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Kalidas (film)

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Kalidas ("The Servant of Kali")[1] was a 1931 Indian mythological film, most notable for being the first sound film made in Tamil, as well as the first sound film ever to be made in South India. It was produced by Ardeshir Irani, and directed by Irani's former assistant H. M. Reddy for the studio Imperial Movi-Tone. The film was based on the life of the third-century Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa. It features P. G. Venkatesan as the eponymous character and T. P. Rajalakshmi as the female lead character, while L. V. Prasad, Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila and M. S. Santhanalakshmi appear in supporting roles.

Although primarily a Tamil film, due to additional dialogue in Telugu and Hindi it is often seen as India's first multilingual film. It was even billed in the Tamil newspaper Swadesamitran as the "First Tamil-Telugu Talking Picture". However, because all of its fifty songs were in Tamil, the film historian S. Theodore Baskaran considers it as a Tamil film only. Despite the film's mythological theme, it also featured patriotic songs. The film was shot in Bombay on the sets of India's first sound film Alam Ara and was completed in eight days.

Amid much hype, Kalidas was released on Diwali day, 31 October 1931, the only Tamil film to be released that year. It received critical acclaim and became a commercial success, grossing ₹75,000 against its budget of ₹8,000. The success of Kalidas led to numerous other films based on the eponymous character in various languages. It is currently a lost film.

Plot

A still from the film

Vidhyadhari is the daughter of Vijayavarman, the king of Thejavathi. His minister wants the princess to marry his son but she refuses. Annoyed, the minister sets out to find a different husband for Vidhyadhari. In the forest, the minister comes across an illiterate cowherd sitting in a tree and cutting down the branch on which he is sitting. The minister persuades the cowherd to come to the palace and has Vidhyadhari marry him. When Vidhyadhari realises she has been cheated and is married to a cowherd, she prays to the goddess Kali for redress. Kali appears before her, names her husband "Kalidas", and endows him with phenomenal literary talents.

Cast

Production

Kalidas was the first Tamil sound film, as well the first sound film ever produced in South Indian cinema.[2][a] It was based on the life of the third century Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa. The film was produced by Ardeshir Irani—who directed India's first sound film Alam Ara—and was directed by his former assistant, H. M. Reddy for the studio Imperial Movi-Tone. P. G. Venkatesan was chosen to play the title role.[5] L. V. Prasad—who later founded Prasad Studios—played a temple priest.[6] Prasad also acted in Alam Ara and Bhakta Prahlada—the first Telugu sound film—earning the rare distinction of appearing in three of the first sound films in India.[7] Theatre artiste T. P. Rajalakshmi was chosen to play the female protagonist.[8] Other supporting roles were played by Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila[9] and M. S. Santhanalakshmi.[10] The sound recording was done by German technicians using the Vitaphone process and their equipment.[11][12] Kalidas was shot in Bombay on the sets of Alam Ara and was completed in eight days using 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of film.[5][13][b]

First Tamil sound film?

The characters of Kalidas spoke a variety of languages, including Tamil (Vidhyadhari), Telugu (Kalidas, Naradhar) and Hindi (the temple priest).[5] As Venkatesan's first language was Telugu and could not get his Tamil right, his dialogue was in Telugu.[2] Because the characters spoke multiple languages, experts including Film News Anandan,[15] Birgit Meyer,[16] G. Dhananjayan[17] and Randor Guy[18] have refused to call Kalidas the first Tamil sound film, with the latter two instead calling it India's first multilingual film.[18][17]

Music

The film featured fifty songs,[19] composed and written by Bhaskara Das.[11] All of them were in Tamil, and only because of that, Theodore Baskaran considers Kalidas a Tamil film despite the various languages spoken by the characters.[20] Although the film was based on mythology, it featured Thyagaraja Kirtanas (compositions by the carnatic musician Thyagaraja) and the Indian National Congress publicity songs.[15] Film News Anandan believes that Reddy was "probably pleased to add on anything artistic that came his way. Relevance was hardly an issue"[2] while Scholars Selvaraj Velayutham and Birgit Meyer believe that the nationalistic songs featured in the film had nothing to do with the main plot[21][22]

Some of the most notable songs in the film were the patriotic "Gandhiyin Kai Rattiname", sung by T. P. Rajalakshmi,[23] the Thyagaraja-composed "Enta Nerchina" (also sung by Rajalakshmi)[24] the Rajalakshmi-crooned number "Manmada Baanamadaa" which became very popular among young women, and the freedom-movement themed "Indhiyargal Nammavarkkul Eno Veen Sandai".[5] No songbook of the film is currently known to exist.[5]

Release

Pre-release advertisement for Kalidas

Prior to its release, Kalidas was given a "U" certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification.[5] An advertisement announcing the film was published in the 30 October 1931 issue of the Tamil newspaper Swadesamitran, where it was billed as the "First Tamil-Telugu Talking Picture".[7] Kalidas was first released theatrically at the Madras-based Kinema Central (now known as the Murugan Theatre) on 31 October 1931,[5] coinciding with Diwali day[25] and the Civil Disobedience Movement.[26]

