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Uyarndha Manithan

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This article is about the 1968 film. For the upcoming film, see Uyarntha Manithan (upcoming film).

Uyarndha Manithan
Uyarndha Manithan poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKrishnan–Panju
Screenplay byJavar Seetharaman
Based onUttar Purush
by Chitrakar
Produced byA. V. Meiyappan
M. Saravanan
M. Kumaran
M. Murugan
StarringSivaji Ganesan
Sowcar Janaki
CinematographyP. N. Sundaram
Edited byS. Panjabi
O. Narasimhan
Music byM. S. Viswanathan
Production
company
AVM Productions
Release date
  • 29 November 1968 (1968-11-29)
Running time
168 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Uyarndha Manithan (transl. The Noble Man) is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language drama film written by Javar Seetharaman and directed by Krishnan–Panju. The film was produced by A. V. Meiyappan, M. Saravanan, M. Kumaran and M. Murugan under AVM Productions. It stars Sivaji Ganesan and Sowcar Janaki, while S. A. Ashokan, Major Sundarrajan, Vanisri and Sivakumar play pivotal roles. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by M. S. Viswanathan, while the lyrics for the songs were written by Vaali.

The film was Sivaji Ganesan's 125th as an actor. It was a remake of the 1966 Bengali film Uttar Purush. The plot revolves around a wealthy industrialist's son who secretly marries the daughter of his family estate's accountant, only for his father to discover it and burn down the estate along with his son's pregnant wife, who is inside. The remainder of the film reveals the truth behind how she and her progeny survive.

Released on 29 November 1968, Uyarndha Manithan went on to become a commercial success, with a theatrical run of over 125 days. The film won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer at the 16th National Film Awards for P. Susheela for the song "Paal Polave", making her the inaugural recipient of that category. It also won four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including Best Film (First prize) and Best Director for Krishnan–Panju.

Plot[]

Rajalingam alias Raju is the son of a wealthy Madurai-based industrialist, Sankaralingam. Living with Raju is his driver and friend, Sundaram. While vacationing in his family estate at Kodaikanal with Sundaram and his family doctor, Gopal, Raju meets a woman named Parvathi and falls in love with her. Gopal too becomes smitten with Parvathi when he meets her whilst conducting her father's medical treatment. Parvathi, who knows Raju through her father, as he is also an accountant of Raju's family estate, reciprocates Raju's feelings. Gopal decides not to reveal his love for Parvathi to Raju for Raju's sake. Raju and Parvathi marry in secret with the help of Gopal and the consent of Parvathi's father. The couple lives together in Kodaikanal without disclosing the knowledge of their marriage to Raju's father, Sankaralingam.

Three months later, Parvathi becomes pregnant. Sankaralingam, fearing for his son's safety, arrives at Kodaikanal and becomes furious upon finding out Raju's marriage to Parvathi. He orders his henchmen to set the estate on fire with Parvathi and her father inside. Raju and Gopal rush to save Parvathi, but they are stopped by Sankaralingam's henchmen and are forcefully taken back to Madurai, leaving Parvathi and her father for dead. A few months after returning to Madurai, Raju is forced to marry his cousin Vimala. After the marriage, Sankaralingam hands over his business affairs to Raju and dies. Nineteen years pass. Despite having the mutual affection for each other, Raju and Vimala remain childless and Raju is unable to forget Parvathi.

Sathyamurthy, a nineteen-year-old who lives with his uncle Murugan, is unable to retain any job due to his honest nature. He becomes acquainted with Gopal, with whose recommendation he becomes Raju's personal house servant. When Sathyamurthy displays his mother's photograph at his house to pray for her, it is revealed that Sathyamurthy is the son of Raju and Parvathi. Parvathi had survived the accident, was cared for by Murugan and died a few years after giving birth to Sathyamurthy without divulging the identity of Raju to Sathyamurthy and Murugan. Sathyamurthy improves his reading and writing skills with the help of Sundaram's daughter, Gowri and the two fall in love. When Raju learns of their love, he approves of their marriage. Gopal comes to know that Sathyamurthy is Raju's son, but dies of a sudden heart attack before revealing it.

