Vaa Raja Vaa

Vaa Raja Vaa
Directed by A. P. Nagarajan
Produced by A. P. Nagarajan
Written by A. P. Nagarajan
Starring Master Prabhakar
Sumathi
K. D. Santhanam
Suruli Rajan
Music by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan
Cinematography W. R. Subbarao
Edited by T. R. Nagarajan
Production
company
CNV Productions
Release date
 6 December 1969
Running time
 152 minutes[1]
Country India
Language Tamil

Vaa Raja Vaa (lit. Come Raja, Come)[2] is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language children's film written, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan for CNV Productions. The film stars 'Master' Prabhakar, Sumathi, V. S. Raghavan, K. D. Santhanam, Kumari Rukmini, Suruli Rajan, T. N. Sivathanu, 'Typist' Gopu, Manorama, Kannaiah and Sirkazhi Govindarajan.[3] The film was remade in Telugu as Balaraju Katha (1970).[4]

Plot

Raja is a 10-year-old tourist guide in Mahabalipuram. An elder sculptor has a small rock sculpture tablet on which are engraved adages. Raja enters a discussion with him, wondering if those pearls of wisdom still hold relevance. The sculptor tells him that those sayings are eternal and immortal. Unconvinced, Raja sets out to find the truth for himself. Ultimately, he realises that all those sayings are still valid.

Cast

Production

In addition to writing and directing, A. P. Nagarajan also produced Vaa Raja Vaa under his company CNV Productions. W. R. Subba Rao was the cinematographer, while T. R. Nagarajan was the editor.[3] Since it was previously believed in the Tamil film industry that A. P. Nagarajan's films were successful only because of their star cast and "mammoth" scales, rather than his directorial skills, he directed this film, which featured mostly newcomers, to silence his critics.[5] It was also one of his rare films to have a contemporary setting, since he was then known primarily for directing films based on Hindu mythology.[6] The film was shot entirely on location in Mahabalipuram.[7]

Soundtrack

Vaa Raja Vaa
Soundtrack album by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan
Released 1969
Genre Soundtrack
Language Tamil
Label Saregama

The music of the film was composed by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, marking his cinematic debut.[8] The lyrics were written by Arulmani, Poovai Senguttuvan, Ulundurpettai Shanmugham and Azha Valliappa. The playback singers were L. R. Eswari, Sirkazhi Govindarajan, Anjali, V. Sarala, M. R. Vijaya and R. Jayalakshmi.[3]

Track list[9]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Kallellaam"L. R. Eswari03:34
2."Aadi Paadi Sirikka"L. R. Eswari, Sharada, M. R. Vijaya, L. R. Anjali04:57
3."Unmai Ethu Poy Ethu"L. R. Eswari03:43
4."Iraivan Padai Tha"Sirkazhi Govindarajan03:31
5."Kallamilla Pillaiyidam"Sirkazhi Govindarajan03:44
Total length:19:29

Release and reception

Vaa Raja Vaa was released on 6 December 1969.[10] It ran for over 100 days in theatres.[3] In a review dated 21 December 1969, the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan praised the performances of the cast.[11] In September 2016, film historian Randor Guy praised it for the "brilliant performance by Master Prabhakar, and comedy by Suruli Rajan, Sivathanu and Typist Gopu".[3]

References

  1. ↑ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press. p. 402. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.
  2. ↑ Baskaran, S. Theodore (1996). The eye of the serpent: an introduction to Tamil cinema. East West Books. p. 185.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Guy, Randor (24 September 2016). "Vaa Raja Vaa (1969)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "சினிமாவில் வெற்றிக்கொடி நாட்டிய குழந்தைகள்!". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 4 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  5. ↑ Raghavan, Nikhil (5 September 2012). "Classic gets a new life". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  6. ↑ Thoraval, Yves (2000). The cinemas of India. India: Macmillan. p. 330. ISBN 0333 93410 5.
  7. ↑ ""Kalaimamani" Sirkali's Memorable Movies". Sirkali.org. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  8. ↑ Venkatraman, Lakshmi (7 February 2003). "His fingers weave magic with ragas". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Vaa Raja Vaa". Gaana.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Film News Anandan (2004). Saadhanaigal Padaitha thamizh thiraipada varalaru [Tamil film history and it's achievements] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivagami Publishers. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "சினிமா விமர்சனம்: வா ராஜா வா" [Movie Review: Vaa Raja Vaa]. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 21 December 1969. (Subscription required (help)).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.