Bama Vijayam

Bama Vijayam
Theatrical release poster
Directed by K. Balachander
Produced by M. S. Kasi
Written by K. Balachander
Starring Sowcar Janaki
Rajasree
Kanchana
Jayanthi
Sachu
R. Muthuraman
Nagesh
Major Sundarrajan
Sreekanth
T. S. Balaiah
Music by M. S. Viswanathan
Cinematography P. N. Sundaram
Edited by N. R. Kittu
Production
company
Manohar Pictures
Release date
 24 February 1967[1]
Running time
 179 minutes[2]
Country India
Language Tamil

Bama Vijayam (lit. Bama's Visit) is a 1967 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by K. Balachander. The film features an ensemble cast including Sowcar Janaki, Rajasree, Kanchana, Jayanthi, Sachu, R. Muthuraman, Nagesh, Major Sundarrajan, Srikanth and T. S. Balaiah. It was simultaneously filmed in Telugu as Bhale Kodallu with a slightly different cast. Bama Vijayam was later remade in Hindi as Teen Bahuraniyan in 1968.

Plot

A middle-class joint family is living happily run by the responsible father Ethiraj, a retired headmaster. He has three sons – Maheshwaran, Raman, and Krishnan. Maheswaran is a Hindi professor; he and his wife Parvathi have 5 children. Raman, a high-court clerk has two children with wife Sita. Krishnan, a medical representative is married to Rukmini. Sumathi, the younger sister of Sita also stays in the same house, as she is pursuing higher studies in the same city. Though it is a joint family, the father has set up his three sons in three different portions in the same house, and takes turns to eat in each of his son's house, to avoid any possibility of problems between them. The sons give their salaries to their father, and all the financial matters are dealt by him efficiently. He is respected and feared by everyone in the family. Wrong-doers in the household are made to stand on a bench by him as punishment.

Meanwhile, a popular film actress Bama moves into the bungalow next to their house. The three daughters-in-law and the sons meet her while they are all in the terrace, and try to make friends with her. Bama is very polite, and accepts their invitation to come to their house on 16th of that month. Now, the three ladies in the house start making fuss about the condition of their house, saying that they do not have enough facilities in their house to show to Bama that there are well-off. The husbands try to convince them but they force their husbands to agree to whatever they ask. Eventually the men give in and start buying things for their own houses. They paint the house, get stuff like radio, fan, sofa, for their own portions.

The father tries in vain to make everyone understand that they should live for themselves within their means. They get all the things for the house – a few for rent, a few for instalment, and also borrow money with a high interest rate. They even go to the extent of hiring a male servant to stay in the house. The ladies start arguing whose portion should Bama visit first when she comes to their house. Finally, Parvathi makes the other two ladies agree by showing a diamond necklace that she borrowed from her friend. They decide to pass the necklace through the windows so that Bama would think that everyone has diamond necklaces.

On the day of Bama's visit, Parvathi decides to lock three of her five children inside a room, so that Bama wouldn't know that she is old enough to have 5 kids. Sita sees this, and she decides to hide her spectacles, so that Bama wouldn't guess her age too. When Bama arrives, she goes to Sita's portion first. Sita has to go and get the diamond necklace from Parvathi. Meanwhile, Raman tells Bama about his and his brothers' jobs. When Sita comes, she lies to Bama that Raman is an advocate in high court, to which both Bama and Raman look surprised. Bama asks Sita what the time is, but Sita can't see the time in her wrist watch without the spectacles. Parvathi sees this and laughs.

Later when Bama goes to Parvathi's portion, Parvathi lies that her husband is college principal. When she tells that she has only two children, Sita lets the other three kids out of the locked room. Bama thinks that the kids are orphans, and Parvathi, who does not know English, agrees that the kids are orphans. Sita makes fun of this. Finally, when Bama arrives at Krishnan's part of the house, she gets a spectacular welcome with red carpet, flowers and her favourite drinks. They even take a few snaps with her.

