Paradesi (1953 film)
| Paradesi Poongodhai | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | L. V. Prasad |
| Produced by |
P. Adinarayana Rao Anjali Devi (presents) |
| Screenplay by | L. V. Prasad |
| Starring |
Akkineni Nageswara Rao Anjali Devi Sivaji Ganesan |
| Music by | P. Adinarayana Rao |
| Cinematography | Kamal Ghosh |
| Edited by | N. S. Pragasam |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Poorna films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 190 mins |
| Country | India |
| Language |
Telugu Tamil |
Paradesi or Poongothai is a 1953 Telugu-Tamil bilingual romance film, produced by P. Adinarayana Rao under the Anjali pictures banner and directed by L. V. Prasad.[1] It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Anjali Devi, Sivaji Ganesan in the lead roles,with music composed by P. Adinarayana Rao. The film is a remake of Hindi movie Raj Rani (1950) and it is the debut of Sivaji Ganesan in the film industry.[1] No print of Poongothai is known to survive, making it a lost film.[2]
Plot
Lakshmi (Anjali Devi) is a flower vendor in a hilly village called Seethagiri. Chandram (ANR) is left in penury after his father's death in an accident. Chandram's friend Raghu (Janardhan) dies from a heart attack, but not before asking Chandram to take care of his wife Susheela (Pandari Bai) and young son Anand (Master Mohan). Chandram's health deteriorates as he works overtime to support the dependents. The doctor advises him to take rest at a hill station. Chandram arrives in Seethagiri where he meets Lakshmi and marries her in a local temple. When Lakshmi reveals to her father Rangadu (SVR) that she has married a "Paradesi" (as tribals called city folks) and is pregnant he asks her to bring Chandram to him. But when she goes to the hotel where he stays, she finds that Chandram has already left the village. Unable to bear the insults from the villagers, Rangadu kills himself. Declared an outcaste, Lakshmi lives all alone and gives birth to a baby girl. Chandram, who had to leave the city on an urgent call, returns to Seethagiri to take Lakshmi with him, but is told that she has died in a fire accident. Years later, a grown-up Anand (Ganesan) and Lakshmi's daughter Tara (Vasantha) fall in love when Anand comes to Seethagiri. Lakshmi tries to wean away Tara from the "Paradesi". From there on the story takes a few twists before leading to an intriguing climax.
Cast
- Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Chandram
- Anjali Devi as Lakshmi
- S. V. Ranga Rao as Rangadu
- Sivaji Ganesan as Anand
- Relangi as Devaiah
- Pandari Bai as Susheela
- Suryakantham as Srugaram
- Vasantha as Taara
- Anasuya as Bangaram
Crew
- Art: TVS Sharma, Vaali
- Choreography: Vedantam Raghavaiah
- Dialogues - Lyrics: Malladi Venkata Krishna Sharma
- Playback:
- Editing: N. S. Pragasam
- Cinematography: Kamal Ghosh
- Music - Producer: P. Adinarayana Rao
- Screenplay - Director: L. V. Prasad
- Banner: Anjali Pictures
- Release Date: 14 January 1953
Soundtrack
| Paradesi | |
|---|---|
| Film score by P. Adinarayana Rao | |
| Released | 1953 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Producer | P. Adinarayana Rao |
Music composed by P. Adinarayana Rao. Lyrics were written by Malladi Venkata Krishna Sharma. Music released on Audio Company.
| S. No. | Song Title | Singers | length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Jeevithame Hai" | ||
| 2 | "Jaatibhedaalu Marachi" | ||
| 3 | "Ayya Ghuma Ghumalaade" | ||
| 4 | "Gaajulo Gaajulu" | ||
| 5 | "Pilichindi Kaluvapuvvu" | ||
| 6 | "Nenenduku Raavali" | ||
| 7 | "Kanikaramleni" | ||
| 8 | "Raavoyi Thoti Raja" | ||
| 9 | "Naa Hrudayamlo" |
Production
After splitting out from Aswini Pictures, Anjali Devi and her husband Adinarayana Rao formed their own production house and named it Anjali Pictures. They decided to remake Raj Rani, a 1950 Hindi film directed by Satish Nigam and bought the rights.[3] They decided to shoot the film in two languages—Tamil and Telugu, and appointed L. V. Prasad as the director. Prasad, however, did not make a direct copy of the Hindi original; he made subtle changes to the screenplay to suit the audience.[3] The producers were looking for a new actor to play the second lead role.[3] P. A. Perumal Chettiar, a leading film distributor suggested Sivaji Ganesan to Anjali Devi and her husband. Ganesan, who was a prominent theatre artist acquired the prefix "Sivaji" after he played the role of Chatrapati Shivaji in a stage play. Ganesan was immediately chosen for the role and had a screen test for the first time. It was during this time that Parasakthi was made.[3] Perumal, the film's producer made a request to Anjali Devi that Parasakthi be released before Paradesi. Anjali and Rao, the producers agreed and hence Parasakthi became Ganesan's first released film.[3]
Sakthi Krishnaswamy wrote the dialogues while Bharathidasan and Kambadasan wrote the lyrics for the Tamil film Poongodhai.[4]
Reception
The film released on released on 14 January 1953. Both the versions did well in the run. The Tamil version Poongodhai received positive response from the critics.[5]
In November 2013, M. L. Narasimhan of The Hindu noted that the film would be "remembered as the launch pad for Sivaji Ganesan".[3] Film critic and Telugu film director K. N. T. Sastry in his L.V. Prasad: a monograph described, "Paradesi is about urbanites" and not the conventional village-based subject.[5] He also noted that the screenplay was very fast.[5]
Notes
- 1 2 Thoraval 2000, p. 348.
- ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (31 August 2017). "Another Anandan in the making". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 M. L. Narasimhan (16 November 2013). "Blast from the past: Paradesi (1953)". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ↑ Film News Anandan (23 October 2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [History of Landmark Tamil Films] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivakami Publishers. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017.
- 1 2 3 Sastry 1993, p. 54.
References
- Sastry, K. N. T. (1993). L.V. Prasad: a monograph. Wiley Eastern.
- Thoraval, Yves (2000). The cinemas of India. Macmillan India. ISBN 978-0-333-93410-4.