Major Chandrakanth (play)

Major Chandrakanth is a Tamil-language play written by K. Balachander and staged in the 1960s. It was adapted into a Hindi film titled Oonche Log in 1965, a Tamil namesake film in 1966, a Telugu film titled Sukha Dukhalu in 1968, a Malayalam film titled Karthavyam in 1982, and a Kannada film titled Karune Illada Kanoonu in 1983.

Major Chandrakanth
Written byK. Balachander
Date premiered1963
Original languageTamil
GenreDrama

Plot

Chandrakanth, a morally upright blind major, gives asylum to a man who is a fugitive, having committed murder. The murdered man was Rajinikanth, the lover of the fugitive's sister; he had cheated her on promise of marriage, leading her to commit suicide since she was unable to bear the shame. Chandrakanth's elder son Srikanth, a police officer, is tasked with finding the murderer. It is later revealed that Rajinikanth was Chandrakanth's younger son, and that both Chandrakanth and the fugitive were unaware of each other's identity the whole time. Srikanth arrests the fugitive and his father for having given shelter to a criminal.[1]

Cast
  • Major Sundarrajan as Chandrakanth
  • Venky as Srikanth
  • Gokulnath as the fugitive
  • P. R. Govindarajan as Rajinikanth

Production

When working in the Accountant General's office in Madras (now Chennai), K. Balachander wrote and starred as a blind major in a play titled Courage of Conviction. Since the new Accountant General was a Bengali, Balachander decided the play had to be in English so that the General would understand it.[1][2] This was unlike his other plays, which were written in Tamil.[3] He later decided to expand the play into a full-length script for his friend P. R. Govindarajan's troupe Ragini Recreations, this time in Tamil and with the title Major Chandrakanth due to the limited scope for English plays in Madras.[1][4] In the Tamil play, Sundarrajan portrayed Chandrakanth (he would later be known as Major Sundarrajan for this portrayal), Venky portrayed his elder son Srikanth, Gokulnath portrayed the fugitive, and Govindarajan portrayed Rajinikanth.[1]

Reception

The play was first staged in 1963.[5] It received critical acclaim,[6] and was staged over a hundred times.[7]

Adaptations

Major Chandrakanth was adapted into a Hindi film titled Oonche Log in 1965,[8] a Tamil namesake film in 1966,[9] a Telugu film titled Sukha Dukhalu in 1968,[10] a Malayalam film titled Karthavyam in 1982,[11] and a Kannada film titled Karune Illada Kanoonu in 1983.[12]

References
  1. Bhatt, Karthik (13 April 2017). "Major Chandrakanth : From Stage to Celluloid". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  2. Sivakumar, S. (24 June 2011). "Quality recreation". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  3. "KB: The Man, The Philosophy". Brew. 18 October 2013. p. 40.
  4. Guy, Randor (3 May 2011). "The KB school". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  5. Kolappan, B. (23 December 2014). "He took Tamil cinema beyond hero-centric creations". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. "K Balachander gets Dadasaheb Phalke award". Rediff.com. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  7. Mukherjee, Bimal; Kothari, Sunil; Lal, Ananda; Dasgupta, Chidananda (1995). Rasa: Theatre and cinema. Anamika Kala Sangam. p. 196.
  8. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 386.
  9. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 388.
  10. Srinivasan, S. (11 July 2011). "K. Balachander: The Middle-Class Maestro". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  11. Vijayakumar, B. (3 December 2010). "Tamil Movies made in Malayalam". Old is Gold. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  12. "Karune Illada Kanoonu (ಕರುಣೆ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಕಾನೂನು)". Chiloka. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.

Bibliography
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