inderSTADTBala Gopalan's noWHere in the *CITY

Blog post “Readability” statement:  to be able to relate to this post, familiarity with the following is required: tamil/dravidian polity, MGR, M.Karunanidhi, anti-brahminism, Doordarshan.

Released in 1950, the story and dialogues have been penned by none other than the current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi (MK).  Of course, the revolutionary dialogues mouthed on-screen by the former Chief Minister, Puratchi Thalaivar MGR, who plays Veeramohan, the commander-in-chief of the army.

Summary, based on the product description on amazon.com:

The son of a cretinous priest and royal advisor (M. N. Nambiar), Parthiban (S. A. Natarajan) has taken to dressing up as a demented superhero and committing acts of banditry and thuggery to discredit the virtuous Veeramohan (M. G. Ramachandran), a decorated general and boyfriend of the beautiful Princess Jeevarekha (G. Shakuntala).

Parthiban is arrested and sentenced to be hanged.  But escapes the noose, thanks to Amudavalli, daughter of the Prime Minister.  Veeramohan is banished from the kingdom for falsely implicating Parthiban.

The pure-hearted Amudavalli (Madhuri Devi) tries to change the feckless Parthiban from his wicked ways and even marries the guy. Unfortunately, her efforts come to naught as she kills him in self-defense.

Veeramohan is framed for the attempted murder of the king and tried. Amudavalli comes to his rescue, sacrificing her life in bargain.  Evilness of the priest is exposed in the end.

This story is really a parable for rousing dravidian sentiments against the upper caste brahmins and religion. The scheming Rajguru, who is also the political advisor and ruler by proxy, is shown wearing the poonul (read, holy tassel) that is a common symbol for those born into the brahmin caste.  Brahmins were painted as oppressive, greedy, and exploitative intellectuals, who wielded power and enjoyed wealth disproportionate to their percentage of the overall population. Without going into any sort of judgment, it is this very propoganda that served as the poliitical platform for MK and MGR enroute to their ultimate glory as Chief Minister of the state (Tamil Nadu).

On a personal note, this is a movie I “complete” my viewing after almost 28 years.  As a kid, I could never stay awake past 8pm. I guess I got started early on the early to bed, early to rise .. though I have to admit I have strayed very far based on current evidence.  It is 12:37a now and I am typing this post!  Anyways, back to growing pains, when you are the middle of three siblings, this “weakness” gets exploited as the situation deems it fit.  When Mandiri Kumari was telecast on Doordarshan, the last half-hour was kept for after the late night news (say 10pm) in English and I had to rely on my brothers – see, there was no internet, google, youtube, tivo etc – to fill me in the next day on what I missed.  Of course, this meant there was some form of barter .. though memory conveniently blanks out what exactly it was that was exchanged for details on how the movie ended.

This post is to Doordarshan and sibling skirmishes when growing up ..

Famous Lines:

Parthiban, sadist son of the pontiff / royal adviser, says:

Aran.maN.eye, Naa.yei, Adakku.da, Vaa,yei

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Read, (you) palace dog, stop barking and shut your trap.

Parthiban tells his father, the Rajguru:

Plundering is an art, I take pleasure in it .. what is wrong, if you cannot see art in this, you are simpleton for it.

I will stop plundering when the carnivores stop eating flesh, when the snakes stop being venomous ..

Parthiban to Amuthavalli:

chandiran, sooriyan udikka manrandilaam
mandiram oda nee marakka mattay ..

Sun or moon might forget to rise but you won’t your chirping ..

Or simply, read, (woman) STOP NAGGING

Scene Stealers:

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In the absence of Parthiban, Appaavi (read, simpleton) annoints himself leader and forms his cabinet. Interesting how this scene ends with the remark, “Minister position came and went in a jiffy”

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Song: Arumai Kannu Kutty, en Erumai Kannu Kutty

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Sound of a horse’s gallop (from the movie)

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Song: the classic Vaaraai, nee Vaarai .. sung by Tiruchi Loganathan and Jikki

Storyboard and Credits: