Kalyana Parisu

Kalyana Parisu
Theatrical release poster
Directed by C. V. Sridhar
Produced by S. Krishnamurthi
T. Govindarajan
C. V. Sridhar
Written by C. V. Sridhar
Starring Gemini Ganesan
B. Saroja Devi
Music by A. M. Rajah
Cinematography A. Vincent
Edited by N. M. Shankar
Production
company
Venus Pictures
Release date
 9 April 1959
Running time
 194 minutes[1]
Country India
Language Tamil

Kalyana Parisu (lit. Wedding Gift) is a 1959 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and B. Saroja Devi in the lead roles while K. A. Thangavelu, C. R. Vijayakumari, M. Saroja, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and M. N. Nambiar play supporting roles. A triangular love story, the film is about Baskar (Ganesan), a young man who rents a house near his girlfriend Vasanthi (Saroja Devi), but Vasanthi's elder sister Geetha (Vijayakumari) is not aware of their romance. She subsequently falls in love with Baskar and wishes to marry him, so her younger sister decides to sacrifice her love, unknown to the former.

Kalyana Parisu was the directorial debut of Sridhar, who co-produced it with his partners S. Krishnamurthi and T. Govindarajan. It also marked the cinematic debut of Chitralaya Gopu, who worked as associate writer, and the debut of A. M. Rajah as a music composer in Tamil. The film was released on 9 April 1959. It was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, running for over 25 weeks in theatres and thereby becoming a silver jubilee film. It also won the Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 7th National Film Awards.

Kalyana Parisu set the pattern for Sridhar's later works in which he repeated the motif of the eternal triangle and unrequited love. Its comedy subplot involving Thangavelu and M. Saroja gained popularity, and was sold separately on audio cassettes and vinyl records. The film was later remade by Sridhar in Telugu as Pelli Kanuka (1960) and in Hindi as Nazrana (1961). A second Telugu remake, Devata, was released in 1982 and a second Hindi remake, Tohfa, in 1984. Both were directed by Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao.

Plot

Baskar and Vasanthi are college-mates. A naughty girl creates misunderstanding between them, and an enraged Vasanthi complains to the college dean, who dismisses Baskar from college. Baskar later manages to get employed at a tea company, and gets to stay with his close friend Sampath. Vasanthi approaches Baskar and apologises for her cruel act. Baskar forgives her, and they both fall in love. Vasanthi lives with her mother and her elder sister Geetha who is unmarried. Baskar rents the vacant portion of their house. Over time, Vasanthi passes her exams and gets employed.

One day when Baskar falls ill, Geetha nurses him and in the process, falls in love with him. She confides her love to Vasanthi who is heartbroken, but decides to sacrifice her love for the sake of her sister. Since Geetha was responsible for raising Vasanthi, she is granted her wish, and Vasanthi convinces Baskar to marry Geetha. After Baskar and Geetha get married, they shift to Coimbatore where Baskar has been transferred. Meanwhile, Vasanthi's manager Raghu falls in love with her and expresses his desire to marry her, but she is unable to respond to his feelings.

Baskar is unable to lead a happy life in Coimbatore as he often thinks about his disappointment in love. He receives a letter from Vasanthi advising him to forget about the past and lead a happy life with Geetha, and he relents. Shortly thereafter, Geetha becomes pregnant and returns to her original home where she delivers a son named Babu. Raghu again meets Vasanthi and proposes to her, but she tells him her past history and expresses her inability to respond to his love. Heartbroken, Raghu leaves her and resigns from his job. Vasanthi's mother dies and Vasanthi joins Geetha at their Coimbatore house. When Geetha falls ill, Vasanthi attends to all the household work. Baskar spends more time with Vasanthi than his own wife, who suspects them of being in a relation, and berates them both. Due to this, Vasanthi leaves them.

Geetha, having realised that Baskar and Vasanthi loved each other, dies in guilt, leaving Baskar alone to bring up Babu, making him promise that he will find Vasanthi and make her the child's mother. He searches for Vasanthi all over the city, to no avail. Meanwhile, Vasanthi meets with an accident, but is saved by a wealthy old man who allows her to stay in his house. The man's son arrives and is revealed to be Raghu, who Vasanthi agrees to marry. Through Sampath, Baskar learns about Vasanthi's impending marriage, and rushes to the marriage hall with Babu. However, by the time they arrive, Vasanthi is already married. Baskar then leaves Babu to her as a wedding gift, and walks away.

