Venugaanam 1941
Unfamiliar tale.
According to Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna had eight wives known as Ashtakanya, but people are familiar with only two of them, Rukmini and Satyabhama. One of his wives was Mitravinda who bore Krishna three sons. This puranic tale of Krishna acquiring Mitravinda as his wife after many adventures is unfamiliar and was brought to the screen in 1941 by the brilliant trio of Tamil Cinema, Murugadasa-Ramnoth-Sekhar.
It was directed by Murugadasa (Muthuswami Iyer) and scripted by K. Ramnoth. Well-known Gemini Studios screenwriter Ki. Ra. (K. Ramachandran, later he became a sanyasi) wrote the dialogue and the lyrics were by the Sri Lankan Tamil poet who was active in Tamil cinema, Kambadasan. Noted composer G. Govindarajulu Naidu scored the music.
Venugaanam had Vasanthakokilam in the lead as Mitravinda. Besides NCV, the film had noted artistes such as K. Sarangapani, V. V. Satagopan, Kulathumani, A. Sakunthala (later Mrs. P. U. Chinnappa), S. M. Subbaiah and M. V. Mani. It was made at the Central Studios, Coimbatore, which played a significant role in the history of Indian Cinema.
Vasanthakokilam sang songs in ragas Manirangu, Hindustani Naattai, Senjurutti, Behag, Kapi and Jonpuri. Murugadasa, the seniormost of the trio, began his life as a journalist in the then popular Madras-based evening daily The Mail for which he reviewed English movies. During that period, there were no film institutes or books on movie technology and one had to depend on film magazines imported from the West and learn by watching movies from abroad. Later he promoted the monthly movie magazine Sound and Shadow and the art director was Appakonam Kula Sekhar who blossomed as one of the finest production designers of South Indian Cinema. The third was a graduate from Trivandrum with interest in photography who joined them to complete the trio. Ramnoth, the most brilliant of the three, made history as a one-man institution of South Indian Cinema. This film was produced by Jewel Pictures which was active for some time. The producers hailed from the family of the well-known Coimbatore-based jewellers P. A. Raju Chettiar and hence the name of the company, Jewel Pictures.
Carnatic musician V. V. Satagopan who enjoyed a brief innings in Tamil Cinema, played Sage Utthavar who helps make Mitra's desires come true. Expectedly, Satagopan too sang. (Many are not aware that Satagopan played Lord Vishnu in the Gemini Studios Telugu film Jeevanmukhthi without speaking a single word!)
Krishna was played by S. M. Subbaiah, a well-known singer-cum-actor of his day.
Remembered for: the music of Vasanthakokilam, and the impressive onscreen presentation with brilliant visuals created by Ramnoth.
Source
http://www.hindu.com/cp/2010/02/12/stories/2010021250471600.htm
| N. C. Vasanthakokilam, V. V. Satagopan, K. Sarangapani, A. Sakunthala, S. M. Subbaiah, Chandra, M. V. Mani and K. N. Kulathumani |
Unfamiliar tale.
According to Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna had eight wives known as Ashtakanya, but people are familiar with only two of them, Rukmini and Satyabhama. One of his wives was Mitravinda who bore Krishna three sons. This puranic tale of Krishna acquiring Mitravinda as his wife after many adventures is unfamiliar and was brought to the screen in 1941 by the brilliant trio of Tamil Cinema, Murugadasa-Ramnoth-Sekhar.
It was directed by Murugadasa (Muthuswami Iyer) and scripted by K. Ramnoth. Well-known Gemini Studios screenwriter Ki. Ra. (K. Ramachandran, later he became a sanyasi) wrote the dialogue and the lyrics were by the Sri Lankan Tamil poet who was active in Tamil cinema, Kambadasan. Noted composer G. Govindarajulu Naidu scored the music.
Venugaanam had Vasanthakokilam in the lead as Mitravinda. Besides NCV, the film had noted artistes such as K. Sarangapani, V. V. Satagopan, Kulathumani, A. Sakunthala (later Mrs. P. U. Chinnappa), S. M. Subbaiah and M. V. Mani. It was made at the Central Studios, Coimbatore, which played a significant role in the history of Indian Cinema.
Vasanthakokilam sang songs in ragas Manirangu, Hindustani Naattai, Senjurutti, Behag, Kapi and Jonpuri. Murugadasa, the seniormost of the trio, began his life as a journalist in the then popular Madras-based evening daily The Mail for which he reviewed English movies. During that period, there were no film institutes or books on movie technology and one had to depend on film magazines imported from the West and learn by watching movies from abroad. Later he promoted the monthly movie magazine Sound and Shadow and the art director was Appakonam Kula Sekhar who blossomed as one of the finest production designers of South Indian Cinema. The third was a graduate from Trivandrum with interest in photography who joined them to complete the trio. Ramnoth, the most brilliant of the three, made history as a one-man institution of South Indian Cinema. This film was produced by Jewel Pictures which was active for some time. The producers hailed from the family of the well-known Coimbatore-based jewellers P. A. Raju Chettiar and hence the name of the company, Jewel Pictures.
Carnatic musician V. V. Satagopan who enjoyed a brief innings in Tamil Cinema, played Sage Utthavar who helps make Mitra's desires come true. Expectedly, Satagopan too sang. (Many are not aware that Satagopan played Lord Vishnu in the Gemini Studios Telugu film Jeevanmukhthi without speaking a single word!)
Krishna was played by S. M. Subbaiah, a well-known singer-cum-actor of his day.
Remembered for: the music of Vasanthakokilam, and the impressive onscreen presentation with brilliant visuals created by Ramnoth.
Source
http://www.hindu.com/cp/2010/02/12/stories/2010021250471600.htm
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