This is a super hit song with a cult classic status from the movie Konjum Salangai starring Gemini Ganesan, Savithri and others. The music for this movie had been composed by one of the great music directors of the yesteryears S M Subbaiah Naidu. The song was written by the famous yet unsung lyricist Ku Ma Balasubramaniam who has also written such famous songs as Aadaatha Manamum, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, Kunguma Poove, Chithiram Pesithadi to name a few. There were quite a few legends in Tamil Cinema prior to the period of dominance by MSV and Kannadhasan. This song also showcases the talent of the legendary Nadaswaram Exponent Karukurichi P Arunachalam and has been composed as sort of a duet between his talented exploitation of the divine instrument and S Janaki. The effortless way in which Savithri has lip 'synced' this difficult song is a lesson in acting to all modern day actresses. The simple reason why the song has come out so well and has reached a cult classic status is because it has been dedicated to Lord Muruga the god of balance and harmony (swaram) and has received his blessings in full! The song also features Gemini and others.
Showing posts with label Gemini Ganesan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gemini Ganesan. Show all posts
Group Dancer to Supporting Actress to Leading Lady and Super Star in 161 Movies on an Unbroken Stretch! Six Decades of Continuous Success and Stardom!
Saroja Devi made her debut in Tamil Movies as a group dancer in the movie Thanga Malai Ragasiyam which had Sivaji and T R Rajakumari in the lead roles in the year 1957. Earlier she had made her debut in the Kannada movie industry in the year 1955 as a supporting actress. It was MGR who gave her a major break and a grand entry into the Tamil Movie industry as the second heroine in the super hit movie Nadodi Mannan along with Bhanumathi as the other heroine. From then on Saroja Devi went on to star in 161 Movies as heroine and leading actress in a continuous and unbroken stretch. She had 28 back to back hits with MGR till the time Jayalalitha replaced her as MGR's favourite Leading Lady and Co-Star. During this prolific and extremely successful stretch, she had several hits with Sivaji and Gemini as well. This particular song is from the super hit movie Puthiya Paravai starring Sivaji, Sowcar Janaki, M R Radha, V K Ramasami, Nagesh, Manorama and others along with Saroja Devi. Music by Viswanathan Ramamoorthi and Lyrics by Kannadasan. P Susheela who has sung this song had once mentioned during a stage performance that this song was one of her favourite songs from among the 15000 or so songs sung by her till date! Saroja Devi went to perform supporting roles in several movies during the 90s and till recent times.
The First Illusion of Moonlight in Indian Cinema! - Super Hit Movie from 1957
This song is from the super hit movie Maya Bazaar released in the year 1957 simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu. The movie ran for 100 days in 24 theatres and eventually became a Silver Jubilee hit hitting the 25 weeks mark. The movie had stellar performances by its entire cast notable among them being S V Raga Rao as Kadothgajan, Gemini as Abhimanyu, NTR as Krishna, M N Nambiar as Sakuni, Savithri as Vathsala and Thangavelu as Lakana Kumaran. The story is an adaptation of the Telugu folk tale 'Sasirekha Parinayam' based on Mahabaratha. The story's one-liner is as follows - Krishna and Kadothgaja plot and work together to unite Abhimanyu, Arjuna and Subadhra's son with Vathsala (Sasirekha) who is the daughter of Balarama, against the wishes of the Kauravas and Balarama. It seems NTR had been reluctant initially to play the role of Krishna! But we know what happened after that and how NTR etched himself eternally into the minds of the South Indian Cine Audience as the living image of Krishna! This particular song is apparently the first film sequence to have shown the Illusion of Moonlight in Indian Cinema and was shot by the famous Anglo-Indian Cinematographer Marcus Bartley who has several hit movies to his credit. The songs of this movie were written by Thanjai Ramaiah Dass and music was composed by Ghantasala. Enjoy this song and the illusion of moonlight filmed so beautifully with the limited facilities available those days.
NSK's Partner, MGR's Mentor, Sivaji's Senior! Singer, Actor and Super Star of the 1940s and 50s - KRR
Like many of his contemporaries, K R Ramasamy started his life in theatre, joining the Madurai Original Boys Company when he was 11, which had also launched several other actors and Superstars such as P. U. Chinnappa, M. G. Ramachandran and Kali N. Rathinam. It was here that, KRR met Kalaivanar N. S. Krishnan and formed a bond that would last several years. He had travelled to Ceylon with the troupe and played several roles. One memorable one was the title role in the play Menaka — yes, he was the heroine!