Cast

Production

Kalyana Parisu marked the directorial debut of C. V. Sridhar,[6] who was then a partner in the production unit Venus Pictures, where he was an associate of S. Krishnamurthi and T. Govindarajan.[7][8] He also wrote the film's story, and produced it along with Krishnamurthi and Govindarajan under Venus Pictures.[9] Sridhar was already a successful screenwriter since entering the film industry in 1952, according to documentary filmmaker Sanjit Narwekar, because his scripts were well regarded, he was entrusted with directing Kalyana Parisu,[10] although film historian Film News Anandan said the producers did not have much faith in Sridhar's directing skills. He also claimed to have been the only person who Sridhar narrated the climax to.[11] Chitralaya Gopu, a childhood friend of Sridhar, joined as an associate writer for the film, thereby making his cinematic debut.[12] Gopu recalled that Sridhar turned up at his office and said, "Quit this job now and come with me. I will be directing a film soon," and Gopu readily agreed.[13] He was chosen to write the film's comedy subplot.[14] A. Vincent handled the film's cinematography, while N. M. Shankar was the editor.[7]

Sridhar wrote the film's script as a "love triangle" of two sisters in love with the same man and one eventually sacrificing her love for the other.[7] The sisters Geetha and Vasanthi were played by C. R. Vijayakumari and B. Saroja Devi respectively, while Gemini Ganesan played the male lead Baskar.[2] K. A. Thangavelu and M. Saroja were signed for the comedy sequences, playing husband and wife.[7][15] Although Ganesan had contracted typhoid fever, Sridhar felt that only he could do "justice to the role" and had to wait for him to get better before casting him.[16] Akkineni Nageswara Rao was cast as Vasanthi's eventual husband Raghu.[1] Thangavelu's scene with M. Saroja where he lies about his profession to her was filmed in a single take.[15] Sridhar, despite providing the required dialogues, asked Thangavelu to improvise on them so as to make the humour more spontaneous.[17] Gopu has stated that Thangavelu's character was inspired by his school friend Venkatesh, "a compulsive liar."[18] He also described himself as the inspiration behind Mannar and Co, a faux company invented by Thangavelu's character. Gopu said that since he came from an orthodox family, he could not tell his in-laws that he was working in films at that time; he would lie to them that he was working at a shipping firm named "Mannar and Co".[14] The final length of the film was 17,493 feet (5,332 m).[9]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by A. M. Rajah (in his Tamil debut as music composer),[19] while the lyrics were written by Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram.[20][21] The Diwali-themed song "Unnaikkandu Naanada" is set in the carnatic raga known as Bilahari.[22][23] The song "Tea Tea Tea", sung by Sirkazhi Govindarajan, is picturised on Thangavelu's character, a tea seller, and deviated from the divine, philosphical songs Govindarajan was generally known for.[24] While the film has nine songs,[25] a version of the soundtrack released by Odeon Records in 1983 includes only four: "Thullatha Manamum", P. Susheela's version of "Unnaikkandu Naanada" (listed as "Unnaikandu"), "Vaadikkai Maranthathum" and "Mangayar Mugathil" (listed as "Akkalukku Valaikappu").[26] A version released by EMI in 1995 includes all songs except "Tea Tea Tea", and "Mangayar Mugathil" is listed as "Mangayar Mugathil (Akkalukku)".[20]

The soundtrack received positive response. Tamil film historian S. Theodore Baskaran said, "Its songs were stupendous hits. It owed its phenomenal success in large part to its music composed by A.M. Raja, who was at his peak as a playback singer. the filmic convention of singing the same song twice, once in joy and once in sorrow, is followed. in fact, there are two such happy-sad songs."[27] V. Balasubramanian of The Hindu said, "A. M. Rajah's tryst with composing includes super duper hit songs from the films Kalyana Parisu, Aadi Perukku and Then Nilavu."[28] The success of Kalyana Parisu's songs made Susheela a leading female playback singer of Tamil cinema.[29]

Tracklist[25]
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Aasaiyinaale Manam"Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramA. M. Rajah, P. Susheela3:28
2."Unnaikkandu Naanada"Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramP. Susheela3:20
3."Kaathalile Tholviyutraal"Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramP. Susheela1:46
4."Tea Tea Tea"Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramSirkazhi Govindarajan3:11
5."Vaadikkai Maranthathum"Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramA. M. Rajah, P. Susheela4:24
6."Unnaikkandu Naanada" (Pathos)Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramA. M. Rajah4:13
7."Thullatha Manamum"Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramJikki3:57
8."Mangayar Mugathil"Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramP. Susheela, K. Jamuna Rani, Chorus5:05
9."Kathalile Tholviyutraan"Pattukkottai KalyanasundaramP. Susheela3:27

