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.

A Great Comic Actor Sings Playback for The Greatest Actor Ever! Western Music and Tap Dancing in a 1950s Tamil Song!

This is a song from the hit movie Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachaari released in the year 1954 starring Sivaji Ganesan, T R Ramachandran, Padmini, Raagini and others. This song has been sung by the great comic actor Chandrababu and composed by the famous music director of the '50s T G Lingappa. The song was written by yet another unsung Lyricist of Tamil Film Music, K D Santhanam who has written such super hit songs as these - Sindhanai Sei Maname, Ulage Maayam, Maasilaa Nilave Nam, Thanimayile Inimai Kaana Mudiyumaa! Truly amazing that he is relatively unknown in spite of having written such cult classic songs! The movie was directed by P Neelakantan and produced by B R Panthulu who has also acted in this movie. This was the first movie under the Padmini Pictures Banner, which was the famous and succesful production house of B R Panthulu. This particular song features Sivaji and his friend and long time co-actor with whom he has acted in several movies, T R Ramachandran. Sivaji showcases his talent for Tap Dancing in this song. The movie is a hilarious comedy with excellent performances from the entire star cast. Though this movie is a Sivaji Ganesan starrer the title role has been played by T R Ramachandran.  

Quit Films after her Debut Movie and Became an Air Hostess! Re-Entred Films after 7 Years and Ruled the South Indian Film Industry for more than Two Decades!

This is a hit song from the movie "Sivantha Mann", starring Sivaji, Kanchana, Nagesh, Nambiar, Ranga Rao and others. Contrary to the popular belief that Kanchana was introduced by Sridhar in the earlier block buster of his "Kaadhalikka Naeramillai" in the year 1964, Kanchana's debut movie was the 1957 super hit movie Mannaalane Mangaiyin Bhaghiyam, in which she had played a small but important role of 'Naaga Kanni'. Originally from a well to do family in Chennai, due to some financial difficulties faced by her family during that period, she took up a job of an Air-Hostess to support her family. She was reintroduced to the film industry by C V Sridhar in the year 1963 and then went on to do extremely well, having starred successfully in several movies in all four South Indian Languages. Being an ardent devotee of Lord Balaji she donated her property valued at more than Rupees 15 Crores to the Tirumala Thirupathi Devasasthanam in the year 2010.

This movie was directed by Sridhar and had not done very well at the box office. The songs were a hit, in particular this one. The songs are bound to be hits when you have a combination of the likes of MSV, TMS, P Susheela, Kannadasan and Sivaji. This particular song was sung by L R Eashwari whose performance in this song had been praised by MSV in several interviews during his life time, for her having performed the song live with out the help of any special effects! According to C. V. Sridhar's autobiography, Sivantha Mann had evolved from Andru Sinthiya Rattam, a script originally written for MGR. It was the first Tamil film to have been shot extensively in foreign locations – a "great novelty in those days". Filming took place largely in Europe in countries like Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany and in the Alps region. The rest of the film was shot back in India. A set that included an entire river had been created at Vauhini Studios for shooting some of the main sequences in the movie. Before filming had begun it gave way, leading to the entire studio being flooded. An unfazed Sridhar decided to have the entire riverbed set rebuilt with concrete. After the film's release, thee directors of many subsequent Tamil and Telugu films were inspired to choose locations in France and other parts of Europe. The story was an off-beat one and had not been not received very well by the audience. This particular song showcases the acting skills of Sivaji and Nambiyar who impress with their expressions and reactions and the dancing and acting skills of Kanchana who had been at the receiving end of the whip in Sivaji's hands which had occasionally stung Kanchana, since Sivaji's only concern had always been to make any scene look as real as possible as said by Sacchu her co-artist in a recent TV interview! Enjoy the song!

Entered the Film Industry After Marriage! Actress with the Longest Career Span in the South Indian Movie Industry!