He was playing Hemanatha Bhagavathar in Siva Leela in Kumbakonam when he heard that his father was dying. He would attend to his father the whole day and turn up for his role at night. So conscious was he of his professional responsibility that even on the day his father died, he completed the rituals and turned up for the night’s performance of Ramayana, where he was playing Hanuman.
KRR’s first film was Gumasthavin Penn (The Clerk’s Daughter) in 1941, in which he played the role of a troublesome film director called V. P. Var to great acclaim. It was during this time that he became a follower of Periyar and Anna. Anna wrote a review, praising KRR’s performance. The film’s assistant directors, Krishnan and Panju, promised KRR that they would cast him as hero when they directed a film. And in 1944, when they made Poompavai, they cast KRR as Thirugnanasambandar, a role he played to perfection, singing the songs himself.
Around this time, NSK handed over Yedhartham Ponnuswamy’s drama troupe to KRR to run. With the subsequent arrest of NSK, KRR fell out with T.A. Mathuram and S.V. Sahasranamam, left the troupe, and started his own Krishnan Nataka Sabha. He staged Anna’s play Velaikaari in 1946, which ran one full year at Ramanathan Chettiar Hall in Thanjavur. It was made into a film with KRR playing the lead in 1949. It had a court scene where the hero rids society of irrational beliefs and practices, repeated later by Karunanidhi in Parasakthi, Sivaji Ganesan’s launch pad.
KRR continued to act in plays even after he became a popular screen hero. A close follower and confidante of Anna, his plays were great fund-raisers for the fledgling DMK party.
He staged the play Or Iravu, written by Anna, and acted in the film version. He was with Anna and his party right from its inception in 1949. MGR has said that it was KRR who brought him to Periyar and Anna. Sivaji, too, considered KRR, the senior actor and role model when he too entered movies from theatre. In fact, Sivaji had played the female lead when KRR acted as Manohara in a play before entering movies! Read more about him from the original source here.
This song is from the movie Sathaaram starring KRR, Banumathi, Gemini and others. Music by G Ramanathan, Lyrics by Thanjai Ramaiah Dass and sung by KRR himself.
Five Decades and Five Hundred Movies! From the Streets of Pazhani to Super Stardom! The Starting Point of an Illustrious Career!
K R Vijaya played the lead role, as heroine, in her 1963 debut film Karpagam, directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. K R Vijaya has expressed her gratefulness to K S Gopalakrishnan in several interviews and has credited him to be her mentor and Guru. Incidentally Gopalakrishnan had also directed her 100th film Nathaiyil Muthu.K R Vijaya has starred in more than 500 films in all the South Indian languages, including 100 films each in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu, a few films in Kannada, and one in Hindi titled Oonche Log (1965along with Raj Kumar and Feroz Khan. The movie was based on K . Balachander's play and movie Major Chandrakant. She had received many offers in Hindi, but had not accepted them as she had been busy in the South.
Between her debut in 1963 and her marriage in 1966, she acted as heroine in films like Ninaivil Nindraval, Thenmazhai, Ooty Varai Oravu, Patanathil Bhootham,Server Sundaram, Kandan Karunai, Paladai, Anarkali, Idhayakamalam and Manam Oru Korungu. She did 3 films Thazhampoo, Vivasayee and Panam Padaithavan opposite M.G.Ramachandran and played supporting roles in Naan Aanaiyittal. She got married at the peak of her career in 1967. At the insistence of Aroordas the famous script writer she made her comeback in 1968 (Source).
After 1968, post her re-entry she had frequently starred with Gemini Ganesan, Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Muthuraman and other leading actors of that period. she had also done three movies with MGR during that time. Her most popular and well received pairing had been with Sivaji and had gone on to star with him in close to 50 movies during her illustrious career. This song is from her debut movie Karpagam featuring Gemini and herself. The song has been sung by P Susheela. Music by Viswanathan Ramamoorthy and written by Vaali for whom this movie had been the biggest break and a turning point in his career.
Man's Meaningless Lifelong External Quest! - Super Hit Song Featuring The Two Great Ganesans of Tamil Cinema
Man's eternal and endless quest for happiness, love, affection, success (without ever being able to comprehend what success really is) and everything else has always been external. An existence fraught with extreme mental stress, mainly due to self-imposed standards based on unrealistic societal pressures and expectations, limited by a myriad assortment of complex imaginary fears, is often characterized by the futile quest for 'illusory' success, meaning and purpose in life. This song mocks at this foolish and lifelong quest of human beings who are completely at a loss as to where they need to look for, not knowing what is it they are looking for in the first place! It makes absolute sense to look inside and within oneself for happiness and to live life successfully with a firmly established internal locus of control. This song features the two great Ganesans of Tamil Cinema Sivaji and Gemini - Movie Thiruvarutchelvar. Direction A P Nagarajan. Music K V Mahadevan. Truly Profound Words that are Lyrical in the classical sense with such Depth and Meaning can be from the one and only Kannadasan!
