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.

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!

Mistaken Identities, Hidden Pasts, Great Music! A Star-Studded Romantic Comedy from 1967

This is a hit song from the  superhit comedy movie Ooty Varai Uravu starring Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Muthuraman, L. Vijayalakshmi, T.S. Baliah, V.K. Ramasamy, Nagesh, Sachchu and others. The movie had been directed by Sridhar and the music had been composed by MSV. This particular song had been sung by P B Srinivas and L R Easwari. This song features Muthuraman and Vijayalakshmi. The movie’s plot revolves around the hidden past life of Balaiah (Sivaji’s father) and the mixup in the identities of K R Vijaya and Vijayalakshmi. Though Sivaji himself comes to know the actual truth, early in the movie, he manipulates the events such that Balaiah himself admits the truth finally. The movie has brilliant performances by the entire cast and the comedy sequences featuring Balaiah, Nagesh, VKR and Sachchu, ably supported by the leading actors is hilarious and entertaining to say the least. Sachchu had mentioned in an interview how she had had a really hard time shooting for the movie, unable to restrain herself from laughing at Nagesh’s antics during every single shot. Incidentally this movie was the last movie of L Vijayalakshmi who got married to an Agricultural Scientist from Philippines after this movie. She then settled down in the US and pursued her higher studies to become a qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA). She went on to become the Finance Director of the Virginia Polytechnic University in the US. All the songs in this movie had been hit songs and written by Kannadasan. This movie is a safe bet to watch during a family get together, sure to be enjoyed by the young and the old.

Haunting Melody! Spellbinding Lyrics! Adapted Song! Underrated Actor! A Timeless Classic Better than the Original!

S A Asokan was born in Trichy as Anthony and joined the Tamil Movie industry in the year 1953 after having graduated from St. Joseph's college in Trichy. Asokan had acted in hundreds of movies during a career that spanned over four decades. He started his career playing lead roles in a few movies and went on to succeed in playing negative, comic and supporting roles in several movies till the early 1980s. Asokan has acted in more than 50 movies with MGR alone. In fact MGR produced a film Idhu Satthiyam in 1963 with Asokan in the lead role, the movie that also saw the introduction of the Hindi Superstar Hemamalini to movies in a small dance role. He has also acted in several movies with Sivaji who had spoken about Asokan's acting ability and preferred to work with him in spite his personal differences with Asokan. Through his memorable performances in mythical roles of Soora Padhman in Kandan Karunai and Duryodhanan in the movie Karnan etched himself in the history of Tamil Cinema. Asokan was instrumental in bringing the famous director A C Thirulokachander into the Tamil Movie Industry. Asokan was great friends with Jai Shankar and partnered with him in producing and staging several plays and stage shows touring extensively across the state. This is a superhit song from the movie Vallavanukku Vallavan featuring Asokan in the lead role along with Manimala, Manohar, Gemini Ganesan, Thangavelu, Manorama and others. Savithri had made a special appearance in an other song in this movie. The movie had been produced and directed by R Sundaram of Modern Theatres. The music for this movie (and all other Modern Theatres' movies) has been composed by Veda. The music has been adapted from the original hit Hindi song Sau Baar Jananm Lenge from the movie Ustadon Ke Ustad sung by Mohammed Rafi.  The Tamil version has been sung by TMS and lyrics have been written by Kannadhasan. Gemini had played a negative role in the movie. Yet another song in the list of timeless classics with a hauntingly melodious music. TMS, Kannadasan, Veda combination has produced a song that is better than the original!

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.

Legendary Actress and Queen of Comedy! 5000 Stage Appearances and 1500 Movies! Reigned Over Tamil Cinema Like No Other!