Jealous of Sathya Murthy's influence on Raju, Rathnam and his wife hide Vimala's diamond necklace in Sathyamurthy's suitcase in an effort to get rid of him. Vimala, upset at losing her necklace, searches the house for it. When Raju, Sundaram, Gowri, and Sathyamurthy return after attending a conference in Kodaikanal, Vimala, acting on Rathnam's provocation, orders that Sathyamurthy's suitcase is searched. When the necklace is found in it, Raju throws Sathyamurthy out of his house, despite Sathyamurthy proclaiming his innocence. Gowri then shows Parvathi's photograph to Raju, who is shocked to learn that Sathyamurthy is his own son. Raju reveals the truth about Parvathi to Vimala, who also accepts Sathyamurthy as her son. Before Raju and Vimala rush to bring Sathyamurthy back, Raju learns of a fire breaking out in one of his mills. Sathyamurthy, unhappy of being wrongly accused by Raju, attempts suicide by entering the burning mill. Raju saves Sathyamurthy in time and reveals the truth about his birth to him. The family is united and Sathyamurthy marries Gowri.

Cast[]

Adapted from the opening credits:[2]

Production[]

Development[]

The song "Paal Polave" was shot on a specially erected set at AVM Studios in Chennai that resembled Kodaikanal's misty ambience.

V. A. P. Iyer, a Kolkata-based friend of AVM Productions founder A. V. Meiyappan, told Meiyappan that a Bengali film named Uttar Purush (1966) was running well. After watching the film, Meiyappan was impressed and decided to remake it into what would become Uyarndha Manithan. Javar Seetharaman was hired as screenwriter, and made a few alterations to the screenplay, while the duo Krishnan–Panju (R. Krishnan and S. Panju) were signed to direct.[3] P. N. Sundaram was hired as the cinematographer,[4] and Panju edited the film under the pseudonym "Panjabi".[5]

Casting[]

When the script was ready, Meiyappan's sons and the film's co-producers M. Saravanan, M. Kumaran and M. Murugan narrated it to Sivaji Ganesan at his residence, Annai Illam.[3] Ganesan initially refused to play the main character, Raju, as he felt the supporting character Gopal had more impact than Raju, and offered to act as Gopal. However, on Saravanan's insistence, Ganesan played the role of Raju.[6] Uyarndha Manithan thus became the 125th film to star Ganesan,[7] and his first with AVM since Pachhai Vilakku (1964).[8] The role of Gopal went to S. A. Ashokan and Ganesan assisted him for acting in the scene where Gopal dies of a heart attack.[6] S. V. Ramadas was cast as Raju's father Sankaralingam,[9][10] Major Sundarrajan as Raju's friend Sundaram,[11] Vanisri as Raju's first wife Parvathi, Sowcar Janaki as Raju's cousin and second wife Vimala,[12] Sivakumar as Raju's son Sathyamurthy,[12][13] and Bharathi as Sathyamurthy's lover Gowri.[14] This was the debut film for Poornam Vishwanathan, who portrayed Vimala's father.[15]

When M. Saravanan asked about Ganesan's salary to Ganesan's younger brother V. C. Shanmugham, who spoke on Ganesan's behalf, Shanmugham said that Ganesan was willing to accept any amount that AVM Productions could afford to offer. Taking this to be a vague statement as Shanmugham did not state Ganesan's salary properly, Saravanan discovered that Ganesan accepted ₹200,000 (US$26,667 in 1968)[Note 1] for one of A. P. Nagarajan's latest films.[Note 2] Since Thiruvilaiyadal (1965), Nagarajan's films were made in Eastmancolor, and because Uyarndha Manidhan was made in black-and-white and costume designing for the film was less as compared to those of Nagarajan's films, M. Saravanan decided to pay ₹150,000 (US$20,000 in 1968)[Note 1] to Ganesan.[18]

Filming[]

The song "En Kelvikkenna Badhil" was re-shot as Meiyappan was not pleased with the earlier sequence that was shown to him by the production unit.[19] The song "Paal Polave" was initially meant to be shot at Kodaikanal, but due to unfavourable weather conditions, the shoot had to be called off. The film's art director, A. K. Sekhar, constructed a specially erected set at AVM Studios in Chennai that resembled Kodaikanal's misty ambience, and the song was shot here.[20]

