Pavalakodi (1949 film)

Pavalakodi is a 1949 Indian Tamil-language mythological film produced and directed by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu. The film featured T. R. Mahalingam, T. E. Varadan and T. R. Rajakumari in the lead roles.[3]

Pavalakodi
Song Book cover
Tamil	பவளக்கொடி
Directed by	S. M. Sriramulu Naidu
Produced by	S. Raghavan A. S. Thirumalai
Screenplay by	Elangovan[1]
Story by	Elangovan
Starring	T. R. Mahalingam T. E. Varadan T. R. Rajakumari N. S. Krishnan T. A. Madhuram
Music by	Subbaraman
Cinematography	V. Krishnan
Edited by	S. Surya
Production company	Pakshiraja Studios
Distributed by	Narayana & Co. Ltd
Release date	9 April 1949 (India) [2]
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

It is the story of Arjuna, a Mahabharata character, falling in love with Pavalakodi who is the princess of a coral island called Pavala Theevu. (However, the story is not found anywhere in Mahabharata).

Cast

The list is adapted from the opening credits of the film and the song book.

Male Cast T. R. Mahalingam as Krishnan, Hunter, Servant, Doctor, Girl T. E. Varadan as Arjunan N. S. Krishnan as Raman N. S. Narayana Pillai as Cherambu Raja Durai Pandian as Kottangachi Chinna Sami as Kottangachi’s father Radha Krishnan as Kottangachi’s Brother B. Rajagopala Iyer as Shivan

Female Cast T. R. Rajakumari as Pavalakodi M. S. Sarojini as Alli T. A. Mathuram as Ramanavani Kumari Rajam as Pavalakodi’s Friend, Arjunan (Play) Harini as Rukmani Menaka as Subhadrai T. R. Rajini as Pavalakodi’s Mother Lalitha-Padmini as Female Dancers Kantha as Mankombu

Female Cast (Continued) Baby Lalitha as Pulandiran Nagarathnam as Young Pavalakodi R. Kamalam as Parvathi (Play) R. Padma as Subhadrai (Play) Rita as Draupadi (Play) K. S. Rajam as Alli (Play) K. S. Lakshmi as Ulupi (Play) K. S. Chandra as Chitrangandai (Play)

Support Cast

• Saraswathi, Kanakambujam, Sakku Bai, Bala, Pacha Nayaki, and Govindammal.

Production

The story was a popular stage play with M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar featuring as Arjuna. It was filmed for the first time with the same title Pavalakkodi in 1939 with Bhagavathar and S. D. Subbulakshmi in the lead roles and directed by K. Subramaniam. The film was the debut for all three. Choreography was done by Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai.

This 1949 edition was produced by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu in his own Pakshiraja Studios at Coimbatore.[3]

Soundtrack

Music was composed by Subbaraman and the background music was composed by Subbaraman while the lyrics were penned by Papanasam Sivan, Udumalai Narayana Kavi, Kavi Kunjaram (according to the song book).

The song Annam Vaangaliyo Annam penned by Papanasam Sivan and sung by T. R. Mahalingam became popular.[3]

No.	Song	Singer/s	Lyricist	Duration (m:ss)
1	"Annam Vaangaliyo Annam"	T. R. Mahalingam	Papanasam Sivan	01:45
2	"Anname Un Aasaiyaale"	T. E. Varadan & T. R. Rajakumari		03:15
3	"Arjuna Maharajan"	T. R. Mahalingam		01:17
4	"Konjum Kiliye" (Lalitha-Padmini dance)	S. S. Mani		04:49
5	"Saravanabava Enum Thirumanthiram"	M. S. Sarojini		03:40
6	"Kandeepan Maithunaa"	M. L. Vasanthakumari		03:09
7	"Naane Vendinen"			02:48
8	"Ini Nammodellaam"	M. L. Vasanthakumari and group		02:42

Reception

In spite of the star cast, good music and comedy, the film did not fare well at the box office. Film historian Randor Guy wrote in 2008 that the film is remembered for "T. R. Mahalingam's performance, good music and the Krishnan-Mathuram comedy."[3]

References

1. Ashish Rajadhyaksha & Paul Willemen. Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1998. p. 94.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
2. Film News Anandan (23 October 2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [History of Landmark Tamil Films] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivakami Publishers. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017.
3. Guy, Randor (7 November 2008). "Pavalakodi 1949". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.

External links

Annam Vaangaliyo on YouTube - (all 5 songs listed above are available in YouTube)