Gopishantha Manorama reigned over Tamil Cinema like no other in a career that spanned over six decades which saw her featuring in over 5000 stage appearances and acting in more than 1500 movies. She was featured in the Guinness Book of World records in the mid 80's when she crossed the 1000 movie mark. She has paired/acted with comic actors across three generations which is no mean achievement considering the fact that in a male dominated movie industry very few actresses tend to last and be active for just a few years during their entire career! Having acted with the likes of Anna, Karunanidhi and SSR during her stint as a very successful stage artist known for her playback singing and emphatic dialogue delivery she went on to pair with comedy actors across generations starting from MR Radha, KA Thangavelu, VK Ramasami to Chandrababu, Nagesh, Cho to Suruli Rajan, Thengai Srinivasan to the likes of Kishmu Gowndamani and Kumari Muthu during the 80's and 90's. Known fondly as 'Achi' amongst her fans she is rated very high by her contemporaries and co-stars. Nagesh wit whom she has paired in more than 50 films had mentioned in an awards ceremony that he considered Manorama as a female version of Sivaji. The same feeling has been echoed by Jayalalitha, Cho, Sivakumar and several other Co-stars of hers. She also sang playback for herself in several movies under various music directors. This is one such song from the movie Thillaanaa Mohanaambaal in which she has acted and sung playback for herself under the music direction of K V Mahadevan. The movie is a classic super hit and you can read more about this movie in an earlier post here.

Three Distinctly Different Roles in a Single Movie! Only One Actor Could Have Carried it Off with Such Class and Conviction!

This is a hit song from the movie Deiva Magan starring Sivaji, Jayalalitha, Nagesh, Major and others. This song features Sivaji and Jayalalitha and other supporting actresses. In fact many of these supporting actresses made it big in the silver screen and in the small screen in their own little separate ways. The 'Mala' in this song is the actress Bhanumathi (not to be confused with Bhanumathi Ramakrishna) who acted in several movies in supporting roles and in many TV serials as well. The combination of MSV and TMS has produced yet another hit song. Sivaji's performance as the father and two sons (Triple Role) is one of the most unforgettable performances in the history of Tamil film industry! This song begins with a small clip in which there is a humorous interaction between Sivaji and Nagesh as a prelude to the actual song. Sivaji is supposed to have drawn inspiration from the mannerisms and behavior of the famous direct C V Sridhar for his role in this movie as the youngest son!

Comical Song from an All-Time Great Tamil Comedy Movie featuring the Sivaji-Nagesh Team! Year - 1968

This is a comical song from the super hit comedy movie Galaattaa Kalyaanam (1968) starring Sivaji Ganesan, Jayalalitha, Nagesh, K. A. Thangavelu, Cho Ramaswamy, A. V. M. Rajan, V. Gopalakrishnan, VS Raghavan, Senthamarai, Sachu, Manorama, Jothi Lakshmi and others. The movie brought Sivaji and Jayalalitha together for the first time. This movie showcased Jayalalitha's flair for comedy. The Sivaji-Nagesh Team having produced some of the most popular and remembered sequences in Tamil Cinema, has excelled in comedy, producing one of the most enjoyable comical movies of all time.  Gopu had once said in an interview that it was Jayalalitha who had introduced him to the works of the great comical genius P G Wodehouse whose works were the inspiration for some of of Gopu's directorial successes such as his debut movie as director Kaasedhaan Kadavuladaa (Leave it to PSmith). This movie Galaattaa Kalyaanam was written by Gopu, working for the first time on his own, away from his long-term successful partnership with Sridhar. Incidentally this movie was directed by C V Sridhar's brother and the very successful director C V Rajendran. Music for this peppy number was composed by MSV, Lyrics Vaali, Singers, TMS, PBS, P Susheela and L R Eashwari.

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.

Mentor, Guru and Inspiration to the Greatest Actor Ever! The Inimitable M R Radha - A True Legend!

The person to be thanked for being the prime reason for the introduction to the acting profession of Legendary Actor M R Radha and for his entry into movies is his mother. Apparently when Radha had been a little boy his mother had refused to give him an extra piece of fish to eat during a meal. Radha, typical of his character, had left his house in protest over this incident at that young age and went on to become a stage artist at the age of 10. Eventually he formed his own drama troupe and saw a meteoric rise in his acting career. He was acknowledged as one of the greatest stage artists ever. Though his inevitable entry into the movie industry happened in the 1940s his first great success was in 1954 when his own play Raththa Kanneer was made into a super hit movie by Krishnan-Panju in 1954. He established himself as one of the greatest Actors to have ever graced the silver screen by playing several memorable characters in hundreds of movies. Sivaji Ganesan, the greatest actor ever had mentioned in an interview to Doordharshan that it was actors such as M R Radha and T S Balaiah who had groomed and inspired him during the early stages of his acting career. M R Radha, though known and recognized more for his portrayal of negative roles, had also excelled in comic roles. This hilarious song featuring M R Radha along with Sivaji and Balaji is a true example of his ability to relish and revel in comic roles in his own inimitable style. Enjoy this song from Baley Pandia composed by Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy and written by Kannadasan.