It was speculated that a production company bought the remake rights of The Parent Trap (1961) in Hindi and titled it as Vapas.[18][Note 3] AVM Productions had already acquired the rights to the film, which they were making under the title Do Kaliyaan (1968).[Note 4] To avoid a clash with that film, AVM Production stalled the production of Uyarndha Manithan for eight months to focus on Do Kaliyaan.[21] Ganesan, who thought that the project had been shelved, went to inform AVM Productions that he would commence filming with another technical crew. However, AVM Productions convinced him that the shooting was only delayed, and paid him ₹50,000 (US$6,667 in 1968) in advance.[Note 1] After the release of Do Kaliyaan, filming was resumed and completed.[21][Note 5] The final length of the film's prints were 4,591 metres (15,062 ft) long.[23]

Themes[]

In his 2015 book Madras Studios: Narrative, Genre, and Ideology in Tamil Cinema, Swarnavel Eswaran Pillai notes that the title Uyarndha Manithan, meaning "A Honourable Man", epitomises the contradiction within the character of Raju, and in the trajectory of the rebel in Parasakthi (1952), as he finally ends up a "meek/reactionary family man" who had forsaken his own offspring/lineage at a critical juncture.[9]

Music[]

Uyarndha Manithan
Soundtrack album by

M. S. Viswanathan
Released1968
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageTamil

The soundtrack and musical score for Uyarndha Manithan were composed by M. S. Viswanathan, while the lyrics were written by Vaali.[24] Vaali worked on the film alongside Adimai Penn (1969) and felt that working on two films simultaneously was "torrid".[25] Mangalamurthy worked as the accordionist for the song "Paal Polave", also known as "Naalai Intha Velai Paarthu".[26] In the composition and picturisation for the song "Andha Naal Gnaabagam", Viswanathan was inspired by a sequence in My Fair Lady (1964) in which Rex Harrison's character sings with a walking stick in hand on a golf course.[27][19] M. Saravanan, in his book AVM 60 Cinema, described the use of dialogues in "Andha Naal Gnaabagam" as something new to Tamil cinema.[19] The song was parodied by Vikram and Vivek in Dhool (2003),[28] and "Paal Polave" was parodied by Santhanam in Yuvan Yuvathi (2011).[29]

The soundtrack was received positively by critics, with "Andha Naal Gnaabagam" and "Paal Polave" attaining popularity.[30][20] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu praised the bossa nova portions in the song "Velli Kinnamthan".[31] News Today described "Andha Naal Gnaabagam" as "testament to the capabilities of two legends – TM. Soundarajan and Sivaji Ganesan", adding that the "transition from Sivaji panting and TMS taking over is seamless".[32]

All lyrics are written by Vaali.

Track list[33]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Aththaanin Muththangal"P. Susheela03:43
2."Andha Naal Gnaabagam"T. M. Soundararajan05:47
3."En Kelvikkenna Badhil"T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela03:45
4."Velli Kinnamthan"T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela03:39
5."Paal Polave (Naalai Intha Velai Paarthu)"P. Susheela04:50
6."Aththai Magal"P. Susheela03:38
Total length:25:24

Release and reception[]

Uyarndha Manithan was released on 29 November 1968.[34][35] An event was organised in Chennai to celebrate its release, and it was attended by Yashwantrao Chavan, then the Home Minister of India.[36] The film became a commercial success, completing a theatrical run of 125 days. The 125th day commemorative celebrations were held in the presence of C. N. Annadurai, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. This was also the last function which Annadurai attended before his death.[37][38]

Critical reception[]

On 7 December 1968, the critic from The Indian Express lauded the performances of the cast members, particularly Ganesan, Janaki, Ashokan, Vanisri and Sundararajan along with Ramaswamy's comedy and Sundaram's cinematography, but criticised the "predictable" climax, editing and musical score, adding, "But directors Krishnan and Panju see to it that the picture does not fall apart. There lies their moderate success."[39] On Ganesan's performance, the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan, wrote in a review dated 15 December 1968 that Ganesan proved that he could show both hate at the same time, and no more than words of 'natural acting' were enough for him.[40]

Awards[]

The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer was introduced in 1968, and Susheela won the award for her rendition of "Paal Polave".[41][42] It was also Ganesan's first film to win a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.[43]

Award Ceremony Category Nominee(s) Outcome Ref.
National Film Awards 16th National Film Awards Best Female Playback Singer P. Susheela Won [44]
[45]
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards 2nd Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Best Film (First prize) A. V. Meiyappan Won
Best Director Krishnan–Panju Won
Best Female Playback Singer P. Susheela Won
Best Cinematographer P. N. Sundaram Won

Legacy[]

My first national award came for the song ”Naalai intha velai parthu’ ["Paal Polave"] (from 1969’s [Uyarndha] Manithan), which Vaali wrote. How can I ever forget that? I will never forget him.