Sowcar Janaki entered the movie industry in the year 1949 at the age of 18 after she was married, in order to overcome the financial constraints faced by her family. She went on to act in nearly 400 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. She was a favorite co-star of Sivaji and in her own words Sivaji had praised her acting several times during her performance on the sets. Known for her performances in melancholic roles she has also done well in negative and comic roles. It was K Balachander who had used her in comic roles in a few of his movies. Along with a few North Indian actors she has been one of the most longstanding actors of all time with a career span of almost seven decades! she was also a renowned stage artist with hundreds of stage performances to her credit. This is a song from the super hit movie Puthiya Paravai starring Sivaji, Saroja Devi, M R Radha, V K Ramasami, Nagesh, Manorama, and others along with Sowcar Janaki. The movie was directed by Dada Mirasi who had not been convinced that Sowcar Janaki was ideally suited for the character of Chithra. But after having seen Sowcar Janaki's performance in this song he was truly convinced that Sowcar Janaki was the ideal choice for this particular role. The songs for the movie were written by Kannadasan and music was composed by Viswanathan Ramamoorthi. This movie was based on a super hit British movie 'Chase a Crooked Shadow'. This song sung by P Susheela with outstanding performances by Sivaji and Sowcar Janaki, is rated as one of the most popular Tamil songs of all time. 

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.

Can See a Bright Future Ahead! Two Great Geniuses at Work Again!

This is a hit song from the movie Pachai Villakku, starring Sivaji, SSR, Vijayakumari, Nagesh, SV Ranga Rao and others. It is yet again the classic combination of Sivaji, TMS, Kannadasan and Viswanathan - Ramamoorthy. Though Nagesh is not singing the song, watching his reactions to Sivaji's singing and actions one can truly understand his clalibre! The same is true for another song from the same movie Kelvi Piranthathu Andru. If you listen carefully you can hear the sound of the train whenever you see the train in the visual! That is the kind of involvement of the entire team in the making of a film that was the norm and what you got in that Golden Era of Tamil Cinema and hence you were never disappointed with the quality of any film after watching it. The movie was directed by A Bhim Singh and was released in the year 1964. The famous Editor B. Lenin is Bhim Singh's son.

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!

The Greatest Playback Singing Pair of All Time! Complete Dominance Over a Period of Two Decades!

The Greatest Playback Singing Pair of All Time, TMS and P Susheela dominated the Tamil Movie Industry for more than two decades, having sung hundreds of super hit songs together. This is a hit song from the 1970s movie Vasantha Maaligai starring Sivaji Ganesan, Vanishree, Balaji, Nagesh and others. This song features Sivaji and Vanishree. Sivaji and Vanishree had paired up for several movies during that period. This is one of K V Mahadevan's hit songs featuring the most successful playback singing pair of TMS and P Susheela, supremely dominant, starting from the late 1950s to the 1960s and well into the 1970s, as is the case with this song.. While everyone in India is a fan of Latha Mangeshkar she herself is a fan of P Susheela. P Susheela and TMS are two of the greatest ever original voices (never will they resort to a falsetto) to have graced this planet no doubt!

Birds of Several Kinds! A Movie Gone Missing Earlier! Miraculously Available to Every One Now!

This is the 'Title Song' of the movie Iruvar Ullam starring Sivaji, Saroja Devi, MR Radha, TR Ramachandran, SV Ranga Rao and others. The movie was directed by L V Prasad and was written by M Karunanidhi. Music by the Great K V Mahadevan, Sung by the Great TMS and Lyrics by the Great Kannadasan. The best clip for this song on Youtube happened to be from the beginning of the first part of the full movie upload and hence used here instead of a clip of just the song. There was a time some time back when this movie was not available anywhere and now it is miraculously available for everyone to enjoy as multiple versions on Youtube! Several actresses appear in this song along with Sivaji and the final one to appear is the famous actress Jayanthi whose debut film was in the same year Jeenu Goodu (Kannada).

Galaxy of Stars! Super Hit Pair! Super Hit Movie! Super Hit Song!

This is a super hit song from one of the all time great hit movies of Tamil Cinema, Thillaanaa Mohanaambaal. The cast is a literal compilation of the Who's Who of Tamil Cinema. Sivaji and Padmini in the leading role are supported by the doyens of the Tamil movie industry, Balaiah, Thangavelu, T R Ramachandran, Sahaswaranamam, Nagaiah, Nambiar, C K Saraswathi, Karunanidhi, the list goes on. There are the juniors as well if you can call them that, Nagesh, Balaji, AVM Rajan, Manorama, well as mentioned earlier it is an endless list. It takes a lot to dominate with your acting skills amongst such a galaxy of stars. But one actor stands out in the movie effortlessly not just with his flair for comedy but with his extraordinary acting too! It is Nagesh of course as the inimitable and imperturbable Vaithi! Truly a legend! This particular clip is unique in the sense it starts with the prelude to the song. The song features Padmini performing on stage and Sivaji and his troupe trying to watch it discretely since they have had a small tiff with Padmini and her troupe earlier. Manorama impresses with her expression of appreciation although her appearance in this song is a brief fleeting moment. Enjoy the song!