Relatively Unknown Song from an Iconic Super Hit Movie! Perfect Depiction of Tradition and Culture! Truly Relevant to Contemporary Issues!
This relatively Unknown Song is from the Iconic Super Hit Movie Veerapaandiya Kattabomman which has attained a cult classic status in the history of Tamil Cinema! It is also a perfect depiction of tradition and culture and is truly relevant to contemporary issues almost 60 years after the movie was released! Enough and more has been written about the great performance of Sivaji in this movie. In this particular song Sivaji acts as a fan of his brave and valiant commander Gemini Ganesan's courage in Taming the mighty bull of Vellaiyamma played by Padmini. The story of Vellaiyamma depicting her fondness for her fiercely brought up mighty bull and her admiration and affection for the Courageous Commander who tames her bull, not just serves the purpose of adding a romantic flavor to the movie but also depicts the culture and tradition prevailing in those times. Today's materialistic world and contorted society has transmogrified culture and tradition to such an extent that an individual is rated not by his mental toughness, courage and compassion but by the depth and width of his wallet, credit and debit cards and his bank account! Taming the bull involves as much mental toughness as physical strength if not more. Just as animals can sense and smell fear they can sense calmness and warmth in human beings and tend to be soothed by such qualities in human beings. The story of Vellaiyamma in this movie, shows how a girl will trust a man with these qualities and none better that her trusted and fierce pet the mighty bull to authenticate these qualities! Her fondness for her fiery pet can be seen in this song! The taming of the bull and Gemini's great performance as a multi faceted Actor and Super Star can be seen in this clip. The variety of majestic and mighty Kangeyam Kaalai used in this movie can be seen in this pic. The dialogues in this move have been crafted with so much of passion! The simple dialogue between the heroine and her friend is an example of this by portraying the Courage and Valour of the Commander using just a few words spoken by the heroine's friend (S Muthulakshmi) as soon as Gemini jumps into the stadium to tame the bull! The song has been written by Ku Ma Balasubramaniam and the music for the movie has been composed by G Ramanathan. The song has been sung by P Susheela.
Hundreds of Popular Songs! Thousands of Successful Stage Shows! A Career Spanning More than Six Decades! The Unsung Singer with a Unique Voice!
A L Raghavan began his playback singing career in the year 1950 with the movie 'Vijayakumari' under the music direction of C R Subburaman. But he became popular much later with the song "Hello My Dear Raami" which he sang along with the actor/singer J P Chndrababu for the movie "Pudhayal" in the year 1957 under the music direction of Viswanathan Ramamoorthy. He has sung a song in a movie recently in the year 2014 at the ripe old age of 79! He has sung hundreds of songs as a solo singer as well as duets with all the leading Playback Singers of the 50s, 60s and 70s and for all the leading music directors. He was also very successful in conducting musical stage shows along with his popular orchestra, across the globe for over 50 years. He was the playback voice of the famous comedy actor Nagesh and has sung many songs for him in several movies. He is married to the famous actress M N Rajam. This super hit song in which he has sung playback for the superstar Gemini Ganesan is from the movie Paarthaal Pasi Theerum. The movie was a super hit and was released on Pongal Day in the year 1962. The movie had a stellar cast with Sivaji and Saroja Devi as one lead pair and Gemini and Savithri as the other lead pair. The leading pairs were supported by Sowcar Janaki, K A Thangavelu, C K Saraswathi and Kamal Hassan the child artiste in a dual role. With great performances from the entire cast and super hit songs composed by Viswananthan Ramamoorthy, written by Kannadasan, the movie was bound to succeed at the box office, which it did in great style! The song has been sung so well by P Susheela and A L Raghavan but the fact is no one ever credits A L Raghavan with this song! The general assumption is it was sung by PBS who normally sings for Gemini! A L Raghavan is truy an underrated and unsung singer with a very unique voice!
Freedom Fighter, Journalist, Thespian, Composer, Playback Singer, Writer, Director - Successful in Every Pursuit! One of the Legendary Doyens of South Indian Film Industry!