When the film reels were taken to Madras, thousands of people gathered at the city's central railway station and followed the reel box to Kinema Central along Wall Tax Road, throwing rose petals, breaking open coconuts and burning incense.[12][27] An earlier attempt at producing a Tamil sound film, a four-reel short titled Korathi Dance and Songs, was screened alongside Kalidas as a side attraction.[20]

Swadesamitran printed a favourable review for Kalidas on 29 October 1931, two days prior to the film's theatrical release. The reviewer stated, "The film will certainly run for a few weeks" and appreciated the singing of Rajalakshmi, calling the film a "must watch" for all.[11] Kalidas was commercially successful, grossing over ₹75,000 (equivalent to ₹23 million or US$270,000 in 2023) and easily covering its budget of ₹8,000 (equivalent to ₹2.4 million or US$29,000 in 2023).[5]

Legacy

In addition to being critically acclaimed and commercially successful, Kalidas became a trendsetter for sound films in Tamil cinema.[5] It was remade by K. R. Seetharam Shastry as the Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidas (1955), which was also critically appreciated and commercially successful.[5] Other Kalidas-themed films include Kaviratna Kalidasa (Kannada, 1983),[28] Mahakavi Kalidas (Tamil, 1966)[29] and Mahakavi Kalidasu (Telugu, 1960).[30] Kalidas was the only Tamil film to be produced and released in 1931.[7] No print or gramophone record[5] of the film is known to have survived, making it a lost film.[6]

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Till September 2012, it was believed that Bhakta Prahladha, the first Telugu sound film was released on 15 September 1931, which would make it the first South Indian sound film ever released. However, film journalist Rentala Jayadeva proved that it was released on 6 February 1932, making Kalidas the actual first South Indian sound film ever to be released.[3][4]
  2. ^ While scholars Sachi Sri Kantha and G. Dhananjayan claim that Kalidas used 10,000 feet (3,000 m),[13][11] Film News Anandan claims that it used only 6,000 feet (1,800 m).[14]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Chandra Rajan (1997). The Complete Works of Kālidāsa Volume One: Poems. Sahitya Akademi. p. 2. ISBN 81-7201-824-X.
  2. ^ a b c Malathi Rangarajan (10 May 2012). "Tryst with the past". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  3. ^ M. L. Narasimham (9 September 2012). "Wake up, industry". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  4. ^ "'Bhaktha Prahladha': First Telugu talkie completes 81 years". CNN-IBN. 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 18 January 2014 suggested (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Tamil Talkies complete 80 years!". IndiaGlitz. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 29 October 2013 suggested (help)
  6. ^ a b "Talking about talkies". Deccan Chronicle. 19 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Dhananjayan 2011, p. 3.
  8. ^ Mohan V Raman (22 June 2011). "The Rani of Cinema". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 29 October 2013 suggested (help)
  9. ^ Baskaran 1996, p. 88.
  10. ^ "Tamil Talkies completes 80 years today !". Sify. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 5 January 2012 suggested (help)
  11. ^ a b c d Dhananjayan 2011, p. 2.
  12. ^ a b Pheroze L. Vincent (25 November 2009). "Romancing the reel". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 29 October 2013 suggested (help)
  13. ^ a b Sachi Sri Kantha. "Book Review: A Valuable Source Book about Tamil Movie History". Ilankai Tamil Sangam. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 17 February 2012 suggested (help)
  14. ^ M. L. Narasimham (8 September 2006). "A leader and a visionary". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 8 August 2011 suggested (help)
  15. ^ Meyer 2009, p. 97.
  16. ^ a b Dhananjayan 2011, pp. 2–3.
  17. ^ a b Randor Guy (October 2012). "Tamil Cinema 75 - A Look Back" (PDF). Anna Nagar Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 17 January 2014 suggested (help)
  18. ^ Baskaran 1996, p. 42.
  19. ^ a b Baskaran 1996, p. 89.
  20. ^ Velayutham 2008, p. 158.
  21. ^ Meyer 2009, p. 105.
  22. ^ S. Theodore Baskaran (6 January 2002). "Music for the people". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 16 January 2014 suggested (help)
  23. ^ B. Kolappan (20 September 2013). "South India's first heroine stormed male bastion". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Damp Diwali for Tamil cinema, Ajith starrer lone 'sparkler'". Oneindia.in. United News of India. 27 October 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  25. ^ Gokulsingh & Dissanayake 2013, p. 129.
  26. ^ Suganthy Krishnamachari (25 April 2008). "Celebrations … in and on AIR". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 29 October 2013 suggested (help)
  27. ^ "Biography of Kalidasa". Poemhunter.com. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  28. ^ T. S. Narayana Swamy (2007). Autobiography of an Actor: Sivaji Ganesan, October 1928-July 2001. Chennai: Sivaji Prabhu Charities Trust. p. 241.
  29. ^ "8th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. pp. 32–33. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.

Bibiliography

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