Genova (1953 film)

Genova is a 1953 Indian film, directed by F. Nagoor and produced by E. P. Eppan.[1] The film stars M. G. Ramachandran, B. S. Saroja in lead roles. The film had musical score by M. S. Viswanathan, Gnanamani, Kalyanam. It was filmed simultaneously in Malayalam and Tamil, with the Tamil version releasing two months after the Malayalam version.

Genova
Poster of the Tamil version
Directed by	F. Nagoor
Produced by	E. P. Eppan
Written by	Swami Brahmavruthan Suratha (Tamil) Elangovan (Tamil) Nedumaran (Tamil)
Story by	Swami Brahmavruthan
Starring	M. G. Ramachandran B. S. Saroja P. S. Veerappa M. G. Chakrapani
Music by	M. S. Viswanathan M. S. Gnanamani T. A. Kalyanam
Cinematography	Jithan Banerjee G. Vittal Rao
Edited by	N. B. Nataraja Mudaliar
Production company	Chandra Pictures
Distributed by	Chandra Pictures
Release date	17 April 1953 (1953-04-17) (Malayalam) 1 June 1953 (1953-06-01) (Tamil)
Country	India
Language	Malayalam Tamil

All the main roles in both languages were performed by the same artistes, except for the villain role enacted by Alleppey Vincent, which was done by P. S. Veerappa in the Tamil version. It is the one and only Malayalam film in which M.G.R. acted. It also is the debut of Malayalam film of actor M. G. Chakrapani, music director M. S. Viswanathan, lyricist and dialogues writer Swami Brahmavrathan, lyricist Pethambaram, and director F. Nagoor, M. G. Ramachandran, B. S. Saroja, M. G. Chakrapani, Alleppey Vincent, T. S. Durairaj.

Released in 1953, this film was scheduled as an Easter release. However, it finally hit the theatres 13 days after Easter. Despite the late release, Genova was a huge hit.

Genova was an adaptation of a musical opera (Sangeeta Natakam) that was staged in Kerala by prominent drama troupes under the titles Janova Natakam and Janova Parvam. Authored at the end of the 19th century-beginning of the 20th century by one of the doyens of the Malayalam musical operas, T. C. Achyuta Menon, this musical drama became very popular. It was itself a modern adaptation of the 18th century Johann Ernst Hanxleden's Janova Parvam, a Malayalam rendering of the popular Christian tale Genevieve of Brabant. The success of this drama and a Tamil film with a similar theme Gnana Soundari (1948) might have prompted the producer-director F. Nagoor to make this film. The story is a mix of myth and history. It had scenes about the glory of Mother Mary, the kind mother who descends to Earth in order to save her devotees etc. The film was remade in Tamil, which was released two months after the Malayalam release.

All the main roles in both the languages were performed by same artistes, except for the villain role enacted by Alleppey Vincent, which was done by P. S. Veerappa in the Tamil version. The presence of M. G. Ramachandran, B. S. Saroja, M. G. Chakrapani, T. S. Durairaj and others added star value. The dialogues of the Malayalam version were authored by the noted writer of musical operas, Swami Brahmavrathan. He also wrote the lyrics along with Peethambaram. The story, dialogues and even the comedy scenes of the film were exact copies of the successful musical opera Genova. Produced jointly by Eapen and F. Nagoor under the banner of Chandra Pictures the film was shot at Newton Studios, Madras. The film introduced M.G.R. – the super star of Tamil cinema – to Malayalam. Although Genova remains the only Malayalam film in which he acted. Music director M. S. Viswanathan, actor M. G. Chakrapani, lyricist and dialogue writer Swami Brahmavrathan, lyricist Peethambaram, and director F. Nagoor also made their Malayalam cinema debut in this film. The veteran actor of early Malayalam cinema and one of the pioneers of musical operas, Sebastian Kunju Bhagavathar dubbed for M.G.R. Probably, this was the first instance in Malayalam cinema where the voice of an actor was dubbed.