Kappalottiya Thamizhan (1961)

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Kappalottiya Thamizhan

The pioneer of Indian inland navigation, again a fighter for social equality and a freedom fighter of prominence, V.O Chidambaram was a man who gave up everything for the causes that he believed in, independence and equality. The Swadeshi Steam Company still has its place firmly in the history of Tamil Nadu, so do the sufferings of Chidambaram in prison which earned him the title ‘Chekkiluththa Chemmai’. The legend was fittingly played by Sivaji Ganesan on screen to great effect. Sivaji on the movie: Eighteen of his films have been named Best Film at the national level. On three occasions, he was named Filmfare Best Actor. Yet he never won a national award for acting. The closest he got to that elusive honour was in 1992, when he was given the Special Jury Award for his performance in Thevar Magan(kshatriya putrudu), co-starring Kamal Hassan. That was his 280th movie. When asked about his favorite film in his films, his answer was ``Kappalottiya Thamizhan''. ``Enacting a doctor, an engineer and others are not very difficult. But to portray a person, a revered freedom fighter, whom people had met, seen and moved with, is a different proposition. So when the late Panthulu asked me to enact the role, I first hesitated. Then I decided to meet the challenge. I got all the material on V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and studied it. ``On seeing the film, I cried, not because my performance was moving but because it hit me with new impact - the sacrifice VOC and others had made for the country. When VOC's son Subramaniam said that he saw his father come alive on the screen, I considered it the highest award.'' Punctuality was his hallmark. He would be there on the spot, at least 15 minutes earlier, with full make-up. He would not leave the set until the director said `Break'. That brings us to his ability to memorise dialogue. He memorised the script of the play, ``Vietnam Veedu'', during the break of a film shooting. A.V.M. Saravanan, talking to this correspondent, marvelled at the way the veteran memorised the dialogue as someone read it out to him. On stage, the next day, Panchapakesa Iyer was delivering the lines complete with a perfect Brahmin accent Name : Kappalottiya Thamizhan Release Date : 01-Jan-1961 Parent Category : Drama Format : 35MM Language : Tamil Original Language : Tamil Rating : U Description : Kappalotiya Thamizhan movie is about who founded the Swadeshi Stream Navigation Company to break the monopoly of the British over maritime trade out of India. Cast Back to Top Sivaji GanesanAs Va. Vu. Chidambaram Pillai - Hero Producer (6) S.D. SundaramDialogue Writer Gemini GanesanAs Vanchinathan - Supporting Actor G.RamanathanMusic Director B.R. PanthuluDirector (1) SavitriSupporting Actress T.K. ShanmugamAs Subramaniya Siva - Supporting Actor Chitra Krishna Sami Screen Play Writer RukminiAs Chidambaram Pillai's Wife - Heroine S.V. Subbaiah BagavatharAs Bharati - Supporting Actor Songs Back to Top play all songs Parukulle by Sirkazhi Dr. S. Govindarajan Lyricist BharathiyarRate This Song Vandea Madaramby Sirkazhi Dr. S. Govindarajan Lyricist BharathiyarRate This Song Endru Thaneyumby Loganathan Lyricist BharathiyarRate This Song Cennakulanthaihall Rate This Song Vellipani by Sirkazhi Dr. S. Govindarajan and Loganathan Lyricist BharathiyarRate This Song