Devakanya

Devakanya
	poster
Directed by	R. Padmanaban
Screenplay by	R. Padmanaban
Story by	R. Padmanaban
Starring	C. Honnappa Bhagavathar; U. R. Jeevarathinam; T. R. Ramachandran; V. N. Janaki
Music by	Palavangudi V. Shama Iyer
Cinematography	T. Marconi
Production; company	Padma Pictures
Distributed by	South Indian Pictures
Release date	16 January 1943 (India);
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Devakanya is a 1943 Indian Tamil language mythological film directed by R. Padmanaban.[1] The film featured C. Honnappa Bhagavathar and U. R. Jeevarathnam in the lead roles.[2]

Plot

The daughter of a king wants to learn some fine arts. The king arranges a young man who is the son of a palace courtier, to teach music to her. The young man and the princess fall in love and elope. They go to a forest and live there. One day an angel from heaven descends to earth and offers a magical fruit to the young man. Then she makes him also an angel and creates a heavenly place for him. The young man goes away with that angel. The abandoned princess goes in search of her husband and joins a group of street gymnasts. But she dies in an accident. Her body is abandoned. The young man sees the body and remembers his wife. With the help of the magic fruit, he brings her back to life. The angel blesses them.[2]

Cast

The list is adapted from the song book[3]

Male cast

C. Honnappa Bhagavathar as Umapathi
T. R. Ramachandran as Rangan
M. R. Saminathan as Gymnast
M. S. Murugesan as Yaman
T. V. Sethuraman as Chitraguptan
E. R. Sahadevan as Suravarman
Joker Ramudu as Wizard
V. B. S. Mani as Neethivarman
M. A. Ganapathi Bhat as Maha Vishnu
K. P. Jayaraman as Kottapuli
S. A. Padmanabhan as Paramasivan
P. B. Srinivasan as Gopu
Chakrapani Iyengar as Nimithakar

Female cast

U. R. Jeevathnam as Rathnamala
V. N. Janaki as Chitraleka
T. S. Jaya as Sundari
Kalyani as Gurupathni
K. S. Angamuthu as Gymnast

Support cast

Loose Arumugam, Vaidyanatha Sharma, Raja Bala, Kantha, Sulochana, Rajam, Shantha, Padma.

Production

The film was produced and directed by R. Padmanaban under the banner Padma Pictures and was filmed at Pragjyothi Studios, located in Adyar. (This studio was closed soon after the second world war.) The story and dialogues were written also by R. Padmanaban and was assisted by Sundara Bhagavathar. Cinematography was done by T. Marconi who was an Italian by birth and was employed by Padmanaban in all his films. Actor Kottapuli Jayaraman earned that nickname after this film only, as the name of the character he featured in was Kottapuli.

Trivia

The cinematographer T. Marconi, being a man from Italy, was detained by the British colonial government during the second world war as an undesirable alien for merely being an Italian citizen! Randor Guy says he was very fond of the South Indian dish "Morekuzhambu". As such, his friends called him "Morekuzhambu" Marconi!

Soundtrack

Music was composed by Palavangudi V. Shama Iyer and the lyrics were penned by S. G. Chellappa Iyer, a brother of S. G. Kittappa. C. Honnappa Bhagavathar, U. R. Jeevarathnam, T. R. Ramachandran, T. S. Jaya, V. N. Janaki, and M. S. Murugesan are singers.[3]

No	Song	Singer	Ragam	Thalam	Length(m:ss)
1	Sangeethame Sarjeevanatha	C. Honnappa Bhagavathar	Vachaspathi	Adi	02:57
2	Vasantha Kalamithu Nalame	V. N. Janaki	Khamas	Rupakam
3	Inrunadhu Azhilkanak Kitaidhathu	V. N. Janaki	Kambhodi	Adi
4	Nalungita Vati Penne	T. R. Ramachandran	Kambhodi	Adi
5	Aha Idhe Anandam	U. R. Jeevarathnam	Hindolam	Adi	02:37
6	Pankaja Nedhra Param Pavithra	U. R. Jeevarathnam	Nayaki	Mishra Ekam
7	Ulaginayaar Vagudhaare	C. Honnappa Bhagavathar	Chenchurutti	Adi	03:11
8	En Manam Kollai Kondai	C. Honnappa Bhagavathar	Abhogi	Adi	02:54
9	Shritharan Arul...Mathe Unai Enak	C. Honnappa Bhagavathar, U. R. Jeevarathnam	Abhogi	Adi
10	En Tharumai Singara Va Va	U. R. Jeevarathnam	Yamunakalyani	Thishra Lagu
11	Verilay Vetitha...Parilay Sirantha	T. R. Ramachandran, T. S. Jaya	Yamunakalyani	Thishra Lagu
12	Masila Maniye Mathanarathi	C. Honnappa Bhagavathar	Kunthalavarali	Adi
13	Yarada Budhiya Enan Vegu	M. S. Murugesan	Atana	Adi
14	Buvan Mathi Anta Sarasaram	T. R. Ramachandran	Mohanam	Adi
15	Thayun Dhanthaiyum Neeye	C. Honnappa Bhagavathar	Mohanam	Adi

Reception

Film Historian Randor Guy said the film is "Remembered for the interesting story line well-narrated on screen by Padmanabhan and the good performances of Honnappa Bhagavathar, Janaki, Jeevarathnam and Ramachandran."[2]

References

Ashish Rajadhyaksha & Paul Willemen. Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1998. pp. 58, 167 & 589.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
Guy, Randor (10 March 2012). "Devakanya 1943". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
Song Book

External links

Devakanya on IMDb

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[1] Ashish Rajadhyaksha & Paul Willemen. Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1998. pp. 58, 167 & 589.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)

[hindu-2] Guy, Randor (10 March 2012). "Devakanya 1943". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.

[songbook-3] Song Book