Greatest Comic Genius of All Time! - Nagesh! Over a Thousand Movies in a Career Spanning More Than 50 Years!

Nagesh is undoubtedly one of the greatest comedy actors the world has ever seen. In a career spanning over 50 years that saw him playing innumerable roles as a comedian, hero, villain and supporting actor in more than 1000 films, he ruled the Tamil Movie Industry like no other, with his immense talent, versatility and comic genius. He entered the Industry in 1958 and was a contemporary of the greatest comedy actors of the Tamil Movie industry such as NSK, Danaal Thangavelu, Chandra Babu, T S Balaiah, T R Ramachandran and others. Cho Ramasamy his contemporary at a later stage in Nagesh's career had mentioned in an autobiographical series which he had written in the Popular Tamil weekly magazine Kumudham had compared Nagesh's acting ability to that of the Legendary Sivaji Ganesan! Kamal Hassan too has echoed the same views in several of his interviews. You can read more about his early life and career here. This particular song features Nagesh and Ramaprabha one of the several talented comic actresses he had paired with during his career. This song is from the movie Nawab Narkali directed by  CV Rajendran. The song was written by Kannadasan and music was composed by MSV.

A Super Hit Song by the Maha Kavi!

This is yet another super hit song by the Maha Kavi from the movie Kai Kodutha Theivam starring Sivaji Ganesan, Savithri, SSR, KR Vijaya, SV Ranga Rao, Pushpalatha and others. This particular song shows what a legendary visionary the great poet Maha Kavi Bharathi had been. He writes about National Integration, Interlinking of Rivers and other futuristic concepts even before independence.

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.

Will One Day Suffice? - An All Time Great Hit!

This song is one the greatest hits in the entire history the Tamil Movie Industry. TS Balaiah has simply excelled in his role as Hemanatha Bagavathar the conceited and talented vocalist in this super duper blockbuster hit of all time, Thiruvilayadal, starring Savitri, K.B.S., Muthuraman, Nagesh, T.R. Mahalingam, Devika, Manorama and others with Sivaji playing the lead role as Shivji! (Lord Shiva) himself. The movie had some great performances - Sivaji and Savitri (Nadigar and Nadigaiyar Thilagam) as Shiva-Parvathi, Nagesh as Dharumi, AP Nagarajan, the director of the movie, as Nakeeran, TS Balaiah as Hemanatha Bagavathar to name a few. The song was sung by Balamurali Krishna, music composed by KV Mahadevan (another Thilagam, Thirai Isai Thilagam!) and was written by (who else could it have been!) the one and only Kannadasan. Just Enjoy the Song!

New Year Special - Happy Days are Here!

This is a hit song from the superhit comedy movie Ooty Varai Uravu starring Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Muthuraman, L. Vijayalakshmi, T.S. Baliah, V.K. Ramasamy, Nagesh, Sachchu and others. This particular song features Sivaji and K R Vijaya. The movie had been directed by Sridhar and the music had been composed by MSV. This particular song had been sung by TMS and P Susheela. The movie’s plot revolves around the hidden past life of Balaiah (Sivaji’s father) and the mixup in the identities of K R Vijaya and Vijayalakshmi. Though Sivaji himself comes to know the actual truth, early in the movie, he manipulates the events such that Balaiah himself admits the truth finally. The movie has brilliant performances by the entire cast and the comedy sequences featuring Balaiah, Nagesh, VKR and Sachchu ably supported by the leading actors is hilarious and entertaining to say the least. Sachchu had mentioned in an interview how she had had a hard time shooting for the movie, unable to restrain herself from laughing at Nagesh’s antics during every single shot. All the songs in this movie had been hit songs. Just Tamil Songs wishes all its patrons a very Happy New Year!