Greatest Actor Ever! - The Starting Point

This is a song from the movie Paraasakthi, the debut movie of Sivaji Ganesan the greatest actor the world has ever seen or will ever see! Parasakthi is a 1952 Tamil film starring Sivaji Ganesan, Pandari Bai, S. S. Rajendran, S. V. Sahasranamam, Sriranjani and others. It was directed by R. Krishnan and S. Panju (Krishnan - Panju) and produced by AVM. The film Parasakthi was released on Deepavali Day in the year 1952, after months of shooting and preparations.The story and dialogues written by M Karunanidhi is based on the tale of three brothers, Chandrasekaran (Sahasranamam), Gnanasekaran (S. S. Rajendran) and Gunasekaran (Sivaji Ganesan) who settle down in Burma during the Second World War. The youngest Gunasekaran gets the opportunity to visit India for the marriage of their younger sister Kalyani (Sriranjani) but as fate would have it, he gets stranded at sea due to intense Japanese bombardment of Burmese ports. The story evolves around  This particular song has been sung by C S Jayaraman, Lyrics by Udumalai Narayana Kavi and Music by R Sudarsanam. You can see the spark in Sivaji and his dominating screen presence even though this is his debut movie. Songs written by legendary lyricists such as Ku Ma Balasubramaniam, Papanasam Sivan, Udumalai Narayana Kavi and Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram of the era prior to Kannadasan are truly timeless classics.

The Greatest Female Voice of Indian Cinema! Acknowledged by The Great Legendary Singer of Hindi Cinema Lata Mangeshkar!

The Great Legendary Singer of Hindi Cinema Lata Mangeshkar used to visit Chennai often during the 1960s and usually stayed at Sivaji's residence 'Annai Illam'  in T Nagar. During one such visit, while discussing about her favourite singers apparently she had mentioned P Susheela's name and credited her to be the greatest voice that Indian Cinema has ever seen.  Can there be any better tribute to Susheela than this? Skill can be developed and honed by everyone but the level to which one can raise is limited by individual abilities. But talent is god given and there is no limit to which a person can be gifted by god in any particular art form. 17,695 songs in 6 languages as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records is a true recognition of P Susheela's achievements. The truly gifted P Susheela, an epitome of singing talent, has rendered this evergreen song in her own effortless and inimitable style. Telugu being her mother tongue her stunningly perfect diction of Tamil is incredible. There is or never will be anyone quite remotely close to her is the truth as mentioned in an earlier post. This song is from the movie Paalum Pazhamum starring Sivaji, Sarojadevi, Sowcar Janaki and others. Vairamuthu the lyricist had once mentioned in an interview he wished to hear this particular song, as and when the time comes for him to breathe his last and pass away from this world while listening to it. This is as good a tribute to P Susheela as anything can ever be! MSV, Kannadhasan, TMS, P Susheela with all the great actors, actresses and directors had created such timeless classics. Music for this song was composed by Viswanathan - Ramamoorthy.

Comical Song Featuring Two Comic Geniuses!

This is a comical song from the movie Galaatta Kalyaanam featuring Sivaji and Nagesh. Sivaji and Nagesh have paired up to create some of the most unforgettable and memorable moments in the history of the Tamil Movie Industry. This is one such song that showcases the comical timing of the two actors and establishes what great comical geniuses these two great actors are. For further details about the movie see a few earlier posts from the same movie.

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.

Rare Song Featuring Two Greats of Tamil Cinema

This is a rare song from the classic movie Thenum Paalum starring Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini, Saroja Devi, Nagesh, Chachchu, S.V.Rangarao and others. This is probably the only Tamil film featuring Padmini and Saroja Devi. The leading pair of Sivaji and Padmini is undoubtedly the most successful pair ib world cinema, having cted in more than 50 movies together. Both are a good match for each other mainly because of their excellent acting skills and extraordinary screen presence thereby constantly complementing each other creating most enjoyable and unforgettable on screen moments! Enjoy the song!

