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.

Five National Awards! Three Nandi Awards! One Film Fare Award! From a Humble Corporate Job to The Greatest Character Actor of South India!

S V Ranga Rao, one of the greatest actors of Tamil and Telugu Cinema has acted in 100s of movies during an acting career spread over three decades. He brought to life some of the greatest characters in our epics and puraanaas through his majestic on screen performance and presence. He was a contemporary of some of the greatest actors of Tamil Cinema but he carved a special place for himself in the Tamil Movie industry through his numerous brilliant performances. He started his career with the TATA group as a budget assistant and came into the movie industry through his appearance in a Telugu movie in the year 1950. And then he went on to do extremely well in his acting career through his exemplary performances in several Tamil and Telugu movies. He became a director during the later stages of his career and got two Nandi Awards as the best director. This song is from the cult classic hit movie Maya Bazaar, a 1957 Indian bilingual epic fantasy film directed by Kadiri Venkata Reddy. It was produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Vauhini Studios. The film was shot in both Telugu and Tamil with the same title, but with a few differences in the cast. S V Ranga Rao played and brought to life the lead role of Katothkajan, son of Bheemaa. This song is again a cult classic hit and was written by Thanjai Ramaiah Dass and was sung by Tiruchi Loganathan. Music was composed by the singer music director Ghantasala. Enjoy the song!

Comedian with a Conscience! Most Respected Comic Actor of Tamil Cinema

There is one comic track that is more popular than the phenomenal mega hit movie of which it is part of - Thangavelu's Comedy Track in the super hit movie Kalyana Parisu. The comedy sequence in this movie featuring K A Thangavelu, Gemini and M Saroja (Thangavelu's wife) is an integral part of the legend and history of Tamil Cinema. Thangavelu was a seasoned Stage artist with his own very successful drama troupe and in a way was one of the pioneers of Comedy Drama in Tamil Nadu. Apart from having created a name for himself as a Comedian with supreme comic timing he also earned a name for himself as a Comedian with a conscience since his comic performances were always for the whole family. His comic sequence with Kamal Hassan (as a child artiste) in Paarthaal Pasi Theerum is hilarious and a timeless classic. He had excelled in negative roles during the early stages of his acting career. He was comfortable and partnered with all the leading actors of the 50s, 60s and 70s with equal aplomb and had the ability to cut across age groups, liked by all sections of the audience. Tamil Cinema has seen some of the greatest comic geniuses of the world. Thangavelu was surely one of the greatest and most respected. Enjoy this song from the movie Alibabavum 40 Thirudarkalum sung by Ghantasala. Lyrics - A Maruthasi and Music - S Dhakshinamoorthi.