Director: Ellis Duncan; Writer: S.D.S Yogi; Producer: Ramasamy; Cast: K.P. Kesavan, K.K. Perumal, T.S. Balaiah, S.N. Kannaman, M.M. Radhabai, M.G. Chakrapani, S.N. Vijayalakshmi, M.G. Ramachandran
Summary: Shot in Bombay at Sagar Movietone by the American expatriate Duncan, who also edited it, this film was billed as only the 2nd social (cf.
Balayogini, 1936) in a Tamil industry dominated by mythologicals. The plot addresses the joint family system: two brothers, Sabapathi and Pasupathi, and their wives fight over the family property. The happy resolution requires the introduction of an angel in the shape of a maid. The most interesting aspect of the film is its depiction of the world of commercial drama, the most popular form of urban mass entertainment in 30s Tamil Nadu. Duncan reduced the envisaged 30-5 songs to 13, tightened the editing and integrated the comedy into the narrative rather than leaving it as an autonomous sub-plot. He also endeavoured to get the actors to adopt the rhythms of everyday speech. The producer was a Congress Party sympathiser responsible for the nationalist flavouring of the songs. The film recelved the blessing of nationalist leaders like S. Satyamurthy and C. Rajagopalachari.
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