Haridas (1944 film)

Haridas

Promotional poster of the film with a picture of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar displayed prominently, highlighting the film's successful three-year run at Broadway theater (1944, 1945 and 1946).
Directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni
Produced by Royal Talkies
Written by Ilangovan
Starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
T. R. Rajakumari
N. C. Vasanthakokilam
N. S. Krishnan
T. A. Madhuram
Pandari Bai
S. R. Krishna Iyengar
Music by Papanasam Sivan
G. Ramanathan
Cinematography Adi Irani
T. Muthuswamy
Edited by Sundar Rao Nadkarni
Release dates
 16 October 1944
Running time
 117 minutes
Country India
Language Tamil
Box office INR20 lakh

Haridas (Tamil: ஹரிதாஸ்) is a 1944 Tamil language film directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni and starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, T. R. Rajakumari and N. C. Vasanthakokilam. It holds the record of being the first film to run continuously for 110 weeks at a single theatre.[1][2][3][4][5][6]IBN Live included Haridas in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time.[7]

Production

Haridas was directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni, a Marathi film director and produced by Royal Talkies. The film was adapted from the book "Sri Krishna Vijayam" by Elangovan.[1] It was based on the story of the life of a poet-saint called Haridas.[1][6] The role of Haridas was played by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, who was highest paid actor in Tamil film industry then.[8] The film was very short (10,994 Feet[9]) compared to other films from the same period.[10] Featuring a number of melodious songs sung by Bhagavathar, the film was released on Deepavali Day (16 October) 1944.[11] Classical musician N. C. Vasanthakokilam, who was often compared to M. S. Subbulakshmi as a singer, played the role of Haridas' wife.[11][10] The film also marked the debut of renowned Tamil actress Pandari Bai.[10][12] The comedic duo of N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram were also cast in this film.[2]

Plot synopsis

Haridas (Thyagaraja Bhagavathar) is a vain individual who spends his life in luxury and lust ignoring his wife(Vasanthakokilam). But when his wealth is appropriated by a courtesan (T. R. Rajakumari), he realizes life's realities, reforms and spends the rest of his days serving his parents and God.

Cast and crew

Upper :T. R. Rajakumari and M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
Lower :N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram

Soundtrack

All songs in this film became hits. The song "Manmadha leelayai vendrar undo" celebrating erotic love has become an enduring hit and the phrase has entered every day Tamil usage. Papanasam Sivan was the composer for this film and G. Ramanathan was in charge of the orchestration. A partial list of songs from this film:

M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and T. R. Rajakumari in Manmadhan Leelayil song

Reception

Haridas hit the theatres on Deepavali day (16 October) 1944. It was a huge success and ran for 110 consecutive weeks till Deepavali day (22 November) 1946 at the Sun Theatres in Broadway, Madras.[10][6] Including different theatres it had an uninterrupted theatrical run of 133 weeks.[13] With the profits earned from the film, the producers established a knitting company in Madurai.[6] Bhagavathar became Tamil cinema industry's highest paid star and was offered a salary of INR1 lakh per film.[10][6] Following the success of Haridas, Bhagavathar was immediately booked for as many as twelve films.[6] However, he was not able to enjoy his success as he was arrested in November 1944 as a suspect in the Lakshmikanthan Murder Case.[10][2] IBN Live included the film in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time.[7]

See also

Lakshmikanthan Murder Case

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dhananjayan 2014, p. 56.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Blast From the Past - Haridas 1944, The Hindu 11 July 2008
  3. ↑ Yves Thoraval 2011, p. 38.
  4. ↑ S. Theodore Baskaran 1996, p. 46.
  5. ↑ Film News Anandan & year 2004, p. 33.2.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Filmography of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Page 1". Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time". IBN Live. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  8. ↑ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema. British Film Institute. p. 57. ISBN 0-85170-455-7. ISBN 978-0-85170-455-5.
  9. ↑ Film News Anandan 2004, p. 28.35.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Dhananjayan 2014, p. 57.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Randor Guy. "From Silents to Sivaji Ganesan - A Lookback". Archived from the original on 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  12. ↑ Guy, Randor (14 February 2003). "Actress who glowed with inner beauty". The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  13. ↑ 2011, p. 38.

External links

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Bibliography