Release and reception

Kalyana Parisu was released on 9 April 1959.[19] When it was released in the Casino theatre in Madras (now Chennai), it was publicised with 100 ft by 30 ft banners of the film's important scenes.[30] Despite facing competition from another Gemini Ganesan film Nalla Theerpu, released on the same day,[31] Kalyana Parisu became very profitable at the box office,[27] running for over 25 weeks in theatres,[9] thereby becoming a silver jubilee film,[32][lower-alpha 1] and one of Sridhar's biggest box-office hits.[34][35] Ganesan visited the theatre Thirumalai Talkies for the film's 75-day celebrations.[36] On the film's 100th day celebrations, Thangavelu and M. Saroja were married at the Murugan Temple in Madurai.[15][37] At the 7th National Film Awards, it won the Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Tamil.[3]

Kalyana Parisu received critical acclaim.[38] On 10 April 1959, The Indian Express said, "The picture has powerful story value [...] Gemini Ganesan, B. Saroja Devi, C. R. Vijayakumari and A. Nageswara Rao have all given sensitive performances."[39] A review in Ananda Vikatan, dated 26 April 1959, lauded the fact that the film had no villain, and everyone had a good heart. The review also wrote that in totality, the film deserved a prize for its story, a prize for its acting and a prize for its dialogues.[40] In contrast, the magazine Film Word, in 1970, called it "an otherwise imperfect and aesthetically crude film".[41] Theodore Baskaran said the comedy subplot did not fit into the main storyline and was not cinematic.[42]

In a 2007 interview with S. R. Ashok Kumar The Hindu, director K. Balachander said, "[Kalyana Parisu], a love story, is the first of its kind. I became director Sridhar's fan after watching it."[43] Film historian Randor Guy stated that the film would be "remembered for the deft direction, interesting storyline, cinematography, music, and, above all, the comedy sequences of Thangavelu and Saroja."[7] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu called the film "A love story with well etched characters", and described the actors' performances as "excellent".[44]

Legacy

Kalyana Parisu created a major impact in Tamil cinema, and was the breakthrough for Saroja Devi and A. M. Rajah.[29][45] With the success of Kalyana Parisu, Sridhar launched his own production company, Chitralaya Pictures.[29] The film also set the pattern for Sridhar's later works in which he repeated the motif of the eternal triangle and unrequited love.[46] The comedy subplot gained popularity, and was sold separately on audio cassettes and vinyl records.[42][47] The term "Mannar and Company" later entered Tamil lexicon, with it meaning a hoax job.[48]

In a scene from Avvai Shanmugi (1996), Viswanatha Iyer (Gemini Ganesan) is shocked to hear that Shanmugi (Kamal Haasan) is married, the song "Kadhalile Tholvi" will be seen as background song for the scene.[49] Malathi Rangarajan in her review of Parthiban Kanavu (2003) mentioned that comedy track performed by Vivek in the film "has touches of the Thangavelu-M. Saroja track in Sridhar's Kalyana Parisu".[50]

Remakes

Following its success, Sridhar remade Kalyana Parisu in Telugu as Pelli Kanuka (1960). Saroja Devi returned as Vasanthi, while Nageswara Rao replaced Ganesan as Baskar.[51][52] Sridhar also directed the Hindi remake Nazrana (1961), which had Ganesan in the role originally played by Nageswara Rao in Tamil.[53] A second Telugu remake, Devata, was released in 1982 and a second Hindi remake, Tohfa, in 1984. Both were directed by Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao.[54][55]

