Ponvayal
| Ponvayal | |
|---|---|
 Promotional Poster | |
| Directed by | A. T. Krishnaswami |
| Produced by | A. T. Krishnaswami |
| Written by | A. T. Krishnaswami |
| Starring |
|
| Music by |
Thurayur Rajgopal Sarma R. Rajagopal |
| Release dates | 1954[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Ponvayal (Tamil: பொன் வயல்; English: Golden Farm) was a 1954 Tamil film produced and directed by A. T. Krishnaswamy, who also wrote the screenplay and dialogues. It stars T. R. Ramachandran, Anjali Devi and R. S. Manohar in the lead roles, while other actors like K. A. Thangavelu and V. K. Ramasamy play supporting roles. The film is currently lost.[1]
Plot
In the screen story, Sengodan (T. R. Ramachandran) owns 10 acres of land which prospered through his sheer hard work — it came to be called "Ponvayal" (Golden Farm). There were strong rumours that an incredible fortune in gold lay buried in the land.
Sengodan is in love with his cousin Semba (Anjali Devi). Esraj (K. A. Thangavelu), a counterfeiter, plans to get at the fortune. He seeks the help of a graduate Bangaru (R. S. Manohar) and his lover (Mynavathi). Without his knowledge, a cop (K. Sarangkapani) and an actress "Savaal" Kannamma work against him and the smart couple succeed in spoiling the evil designs of the counterfeiter. Meanwhile, Sengodan is arrested on a charge of attempting to murder Bangaru. However, the smart detective helped by his girlfriend finds out the truth and all is well that ends well.
Cast
- T. R. Ramachandran
- Anjali Devi
- R. S. Manohar
- T. V. Kumudhini
- Mynavathi
- K. Sarangkapani
- T. P. Muthulakshmi
- V. K. Ramasamy
- K. A. Thangavelu
- "Pulimoottai" Ramasami
- P. D. Sambandam
- T.R.B. Rao
- T. E. Krishnamachari
- K. V. Srinivasan
- Ramaiah Sastri
- K. Srinivasan
- Chandran
- "Ponvayal" Susheela (dance)
Production
Kalki Krishnamurthy had a desire in the beginning of his literary career to become a screenwriter and worked on a screenplay based on the true story of a highway bandit in his native district of Tanjore. Titled Kalvanin Kadhali, he tried hard to impress film producers of the day without success, and when he joined Ananda Vikatan owned by the Indian film "mogul" S. S. Vasan, the latter published it as a serial in the popular Tamil weekly. It attracted much attention, bringing name and fame to Kalki as a fiction writer. Later, the story was not made into a film for several years, though many announced their intention to do so. Finally, it was made with Sivaji Ganesan and P. Bhanumathi during the 1950s. However, the film was not as successful as expected. Kalki wrote a serial in his own weekly magazine Kalki, titled Poimaan Karadu about a vast stretch of dry land in Salem District where a hillock resembled a deer at rest, and hence the name of the place.
Noted writer-director-producer A. T. Krishnaswami wrote the screenplay and dialogue based on Kalki's story and directed the film. He co-produced it with comedian Ramachandran and others. However, Krishnaswami did not get the recognition he richly deserved for his skills.[1]
Soundtrack
The music of the film was composed by noted Carnatic musician Thuraiyur Rajagopal Sarma and R. Rajagopal, under the supervision of another "forgotten" theatre personality N. P. Abdul Khader. The lyrics were penned by Yogi Suddhanantha Bharathiyar and Sundara Vathiyar who were popular during that period.[1]
| Track listing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Azhiyaatha Veettil" | Jikki[2] | ||||||||
| 2. | "Enna Vinodham" | Unknown | ||||||||
| 3. | "Namma Kaliyaanam" | Unknown | ||||||||
| 4. | "Siruppudhan Varugudhaiya" | Seerkazhi Govindarajan[3] | ||||||||
Reception
Randor Guy, a critic from The Hindu praised Ponvayal for its "interesting storyline, humorous dialogue by ATK and performances by Sarangapani, Manohar, Ramachandran, Mynavathi and Muthulakshmi," while concluding that the film would be "remembered for the interesting storyline, catchy music and dances by Susheela." It however failed at the box office. No print of the film is known to exist today, making it a lost film.[1]