 – Susheela attributing her success for the song "Paal Polave" to Vaali.[46]

The song "Andha Naal Gnaabagam" was considered one of the most memorable songs written by Vaali that featured in a Sivaji Ganesan film. Rediff ranked it alongside "Madhavi Pon Mayilaal" from Iru Malargal (1967) and "Potri Paadadi Penne" from Thevar Magan (1992).[30]

Susheela chose "Paal Polave" along with "Unnai Ondru Ketpen"[Note 6] and "Paartha Gnaabagam Illaiyo"[Note 6] as her favourite songs that she had recorded.[42] Singer Swarnalatha, who made her debut with the song "Chinnanchiru Kiliye" from Neethikku Thandanai (1987), was chosen to sing the song by M. S. Viswanathan after he was impressed with her rendition of "Paal Polave", which he had asked her to sing during the song's audition.[47] The song was rendered twice by the contestants of the fourth season of the Star Vijay reality show Airtel Super Singer, and once each by the contestants of the second and third season of its junior version, Super Singer Junior.[48]

Ganesan's biographer T. S. Narayanswami included Uyarndha Manithan in his list of Ganesan's "all-time greats".[49] In March 2009, Sharadha Narayanan of The New Indian Express rated Sundarrajan's performance in the film among his other noted films in which he featured like Vennira Aadai (1965), Major Chandrakanth (1966) and Gnana Oli.[50] In her review of the 2011 film Seedan, Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu said that the premise of the film was "on the lines of Sivaji Ganesan's poignant Uyarndha [Manithan]".[51] Uyarndha Manithan was included with other Sivaji Ganesan-starrers in the compilation DVD 8th Ulaga Adhisayam Sivaji, featuring Ganesan's "iconic performances in the form of scenes, songs and stunts". It was released in May 2012.[52]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c The exchange rate in 1968 was 7.50 Indian rupees (₹) per 1 US dollar (US$).[16]
  2. ^ M. Saravanan does not mention the film's name.[17]
  3. ^ Saravanan does not mention the production company's name.[18]
  4. ^ The Parent Trap was earlier remade in Tamil as Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum (1965). Both Do Kaliyaan and Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum were produced by AVM Productions.[18]
  5. ^ Ganesan completed his portions in Kaaval Dheivam (1969) for five days in between the schedules of Uyarndha Manithan upon M. Saravanan's permission.[22]
  6. ^ a b From Puthiya Paravai (1964).[42]

References[]