Notes

  1. ↑ A silver jubilee film is one that completes a theatrical run of 25 weeks.[33]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 360.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Kalyana Parisu". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 "7th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  4. ↑ நரசிம்மன், டி.ஏ. (16 March 2018). "சி(ரி)த்ராலயா 09: எழுத்தாய் மாறிய வாழ்க்கை!". The Hindu (Tamil). Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Kalyana Parisu (motion picture) (in Tamil). Venus Pictures. 1959. Actor name mentioned at 1:10; character appears at 2:15:00.
  6. ↑ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 220.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Guy, Randor (6 October 2012). "Kalyana Parisu 1959". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "ஸ்ரீதர் டைரக்ட் செய்த முதல் படம் `கல்யாணப் பரிசு'" [Kalyana Parisu, the first film directed by Sridhar]. Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 20 March 2012. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 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 27 March 2018.
  10. ↑ Narwekar 1994, p. 317.
  11. ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (9 November 2009). "Chronicles of Anandan". South Scope. pp. 112–113.
  12. ↑ Parthasarathy, Anusha (24 November 2010). "Heaven on earth". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (21 July 2016). "The director's fine cut". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  14. 1 2 Ashok Kumar, S. R. (20 November 2005). "`Chithralaya' Gopu, proprietor of Mannar & Co, Oho Productions". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 Rangarajan, Malathi (30 January 2009). "She remembers..." The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  16. ↑ Ganesh, Narayani (2011). Eternal Romantic: My Father, Gemini Ganesan. Lustre Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-81-7436-578-1.
  17. ↑ Raman, Mohan V. (24 September 2016). "King of comedy". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  18. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (10 July 2009). "Looking back with a smile". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  19. 1 2 "முதன் முதலில் கெமரா மூலம் கதை சொல்லும் உத்தியை கையாண்டவர் ஸ்ரீதர்". Thinakaran (in Tamil). 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  20. 1 2 "Kalyana Parisu (1959)". EMI. 1995. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  21. ↑ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 116.
  22. ↑ Venkatraman, Lakshmi (26 November 2004). "Peace and prosperity with ragas". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  23. ↑ Gopalakrishnan, P. V. (25 September 2017). "Filmy Ripples – Movie featured Festivals". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  24. ↑ Gopalakrishnan, P. V. (14 August 2017). "Filmy Ripples – When the vendors lipped a song". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  25. 1 2 "Kalyana Parisu (1959) All Songs Jukebox". YouTube (in Tamil). Saregama. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  26. ↑ Rajah, A. M. (1983). "Kalyana Parisu". Odeon Records. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018.
  27. 1 2 Baskaran 1996, pp. 126–127.
  28. ↑ Balasubramanian, V. (16 June 2006). "In a class of his own". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  29. 1 2 3 Bali, Karan (25 May 2018). "CV Sridhar". Upperstall.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  30. ↑ Rao, Subha J. (1 February 2011). "Memories of Madras – Shades of a bygone era". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  31. ↑ "Nalla Theerpu". The Indian Express. 9 April 1959. p. 10.
  32. ↑ "MGR, man of the masses". The Hindu. 17 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  33. ↑ "Amarjothi Pictures vs Commissioner of Income-Tax, ... on 18 December, 1967". Indian Kanoon. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  34. ↑ "C.V Sridhar, veteran director passes away!". Sify. 20 October 2008. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  35. ↑ "'கல்யாணப் பரிசு' ரிலீஸ் அன்று ஸ்ரீதருக்கு ஏற்பட்ட அதிர்ச்சி!" [The shock that Sridhar had on the day of Kalyana Parisu's release!]. Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 21 March 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  36. ↑ Kabirdoss, Yogesh (15 August 2017). "Once a show-stopper theatre now forgotten". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  37. ↑ Kesavan, N. (26 June 2016). "Comediennes who made Tamil cinema bright". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  38. ↑ "Remembering Gemini Ganesan on his 96th birthday: Five films of Kadhal Mannan you need to watch". India Today. 17 November 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  39. ↑ "Kalyana Parisu". The Indian Express. 10 April 1959. p. 3.
  40. ↑ Sekar; Sundar (26 April 1959). "சினிமா விமர்சனம்: கல்யாண பரிசு" [Movie Review: Kalyana Parisu]. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 28 March 2018.
  41. ↑ Ramachandran, T.M., ed. (1970). Film World. 6. p. 39.
  42. 1 2 Baskaran 1996, p. 127.
  43. ↑ Ashok Kumar, S. R. (13 July 2007). "Filmmakers' favourites". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  44. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (24 October 2008). "Sridhar will live on ..." The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  45. ↑ Paul, Bharati (16–31 October 2014). "The stars in Gandhi Nagar". Madras Musings. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  46. ↑ Baskaran 1996, p. 126.
  47. ↑ "K.A. Thangavelu & Party* – Kalyana Parisu". Discogs. Mockel Records. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  48. ↑ நரசிம்மன், டி.ஏ. (23 March 2018). "சி(ரி)த்ராலயா 10: மாயமானது தங்கவேலுவின் மோதிரம்!". The Hindu (Tamil). Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  49. ↑ Avvai Shanmugi (motion picture) (in Tamil). Sree Mahalakshmi Combines. 1996.
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  51. ↑ Narasimham, M. L. (23 March 2016). "Blast from the Past: Pellikanuka (1960)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  52. ↑ "Saroja Devi in Kalyana Parisu and Pelli Kanuka". The Times of India. 4 April 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  53. ↑ Kohli, Suresh (2 December 2011). "Nazrana (1961)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  54. ↑ Jha, Lata (16 January 2017). "Ten times south Indian filmmakers remade their own films in Hindi". Mint. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  55. ↑ National Film Archive of India [@NFAIOfficial] (15 March 2018). "#ThrowbackThursday: #GeminiGanesan and #Vijayakumari in #KalyanaParisu. This popular #Tamil #melodrama spawned many remakes, including Pelli Kanuka in #Telugu starring #ANR, #Nazrana in #Hindi starring #RajKapoor - #Vyjayanthimala, & #Tohfa starring #Jeetendra - #Sridevi. #TBT" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018 – via Twitter.

Bibliography

  • Baskaran, S. Theodore (1996). The Eye of The Serpent: An Introduction to Tamil Cinema. Chennai: East West Books.
  • Narwekar, Sanjit (1994). Directory of Indian film-makers and films. Flicks Books. OCLC 920928345.
  • Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.
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