Mangayarkarasi 1949
P. U. Chinnappa, P. Kannamba, Anjali Devi, N. S. Krishnan, T. A. Mathuram, ‘Kaka’ Radhakrishnan and Lalitha-Padmini (Dance)
A familiar folk tale in Telugu and Tamil, it was first produced as a Telugu film Gollabhama in 1947. Anjali Devi who made her debut as a heavenly seductress set the screens all over Andhra on fire and was catapulted to stardom overnight.
She plays the same role in the Tamil version Mangayarkarasi, taking away the Crown Prince (Chinnappa) to her heavenly abode. His wife (Kannamba) is shocked to find him missing on the wedding night. Thanks to an ‘angel’, she is transported to her husband’s place and the couple spend the night together. Back on earth, she finds herself pregnant. The old king and others accuse her of adultery with the court poet (Kambadasan). Abandoned, she delivers a son who is brought up by tribals and later rescued by the old king. Under strange circumstances, the son seeks to have a relationship with the mother unaware of her identity. Soon she is accused of being a prostitute by the king and the young prince. However, all ends well when the angel brings back the Crown Prince and explains it all.
The story is known in Tamil as “Thaayai Pendaala Vanthavan Kathai”. The film, produced by noted art director-filmmaker F. Nagoor and directed by leading cameraman-filmmaker Jiten Bannerjee, is unique in many aspects. Top singing star of his day Chinnappa plays the triple role of the elderly king, the son and the grandson excellently, modulating his voice — the first of its kind in Tamil cinema. Tall and stately, Kannamba as the wronged woman scores high with her performance and brilliant delivery of dialogue in Tamil though she didn’t know Tamil so well at that time.
A novel directorial touch much appreciated during that time is when the couple are shown in bed together, a black curtain suddenly descends, completely covering the film-frame. (What a far cry from such sequences of today!)
The N. S. Krishnan-T. A. Mathuram comedy sequences witness Krishnan play a double role as father and son. The kid NSK’s role was played by one young Radhakrishnan who literally catches a crow and came to be known for the rest of his life as ‘Kaka’ Radhakrishnan!
The film has melodious music by G. Ramanathan, Kunnakudi Venkatarama Iyer and C. R. Subbaraman. Many songs (lyrics: Kambadasan), set to tune in Carnatic ragas and rendered by Chinnappa, became popular, especially ‘Kaathal Kanirasamey…’ (raga Chittharanjani, using the same metre, melody and tune of the well-known composition ‘Naatha thanumanisum Sankaram…’ made famous by Carnatic music icon Madurai Mani Iyer.)
The dialogue penned by “Suratha” and mouthed by Chinnappa and Kannamba created much impact during the day. Mangayarkarasi fared well at the box-office and is one of the fistful of films featuring Chinnappa and Kannamba in the lead.
Remembered for: Triple role played by Chinnappa, double role by NSK, pleasing music and Kannamba’s performance.
RANDOR GUY.
Courtesy: Randor guy, Blast from the past, the hindu.
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