Nagaiah was an active participant in the Freedom struggle and movement during the 1930's. He was a legend in the history of the evolution of Telegu Stage, Drama and Theatre having written, produced and directed several successful Telugu plays during the late 30's. He also acted in these plays apart from composing music and singing in these plays! He was the first Superstar of the Telugu Movie Industry due to his phenomenal success with his first few movies produced by Nagi Reddy under the Rohini Pictures Banner. He was later instrumental in the setting up of the famous Vauhini Studios. He acted in more than 350 movies in all the major South Indian languages. He acted in several super hit Tamil Movies as a character artist. Sivaji had great respect for him and he featured in several super hit movies of Sivaji Ganesan such as Motor Sundaram Pillai, Shanthi, Deiva Magan, Iru Malargal, Thillaanaa Mohanaambal to name a few. This song is from the movie Ramu a 1966 release, directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. The film features Gemini Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya and Master Rajkumar in lead roles. The film was produced by AVM Productions and music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan. All the songs were written by Kannadasan. The film was a super hit. The film was a remake of Hindi film Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Main. During the filming of the climax scene apparently the child artiste Master Rajkumar got caught in the fire and it was the director A C Tirulokchandar who jumped into the fire and rescued the child! One can see the involvement with which Nagaiah has performed this song. Two great voices, Seergazhi and TMS, complete this fantastic team of legends who have come together to create this song. No wonder the song is such a classic, never failing to strike a chord every single time we listen to it even after 50 years since its creation!
Auspicious First Song! Super Hit First Movie! Starting Point of A Phenomenal Acting Career!
This is Kamal Hassan's first movie and first song, marking the beginning of a phenomenal and illustrious film career spanning over six decades and going strong even now! Kalathur Kannama is a Tamil romantic drama film starring Gemini, Savithri, Kamal and others. Gemini Ganesan meets Savithri in a Train and falls in love with her. Savithri is the daughter of S V Subbaiah who works for Balaiah. Balaiah the father of Gemini who is opposed to his son marrying beneath his status, convinces Savithri to leave the village. Savithri gives birth to a baby boy, who is however left at an Orphanage by her dad Subbaiah. Finally, Balaiah reveals the truth to Gemini Ganesan and he reunites with Savithri. There have been varying accounts of the story regarding Kamal Hassan's entry into this film: V. S. Srinivasan of Rediff once said that young Hassan had accompanied a doctor who had gone to treat an ill woman at the residence of A V Meiyappan. On hearing a loud noise from a first-floor tenant of the bungalow, the doctor was concerned that it was disturbing his patient. Young Kamal Hassan strode up the stairway to ask the noisemaker (AVM) not to shout over the phone as he was disturbing someone who was ill, leaving the person astonished. An impressed Meiyappan later provided Kamal Hassan an entry into films through this movie. However, the other version is that when Hassan accompanied a family doctor of Meiyappan to his house, Meiyappan's son, producer M. Saravanan noticed Hassan as a hyperactive and bold child. He took him over and introduced young Kamal Hassan to his dad Meiyappan who was looking for a young boy to act in Kalathur Kannamma. The rest as they say is history! Six Decades and more to come of a phenomenal acting and movie career! Music: R. Sudarsanam, Direction: A. Bhimsingh. Lyrics: Vaali, Singer: M S Rajeswari.
Tamil Actress, Classical Dance Exponent, Politician and Bollywood Superstar! The Versatile and Inimitable Artist - Vyjayanthimala
In the year 1940 an Indian Cultural Delegation was on a tour of Europe. From amongst those who were present in the delegation a 5 year old child was chosen to deliver a classical dance performance in front of the Pope. The Pope was very impressed with the confident performance of the child and had presented the child with a silver medallion. That was the first step and performance of Vyjayanthimala, a very auspicious start to an artistic career that saw glorious achievements over several decades from then on. She made her entry into the Tamil Movie Industry in 1949, under the mentorship of the most able and the biggest directorial and production name in Tamil Cinema, the Legendary A V Meiyappan with the movie Vaazhkai and the rest, as the hackneyed saying goes, is history! She went on to become a leading actress in Tamil and the first female Superstar in Hindi. Her fiery dance-off with Padmini in Vanjikottai Vaaliban is one of the most memorable dance performances in the history of Indian Cinema. This song featuring her along with Gemini from Parthiban Kanavu showcases her talent and is a testament to her ability to deliver subtle, controlled and convincing performances. Music is by the great composer Vedha of Modern Theatres fame. This one composition by him is more than sufficient to silence his critics who criticize him as being fit just for adaptations of Hindi Songs. Lyrics by Kannadasan. This Song is a tribute to the Living Legend Vyjayanthimala.
Actress Par Excellence! The Female Sivaji of Tamil Cinema!
