produced by Ardeshir Irani (the director of India's first sound film Alam Ara) and directed by his former assistant, H. M. Reddy for the banner Imperial Movie-Tone. P. G. Venkatesan was chosen to play the title role.[5] L. V. Prasad (who later founded Prasad Studios), played a temple priest;[6] he also acted in Alam Ara and Bhakta Prahlada, earning the rare distinction of appearing in three of the first sound films in India.[7]

The characters of the film spoke a variety of languages, including Tamil (Vidhyadhari), Telugu (Kalidas, Naradhar) and Hindi (the temple priest). Because of this, it is also known as the first multilingual film in India.[5] The sound recording was done using the Vitaphone process, by German technicians using German equipment.[8][9] Kalidas was shot in Bombay on the sets of Alam Ara, and filming was completed in eight days,[5] with a length of 10,000 feet.[10] T. P. Rajalakshmi, who played the heroine, sang two keertanas as well as two patriotic songs, and performed a kurathi dance.[11]

Music

The film featured fifty songs.[12] All of them were in Tamil, and because of that only Kalidas is considered a Tamil film, despite the various languages spoken by the characters.[13] The film had compositions of the carnatic musician Thyagaraja.[5] Some of the most notable songs in the film were the patriotic "Rattinamam Gandhi Kai Banamam"[14] and "Indhiyargal Nammavarkkul Eno Veen Sandai".[5] Some songs even featured the nationalist slogan Vande Mataram.[7] Bhaskara Das was the lyricist. The songs "Gandhi Kai Baanamaam" and "Manmada Baanamadaa...Maarinil Payuthadaa" were sung by Rajalakshmi. No songbook of the film is known to exist currently.[5]

Reception

Pre-release advertisement for Kalidas

Prior to its release, Kalidas was given a "U" certificate from the Indian Censor Board.[5] An advertisement announcing the film was published in the 30th October 1931 issue of the Tamil magazine Swadesamitran, where it was billed as the "First Tamil-Telugu Talking Picture".[7] Kalidas was first released at the Madras-based Kinema Central (now known as the Murugan Theatre) on 31 October 1931.[5]

When the film reels were brought to Madras, thousands of people gathered at the Madras central railway station and followed the reel box to Kinema Central. As the film reels made their way from the railway station along Walltax Road, crowds threw rose petals, broke open coconuts, and burnt incense.[9][15] There had been an earlier attempt at producing a Tamil sound film. It was a short, titled Korathi Dance and Songs. This four-reeler, was screened along with Kalidas as a side attraction.[13]

Swadesamitran wrote a favourable review for Kalidas on 29 October, 1931, even before the film was released. It stated, "The film will certainly run for a few weeks" and appreciated the singing of Rajalakshmi, and called the film a "must watch" for all.[8] Kalidas was a large commercial success and grossed over INR75,000, easily covering its INR8,000 budget.[5]

Legacy

Kalidas was remade twice, as Kaviratna Kalidas (1937) and Mahakavi Kalidas (1955). Both remakes were critically appreciated and commercially successful. Additionally, the film became a trendsetter for sound films in Tamil cinema.[5] Kalidas was the only Tamil film to be produced and released in 1931.[7] No print or gramophone record[5] of the film is known to have survived, making it a lost film.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chandra Rajan (1997). The Complete Works of Kālidāsa Volume One: Poems. Sahitya Akademi. p. 2. ISBN 81-7201-824-X. 
  2. ↑ Baskaran 1996, p. 88.
  3. ↑ "Tamil Talkies completes 80 years today !". Sify. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014. 
  4. ↑ "History of Indian cinemas" (PDF). Navnirman Institute of Management. p. 4. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 "Tamil Talkies complete 80 years!". IndiaGlitz. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Talking about talkies". Deccan Chronicle. 19 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Dhananjayan 2011, p. 3.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Dhananjayan 2011, p. 2.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Pheroze L. Vincent (25 November 2009). "Romancing the reel". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013. 
  10. ↑ Sachi Sri Kantha. "Book Review: A Valuable Source Book about Tamil Movie History". Ilankai Tamil Sangam. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014. 
  11. ↑ Mohan V Raman (22 June 2011). "The Rani of Cinema". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013. 
  12. ↑ Baskaran 1996, p. 42.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Baskaran 1996, p. 89.
  14. ↑ S. Theodore Baskaran (6 January 2002). "Music for the people". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013. 
  15. ↑ Suganthy Krishnamachari (25 April 2008). "Celebrations … in and on AIR". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013. 

Bibiliography

External links

Feature films directed by H. M. Reddy
1930s
1940s
1950s
  • Nirdoshi (1951)
  • Niraparadhi (1951)
  • Pratigna (1953)
  • Vaddante Dabbu (1954)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.