School Master (1958 film)

School Master ಸ್ಕೂಲ್ ಮಾಸ್ಟರ್ எங்கள் குடும்பம் பெரிசு
Poster
Directed by	B. R. Panthulu
Produced by	B. R. Panthulu
Written by	Kusumagraj
Based on	Vaishnavi by Kusumagraj
Starring	Dikki Madhava Rao Udaykumar Sivaji Ganesan Gemini Ganesan B. Saroja Devi
Music by	T. G. Lingappa
Cinematography	W. R. Subba Rao Karnan
Edited by	R. Devarajan
Distributed by	Padmini Pictures
Release date	31 January 1958
Running time	164 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

School Master (Kannada: ಸ್ಕೂಲ್ ಮಾಸ್ಟರ್) is a 1958 Indian Kannada language film, which was simultaneously dubbed in Tamil language as Engal Kudumbam Perisu. It was later remade into various other languages including Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. This is a classic film starring Dikki Madhava Rao, Udaykumar, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and B. Saroja Devi. It was the first Kannada film to complete the Silver Jubilee Celebration. This film had its children's dance drama in gorgeous Gevacolor, taken by cinematographer by W. R. Subba Rao.

B. R. Panthulu came up with film versions of this story in various languages. In 1958 School Master (Kannada) and Engal Kudumbam Perisu (Tamil) were directed by him, dubbed into Telugu as Badi Pantulu. In 1959 ALS Productions remade the story in Hindi as School Master, again directed by Panthulu.

The Malayalam version School Master was released on 3 April 1964, directed by Puttanna Kanagal and starring Prem Nazir, K. Balaji, Thikkurissi Sukumaran Nair, Sivaji Ganeshan, Ragini, Ambika, Sowcar Janaki, Aranmula Ponnamma, and Bahadur. The lyrics were by Vayalar Ramavarma, music by G. Devarajan and dialogues by Ponkunnam Varki. The film was a super hit.

In 1972 the movie was remade in Telugu as Badi Pantulu, starring NTR. In 1973 the same story was again filmed in Tamil with the same name, School Master, starring Gemini Ganesan.

The concept of the movie is based on Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), which had already been adapted in Japanese in 1953 as Tokyo Story; in Marathi in 1954 as Oon Paus, directed by Raja Paranjpe, in Tamil as Varavu Nalla Uravu, in Telugu as Dabbu Bhale Jabbu and in Hindi twice as Zindagi and Baghban.

Plot

The story revolves mostly around the producer/director B. R. Panthulu who plays the role of school master, and his wife. Uncommonly for Balkrishna, he plays a positive role in the film. Bustling actor Narasimharaju is also present.

A humble school teacher with his two sons and a daughter arrives at a new place. He finds that the school building is in bad shape and his staff are not motivated to teach. He is a strict disciplinarian, which is shown in a humorous way.

His elder son gets into fight with a ruffian student, Vaasu. Vaasu is punished, but his innate goodness wins over his teacher. He is given special care, to become a good student.

The teacher has to fight against village politics, when he wishes to build a new building to the school. Undeterred, he motivates his students and villages to amass enough funds to build it.

However, henchmen in the village burn down his house. His pet student Vaasu gathers all his friends and builds a small house for his teacher.

Years pass and Vaasu tops his matriculation exams.

The teacher's sons get married, much against the wishes of their parents, but the teacher takes it in his stride. Their beautiful daughter is married to a simpleton business man.

When the teacher retires, his sons are averse to take their parents. With no savings of his own, the teacher has to rely on his sons to lead a retired life. The elder son takes his father, while the younger one takes his mother. The teacher is thus separated from his wife.

Things take such a bad turn, that teacher cannot even read his wife's letter, because his sons will not provide him with spectacles.

In the climax, the teacher's erstwhile house, which was painfully constructed by his students, has to be auctioned off. Vaasu (Sivaji Ganeshan), now the Superintendent of Police, happens to pass by in the car and notices the auction. Distraught with pain, he confides to his wife, this is the very house, he built with his fellow students for the teacher, who led him to the garden path. He is overcome by emotions, on seeing the auction. Vaasu's wife immediately removes all her jewellery and urges Vaasu to use them to stop the auction and pay the bank. Vaasu is filled with joy and does so.

The teacher is filled with happiness on seeing his once ruffian student becoming a role model. His journey of being a teacher has met a satisfactory end.

The film has some sentimental and emotional moments, as well as humorous moments. It also has some village politics at the start, which continues to influence the school master character throughout the film.^[1]

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by T. G. Lingappa.

Awards

National Film Awards^[2]

• 1959 – All India Certificate of Merit for Third Best Feature film
• 1959 – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada

Trivia

This film is one of the earliest Kannada films to contain a sequence in color. B. R. Panthulu had always included color portions, mainly Gevacolor portions in his early career as a director.

A few scenes in the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Baghban are taken from this movie, such as parents being separated by their sons, and a father unable to read his wife's letter, due to his spectacles being broken.

References

External links

• School Master on Chiloka
• School Master on IMDb