  1. ^ Cowie, Peter (1968). World Filmography. Tantivy Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-498-01569-4.
  2. ^ Uyarndha Manithan (motion picture) (in Tamil). AVM Productions. 1968. Opening credits, from 0:00 to 2:08.
  3. ^ a b Saravanan 2013, p. 212.
  4. ^ "P N Sundaram passes away". The Times of India. 23 March 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  5. ^ Guy, Randor (1 March 2015). "Remembering Panju". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b Saravanan 2013, p. 213.
  7. ^ Ganesan & Narayana Swamy 2007, p. 174.
  8. ^ Saravanan 2013, p. 418.
  9. ^ a b Pillai 2015, p. 272.
  10. ^ "செலுலாய்ட் சோழன் சிவாஜி தொடர் 125 – சுதாங்கன்". Dinamalar (in Tamil). Nellai. 7 May 2016. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  11. ^ Ramji, V. (5 August 2018). "நண்பன் கதை... சினிமாவில் தனி மவுசு!". Kamadenu. The Hindu Tamil. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  12. ^ a b Pillai 2015, p. 271.
  13. ^ "Happy Birthday Sivakumar: 5 best performances of the Uyarntha Manithan of Tamil cinema: Uyarntha Manithan (1968)". India Today. 27 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  14. ^ "காவல்காரன் படத்தில் எம்.ஜி.ஆருக்கு தம்பியாக நடித்த சிவகுமார்". Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 23 April 2016. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  15. ^ Umashankar, Sudha (17 October 1987). "Poornam: 'acting is a commitment'". The Indian Express. p. 19.
  16. ^ Werner Antweiler (2015). "Foreign Currency Units per 1 U.S. Dollar, 1948–2014" (PDF). PACIFIC Exchange Rate Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  17. ^ Saravanan 2013, p. 216.
  18. ^ a b c d Saravanan 2013, p. 217.
  19. ^ a b c Saravanan 2013, p. 219.
  20. ^ a b Gopalakrishnan, P. V. (4 April 2017). "Filmy Ripples: Moonlit Movies (Part 2)". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  21. ^ a b Saravanan 2013, pp. 217–218.
  22. ^ Saravanan 2013, pp. 221–222.
  23. ^ "'UYARNTHA MANITHAN' (Celluloid)". Central Board of Film Certification. 25 November 1968. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Alt URL
  24. ^ "Uyarndha Manithan Tracklist". Saregama. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  25. ^ Venugopal, K. V. (22 July 2017). "Vaali, an Astute Lyricist Who Excelled in Adversity". The Wire. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  26. ^ Gopalakrishnan, P. V. (26 June 2017). "Filmy Ripples – Accordion in Film Music". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  27. ^ "தயாரிப்பாளர் ஏ.வி.எம்.குமரன் பேட்டி". Dinamalar (in Tamil). 1 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  28. ^ Dharani (director) (2003). Dhool (motion picture). India: Sri Suriya Movies.
  29. ^ G. N. R. Kumaravelan (director) (2011). Yuvan Yuvathi (motion picture). India: Reliance Entertainment. Event occurs at 1:38:58.
  30. ^ a b Sathiya Moorthy, N. (22 July 2013). "Remembering Vaali". Rediff. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  31. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (11 December 2009). "When MSV fans came together..." The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  32. ^ "Nanbenda... A tribute to friendship around the world" (PDF). News Today. 1 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016. Alt URL
  33. ^ "Uyarndha Manithan Tracklist". YouTube. Saregama. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  34. ^ Saravanan 2013, p. 211.
  35. ^ Pillai 2015, p. 289.
  36. ^ Baskaran, S. Theodore (2015) [2008]. Sivaji Ganesan: Profile of an Icon. Wisdom Tree. p. 63. ISBN 9788183281096.
  37. ^ Saravanan 2013, pp. 219–220.
  38. ^ Ganesan & Narayana Swamy 2007, pp. 174–175.
  39. ^ "High-class histrionics". The Indian Express. 7 December 1968. p. 5.
  40. ^ "சினிமா விமர்சனம்: உயர்ந்த மனிதன்" [Movie Review: Uyarndha Manithan]. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 15 December 1968.
  41. ^ "16th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 13 February 1970. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  42. ^ a b c Balaganessin, M. (15 April 2006). "Voice defying age". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  43. ^ Ganesan & Narayana Swamy 2007, p. 246.
  44. ^ "Awards". psusheela.org. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  45. ^ "State film awards". The Indian Express. 1 March 1970. p. 5.
  46. ^ Dore, Shalini (19 June 2013). "Tamil Songwriter Vaali Dies at 83". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  47. ^ Ashok Kumar, S. R. (8 May 2009). "My first break — Swarnalatha". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  48. ^ Naalai Indha Vaelai Paarthu from Uyarntha Manithan by Pragathi in Super Singer Junior 3 (reality show). India: Vijay TV. 16 June 2012.
    • Super Singer — Soundharya sings Naalai Intha Velai (Reality show). India: Vijay TV. 14 June 2013.
    • Naalai Indha Velai Parthu by SS09 Parvathy (Reality show). India: Vijay TV. 16 December 2013.
    • Airtel Super Singer Junior2, Alka Agith Sings Naalai Indha Velai Paarthu Song (Reality show). India: Vijay TV. 7 February 2014.
  49. ^ Ganesan & Narayana Swamy 2007, p. 147.
  50. ^ Narayanan, Sharadha (26 March 2009). "From theatre to the big screen". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  51. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (26 February 2011). "Seedan: In retro mode". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  52. ^ Iyer, Aruna V. (12 May 2012). "For the love of Sivaji". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2015.

Bibliography[]

External links[]

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