Savithri was one of the few actresses who were able to share screen space with Sivaji and match his performance and dialogue delivery along with impeccable diction on par with him. It is hard to believe that her native language and mother tongue was Telugu and not Tamil! Be it her effortless portrayal of the character of an young school teacher during her early days in Missiamma or her transformation at will into Sakthi and Saraswathi in Thiruvilayadal and Saraswathi Sabatham during the later stages in her career, what stood out was her outstanding ability to connect with the audience through her performances. Her performance in Maya Bazaar, matching and at times over shadowing the performances of S V Ranga Rao, Gemini Ganesan, M N Nambiar, Thangavelu and others confirmed her as a Legendary Actress and rightfully earning her the title Nadigayar Thilagam. Her own production and maiden directorial venture Praptham in which she paired with Sivaji in spite of having received critical acclaim did not do well at the box office. Her performance in Pasa Malar as Sivaji's sister is part of the folk lore, history and legend of Tamil Cinema. She exhibited her flair for comedy in several movies and this song is one such performance of hers in a guest role in the movie Vallavanukku Vallavan.
The Unsung Superstar of Tamil Cinema - The Other Ganesan!
Due to his iconic and supremely dominant status in the Tamil Movie industry, the first and more often, the only Ganesan whose name is at the top of every single Tamil Movie fan is that of the truly legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan. The other Ganesan who was a contemporary of Sivaji and arguably, equally famous on and off the screen was Gemini Ganesan. Gemini had acted in more than 200 movies in a film career that spanned over a 50 years. He had acted with Sivaji in several films that were and are super hits even now. He had given multiple Golden Jubilee hits on his own with several leading directors of the industry. Be it comical roles, negative roles, supporting roles or leading roles, he had done them all brilliantly with a deceptively effortless ease. Yet he has always been the Unsung Superstar in the sense that people always talk about Sivaji and MGR as the two pillars of the Tamil Movie industry and don't give Gemini the status and respect he truly deserves! Just Tamil Songs Salutes Gemini Ganesan's achievements and acknowledges his contribution to the Tamil Movie Industry by way of posting this super hit song of his from the early 1950s.
Classic Hit Song from 1958
This is a hit song from the movie Vanjikottai Vaaliban, Starring Gemini Ganesan, Padmini, Vaijayanthimala and others. The other popular song from this movie is the famous dance off between Padmini and Vaijayanthimala. This particular song features Gemini and Vaijayanthimala.
Yet Another Tribute to PBS
Another tribute to PBS from the movie Hello Mr. Zameendaar starring, Gemini Ganesan, Savithri and others. PBS's voice suited Gemini more than any other actor in the Tamil Movie industry. This particular song features Gemini and Savithri.
Classic Song by a Great Poet! - 1961
This is a classic song by the Great Tamil Poet Mahakavi Bharathi. The details of the song are as follows. Kaatru Veliyidal Kannamma Lyrics by Subramanya Bharathi from the Patriotic movie Kappallotiya Tamizhan - 1961 starring Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Savithri, Muthulakshmi, Asokan, Sarangapani, S.V. Ranga Rao & S.V. Subbiah. Music G Ramanathan, Sung by P Susheela and PBS.
My Entire Consciousness is Lord Shiva! - Sivaji Hits
This is a super hit song from the movie Thiruvarutchelvar starring Sivaji, Gemini, Padmini and others. This song features Sivaji and has been rendered in his characteristic impeccable and inimitable style by TMS.
A Romantic Song from the 1960s
This rare song is from the classic 1968 Tamil movie Panama Pasama starring Gemini Ganesh, Saroja Devi, Nagesh, TK Bhagwati, K. Sarangapani, Shivakumar and others. Music by KV Mahadevan & Lyrics by Kannadasan. The song is sung by TMS (which is rare for Gemini) and P Susheela and the film is directed by K S Gopalakrishnan.
Famous Song from a 1960 Movie
This song is from the movie Kaathiruntha Kangal. This movie was released in 1962. Gemini Ganesan and Savithri in a double role were the lead stars in the movie. The music was composed by the famour duo Viswanathan Ramamurthy. Lyrics were penned by Kannadasan and the song was sung by P B Srinivas and P Susheela.
A Classic Romantic Song - Year 1960
This is a classic romantic song featuring the romantic hero of the 1960s Gemini Ganesan and Vyjayanthi Mala. This song is from the movie Thaen Nilavu (Honey Moon) directed by the famous director Sridhar. Many playback singers have sung for Gemini Ganesan. A M Raja is one among them who has given quite a few hit songs in combination with Gemini. A M Raja apart from having sung this song has also scored the music for this movie. Enjoy the song!
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