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Vaa Raja Vaa

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Vaa Raja Vaa
Directed byA. P. Nagarajan
Written byA. P. Nagarajan
Produced byA. P. Nagarajan
StarringMaster Prabhakar
Baby Sumathi
CinematographyW. R. Subbarao
Edited byT. R. Nagarajan
Music byKunnakudi Vaidyanathan
Production
company
CNV Productions
Release date
  • 6 December 1969 (1969-12-06)
Running time
152 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Vaa Raja Vaa (transl. Come Raja, Come)[2] is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language children's film written, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan for CNV Productions. The film features an ensemble cast including Master Prabhakar, Baby Sumathi, Sirkazhi Govindarajan, V. S. Raghavan, K. D. Santhanam and Suruli Rajan. It was released on 6 December 1969 and became a commercial success. The film was remade in Telugu as Balaraju Katha (1970).

Plot

Raja is a 10-year-old tourist guide in Mahabalipuram. An elder sculptor has a small rock sculpture tablet on which are engraved adages. Raja enters a discussion with him, wondering if those pearls of wisdom still hold relevance. The sculptor tells him that those sayings are eternal and immortal. Unconvinced, Raja sets out to find the truth for himself. Ultimately, he realises that all those sayings are still valid.

Cast

Production

In addition to writing and directing, A. P. Nagarajan also produced Vaa Raja Vaa under his company CNV Productions. W. R. Subba Rao was the cinematographer, while T. R. Nagarajan was the editor.[3] Since it was previously believed in the Tamil film industry that A. P. Nagarajan's films were successful only because of their star cast and "mammoth" scales, rather than his directorial skills, he directed this film, which featured mostly newcomers, to silence his critics.[4] It was also one of his rare films to have a contemporary setting, since he was then known primarily for directing films based on Hindu mythology.[5][6] The film was shot entirely on location in Mahabalipuram.[7]

Soundtrack

Vaa Raja Vaa
Soundtrack album by
Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan
Released1969
GenreSoundtrack
LanguageTamil
LabelSaregama

The music of the film was composed by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, marking his cinematic debut.[8] The lyrics were written by Arulmani, Poovai Senguttuvan, Ulundurpettai Shanmugham and Azha Valliappa. The playback singers were L. R. Eswari, Sirkazhi Govindarajan, Anjali, V. Sarala, M. R. Vijaya and R. Jayalakshmi.[3]

Track list[9]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Kallellaam"L. R. Eswari03:34
2."Aadi Paadi Sirikka"L. R. Eswari, Sharada, M. R. Vijaya, L. R. Anjali04:57
3."Unmai Ethu Poy Ethu"L. R. Eswari03:43
4."Iraivan Padai Tha"Sirkazhi Govindarajan03:31
5."Kallamilla Pillaiyidam"Sirkazhi Govindarajan03:44
Total length:19:29

Release and reception

Vaa Raja Vaa was released on 6 December 1969.[10] The film was a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres.[3] In a review dated 21 December 1969, the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan praised the performances of the cast.[11] The film was remade in Telugu as Balaraju Katha (1970),[12] with Prabhakar reprising his role.[13]

References

  1. ^ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press. p. 402. ISBN 0-19-563579-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  2. ^ Baskaran, S. Theodore (1996). The eye of the serpent: an introduction to Tamil cinema. East West Books. p. 185. OCLC 1129458207.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guy, Randor (24 September 2016). "Vaa Raja Vaa (1969)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  4. ^ Raghavan, Nikhil (5 September 2012). "Classic gets a new life". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  5. ^ Thoraval, Yves (2000). The cinemas of India. India: Macmillan. p. 330. ISBN 0333 93410 5.
  6. ^ "பொன்விழா படங்கள் : வா ராஜா வா" [Golden Jubilee Films: Vaa Raja Vaa]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  7. ^ ""Kalaimamani" Sirkali's Memorable Movies". Sirkali.org. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  8. ^ Venkatraman, Lakshmi (7 February 2003). "His fingers weave magic with ragas". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Vaa Raja Vaa". Gaana.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  10. ^ "வா ராஜா வா" [Come Raja Come]. Vellitthirai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  11. ^ "சினிமா விமர்சனம்: வா ராஜா வா" [Movie Review: Vaa Raja Vaa]. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 21 December 1969. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  12. ^ "சினிமாவில் வெற்றிக்கொடி நாட்டிய குழந்தைகள்!". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 4 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  13. ^ Narasimham, M. L. (4 October 2019). "Balaraju Katha (1970)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
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