Another Classic Song from the 1960's

This is a hit song from the movie Aalayamani starring Sivaji, SSR, Vijayakumari, Saroja Devi and others. The movie was released in the year 1962 and was directed by K S Alankar and the music was composed by Viswanathan - Ramamurthy. The storyline is as follows. Thiagarajan (Sivaji Ganesan) a millionaire cannot take even the smallest of failures. He meets Sekar (S.S. Rajendran) during a game on the tennis court who lets Sivaji win the game. He takes an immense liking to Sekar, adopts him as his own brother and wants him to stay with him. Unfortunately, both fall in love with the same girl Meena (Saroja Devi). Feeling indebted, Sekar sacrifices his love. But Thiagarajan finds out the truth and jealousy lifts its head. A dark secret from his past keeps haunting him. The complicated sequence of events that follow makes up the rest of the movie. another classic movie with superhit songs (lyrics Kannadasan) and brilliant performances. This song has been sung by TMS and humming by LR Easwari.

Another Great Performance by the Greatest Actor

This is a classical music based song from the movie Ambikaapathi featuring Sivaji, Bhanumathi, Nambiyar, Nagaiyah and others. No better tribute to TMS and Sivaji than this comment on youtube about this song, "TMS's unique performance with his solid voice. Excellent. Thanks for posting this. Of course, Sivaji Ganesan gives the impression that he is the one who has actually sung the song!" by nathenpeter7. The classical music knowledge of some the people who post comments is really amazing. If you go through the comments you can see how these people have pointed out the different raagaas used in this composition in the different parts of this song. P Bhanumathi is supposedly the only actress to have addressed both MGR and Sivaji by their names in those days!

Sivaji Hits - Vetti Veru Vaasam

This is a hit song  from the movie Mudhal Mariyaathai directed by Bharathiraja. The film's music and background score are by Illaiyaraaja who is in his element. The lyrics are by Vairamuthu. The movie had been a huge hit and had received critical acclaim as well. In this movie Sivaji plays the role of Malaichami Devar married to a shrewish wife played by Vadivukkarasi who had given a great performance. She herself had admitted in an interview that she had been reluctant to do this kind of a role but had been convinced by the director. This performance had opened up a new avenue for her and she has gone on to do hundreds of similar roles both in Movies and TV after this performance. Sivaji seeks comfort and solace in his friendship with a ferry girl who has arrived newly to the village called Kuyil played very well by Radha. The friendship raises eyebrows in the village and the story goes on. One can appreciate the subtle inner meaning hidden in the lyrics of the song which portrays the relationships of the two leading pairs in the movie. Sathyaraj has played a brilliant little cameo towards the end of the movie as a villain.

Sivaji Hits - Yaar Antha Nilavu

This song is from the movie Shanthi, sung wonderfully by T M Soundararajan. The music had been scored by Viswanathan Ramamurthy. In this song there are many close-ups of Sivaji smoking nonchalantly. Nowadays it is unthinkable to even attempt to capture any actor’s closeup. For the song "Yaar Antha Nilavu Yaen Intha Kanavu" both Kaviarasar and MSV were impressed with the way the music and the lyrics had turned out. They wanted Sivaji to do something different for this song scene. When they had met Sivaji to discuss this, the latter had been holding a cigarette in between his lips. This had given them an idea. They requested Sivaji to deliver the lip movement for the whole song with a cigarette in his mouth. Sivaji had obliged and the song had came out well on screen and was widely acclaimed by the audience of the day. Enjoy the song.

Sivaji Hits - Thirumaal Perumaikku

This can also be tagged as a devotional hit. This hit song is from the movie Thirumaal Perumai starring Sivaji, Padmini, Sivakumar and others. This song has been written by Kannadhasan and the music has been composed by the great music composer K V Mahadevan. This song depicts the ten Avathaarams of Lord Vishnu. The evolution of all life forms in the planet are depicted in the Dasaavathaaram starting with the Piscean form, Reptile, Mammalian form and ending in the divine form of God himself. The second half potrays the evolution of human beings ,starting with the part man-part animal form of Narasimha, to the dwarf form of Vaamanaa, to the Angry Man form of Parasurama (an angry man is not a complete man!), to the perfect man Rama, to Krishna (the divine form any human being can evolve into provided he takes the right path)