The ladies are amazed by Bama's simplicity like glass bangles, her politeness. Even then they do not take a cue, and try to show off too much in front of her. Soon, they get close to Bama and keep meeting her for picnics in her shooting spots, etc., neglecting their family. Krishnan gets an instalment car for the ladies to roam, Raman gets telephone connection through' his office citing his father's "illness", which the ladies use to talk to Bama every day.

After a few months of this, and financial problems, a bombshell appears in the form of an anonymous letter stating that one of the three husbands is having an affair with Bama, and this upsets their wives. Each hopes and wishes that her husband is not the culprit, but to each the evidence seems to point to him only.

After a series of humorous incidents, the false news of Maheshwaran having illegal contact with Bama is published in a newspaper, thus leading to more trouble. However, after some time, the publisher apologises for it and decides to publish an apology and denying the rumour and it all ends well for everyone.

Cast

Female cast
Male cast

Production

In 1965, when K. Balachander was "just getting his bearings in the film industry", his household was excited because Sowcar Janaki, a star, was due to visit their house. This incident laid the foundation for Bama Vijayam,[3] which was written and directed by Balachander, and produced by M. S. Kasi under Manohar Pictures.[1] It was simultaneously filmed in Telugu as Bhale Kodallu, with a slightly different cast.[2]

Themes

Bama Vijayam, a satire,[2] focuses on how "false prestige, pretence and living beyond one’s means" can destroy a household.[3]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by M. S. Viswanathan, with lyrics by Kannadasan.[4] The song "Varavu Ettanna Salavu Pathanna" (lit. Earn Eight Annas and Spend Ten) attained popularity.[2][5] The Times of India said it "makes you laugh just as much as it makes you think!"[6]

TrackSongSingerDuration
1Ninaithaal SirippuvarumP. Susheela3:21
2Aani MuthuP. Susheela, Sulamangalam Rajalakshmi, L. R. Eswari3:03
3Kuru Kuru NagaiennaL. R.Eswari, T.M. Soundararajan3:01
4Aadai Mariya PaniL.R. Eswari, P. Susheela2:56
5Varavu Ettanna Salavu PathannaT.M. Soundararajan, L. R. Eswari, P. Susheela5:35

Adaptations

Bama Vijayam was remade in Hindi as Teen Bahuraniyan in 1968, with Sowcar Janaki, Kanchana and Jayanthi reprising their roles.[7][8] The film was unofficially remade in Kannada as Swalpa Adjust Madkolli (2000).[9] A theatrical adaptation of Bama Vijayam, titled Mastani O Mastani, was staged by Rajan Radhakrishnan in November 2017.[10]

Legacy

In an interview with The Hindu, Crazy Mohan said that "no attempt at comedy could ever match Bama Vijayam".[11] Film historian Mohan Raman wrote that Balaiah "[excelled] as the concerned head of the family".[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Film News Anandan (2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [Tamil film history and its achievements] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivagami Publishers. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press. p. 391. ISBN 0-19-563579-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 Balachander, Prasanna (21 December 2017). "K Balachander: the man, the movies". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  4. ↑ "Bama Vijayam (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". iTunes. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Venkataramanan, Geetha (16 July 2015). "Which came first: lyric or music?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "ROFL". The Times of India. 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  7. ↑ Ashokamitran (2016). Fourteen Years with Boss. Penguin Books. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-14-342329-4.
  8. ↑ Bali, Karan (9 July 2015). "K Balachander". Upperstall.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Swalpa Adjust Madkolli Movie Review". Chitraloka.com. 8 December 2000. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  10. ↑ Malhotra, Jawahar (10 November 2017). "A Parody of a Party for Priyanka Brings Funds for the Less Fortunate". Indo American News. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "Balachander's convincing portrayal of characters hailed". The Hindu. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Raman, Mohan (23 August 2014). "100 years of laughter". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
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