Major Chandrakanth (1966 film)

Major Chandrakanth is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language drama film produced by A. V. Meiyappan and directed by K. Balachander. It is based on his play of the same name. The film stars Major Sundarrajan, Nagesh, R. Muthuraman, A. V. M. Rajan and Jayalalithaa. It tells the story of a retired and blind major who gives asylum to a fugitive wanted for committing murder, unaware that the victim was his younger son.

This article is about the 1966 Tamil film. For the 1993 Telugu film, see Major Chandrakanth (1993 film).

Major Chandrakanth
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. Balachander
Produced byA. V. Meiyappan
Screenplay byK. Balachander
Based onMajor Chandrakanth
by K. Balachander
Starring
Music byV. Kumar
CinematographyS. Maruti Rao
Edited byR. G. Gopu
Production
company
Release date
  • 11 November 1966 (1966-11-11)
Running time
163 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

The film was released on 11 November 1966, during Diwali. It became a commercial success, and Sundarrajan, who portrayed the title role of a retired blind army major, acquired the prefix Major and was more commonly known as Major Sundarrajan thereafter.

Plot

Mohan is a tailor who lives with his younger sister Vimala. Orphaned at an early age, Mohan goes through a life of hardship and fulfills all his sister's wishes. Rajinikanth, a womaniser, lures Vimala and cheats on her. Unable to face her brother, she commits suicide. Mohan confronts Rajinikanth and kills him in revenge. Now a fugitive, Mohan hides in the house of Chandrakanth, a retired and blind major. Mohan is amused and fascinated by Chandrakanth's virtues and how he manages to live though he is blind. Mohan reveals why he is on the run from law and ironically, the deceased happens to be Chandrakanth's youngest son. Chandrakanth feels humiliated for nurturing Rajinikanth and is sorry for Mohan's plight. Ultimately, Chandrakanth's elder son Srikanth, an inspector, arrests Mohan along with his own father for showing hospitality to a criminal.

Cast

Production

When working in the Accountant General's office in Madras (now Chennai), K. Balachander wrote and starred as a blind major in a play titled Courage of Conviction. Since the new Accountant General was a Bengali, Balachander decided the play had to be in English so that the General would understand it.[2][3] This was unlike his other plays, which were written in Tamil.[4] He later decided to expand the play into a full-length script for his friend P. R. Govindarajan's troupe Ragini Recreations, this time in Tamil and with the title Major Chandrakanth due to the limited scope for English plays in Madras.[2][5] This play earned critical acclaim,[6] and was staged over a hundred times.[7] It was later adapted into a Hindi film Oonche Log in 1965, directed by Phani Majumdar and produced by the Madras-based Chitrakala Films.[8][9]

A. V. Meiyappan decided to produce the play in Tamil under his banner AVM Productions with the same title, and Balachander was chosen as director.[10] Sundarrajan, who portrayed the blind major Chandrakanth in the Tamil play, reprised his role in this film.[11][5] The character's sons Srikanth and Rajinikanth were played by R. Muthuraman and A. V. M. Rajan, respectively.[1] Jayalalithaa was cast as Vimala,[1] unlike the play where the same character was only referenced without being physically portrayed.[2][12] The film was the only collaboration between her and Balachander.[13] Nagesh was cast as Vimala's brother Mohan.[1] The role was a departure from the comedic roles he was then generally known for.[14] Cinematography was handled by S. Maruti Rao,[15] the art direction by A. K. Sekhar,[16] and the editing by R. G. Gopu.[17] Meiyappan's sons Murugan, Kumaran and Saravanan were assistant producers.[17] The final length measured 4,425 metres (14,518 ft).[10]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by V. Kumar, while the lyrics were written by Vaali and Suratha.[18] The song "Kalyana Sapadu Podava" is set in the Carnatic raga known as Sindhu Bhairavi.[19] The song "Oru Naal Yaaro", picturised on Mohan going to prove to the audience in his neighbourhood that his Vimala is singing on the radio, became a chartbuster.[13]

No.SongSingersLyricsLength
1"Kalyana Sapadu Podava"T. M. SoundararajanVaali04:12
2"Kalyana Sapadu Podava" (Pathos)T. M. Soundararajan01:35
3"Naane Pani Nilavu"P. Susheela04:06
4"Netrunee Chinnapappa"T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela04:01
5"Oru Naal Yaaro"P. Susheela03:35
6"Thuninthunil"Sirkazhi GovindarajanSuratha01:25

Release and reception

Major Chandrakanth was released on 11 November 1966,[20] during Diwali.[16] In a review dated 26 November 1966, The Indian Express said Sundarrajan brought not only "complete conviction and dignity" to his role but also "revels his rare characterisational depth and sensitivity." The reviewer also praised the performances of Nagesh, Jayalalithaa, Muthuraman and Rajan, the photography and the editing.[21] Writing for The Hindu that December, Venkatesh Ganapathy praised the performances of Jayalalithaa and Nagesh, noting that despite the former's limited screen time, "her acting prowess in [Major Chandrakanth] continues to be a moment of truth."[13]

Legacy

Following the film's commercial success, Sundarrajan became popularly known with the prefix "Major".[22] During the making of Apoorva Raagangal (1975), Balachander rechristened newcomer Shivaji Rao Gaekwad as Rajinikanth, named after A. V. M. Rajan's character,[23] and Rajinikanth went on to become the most successful star of Tamil cinema.[24][25]

References
  1. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 388.
  2. Bhatt, Karthik (13 April 2017). "Major Chandrakanth : From Stage to Celluloid". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  3. Sivakumar, S. (24 June 2011). "Quality recreation". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  4. "KB: The Man, The Philosophy". Brew. 18 October 2013. p. 40.
  5. Guy, Randor (3 May 2011). "The KB school". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  6. "K Balachander gets Dadasaheb Phalke award". Rediff.com. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  7. Mukherjee, Bimal; Kothari, Sunil; Lal, Ananda; Dasgupta, Chidananda (1995). Rasa: Theatre and cinema. Anamika Kala Sangam. p. 196. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  8. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 386.
  9. Narayan, Hari (15 November 2016). "KB's continuum". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  10. Film News Anandan (2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [History of Landmark Tamil films] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivagami Publishers. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018.
  11. Krishnamachari, Suganthy (27 August 2015). "Made a 'Major' impact". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  12. Yamunan, Sruthisagar (23 December 2014). "A powerful portrayer of middle-class predicament in plays". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  13. Ganapathy, Venkatesh (20 December 2016). "The right balance in child-rearing". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  14. Raman, Mohan (3 January 2015). "KB: Kollywood's Discovery Channel". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  15. Saravanan 2013, p. 191.
  16. "Major Chandrakanth". The Indian Express. 11 November 1966. p. 3.
  17. Major Chandrakanth (motion picture) (in Tamil). AVM Productions. 1966. Opening credits, from 0:00 to 5:13.
  18. "Major Chandrakanth (1966)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  19. Mani, Charulatha (10 May 2013). "Light and melodious". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  20. Saravanan 2013, p. 189.
  21. "Sundararajan excels in Major Chandrakanth". The Indian Express. 26 November 1966. p. 3.
  22. Guy, Randor (7 March 2003). "Dialogue delivery set him apart". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  23. Ramachandran, Naman (8 December 2012). "It was a small role, but people would remember him". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  24. Narayan, Hari (23 July 2016). "The superstar and the man". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  25. Ramanujam, Srinivasa (6 March 2015). "Holi: The day Rajinikanth was 'born'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

Bibliography
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