Irumbu Thirai
Theatrical release poster
Directed byS. S. Vasan
Story byGanesh Subramaniyam along with Gemini Story Department
Produced byS. S. Vasan
StarringSivaji Ganesan
Vyjayanthimala
B. Saroja Devi
CinematographyP. Elappa
N. C. BalaKrishnan
Edited byM. Umanath
Music byS. V. Venkatraman
Production
company
Release date
  • 14 January 1960 (1960-01-14)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Irumbu Thirai (transl. Iron Curtain) is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Vyjayanthimala, K. A. Thangavelu and B. Saroja Devi, with S. V. Ranga Rao, Pandari Bai and Vasundhara Devi in supporting roles. A remake of Vasan's own Hindi film Paigham (1959), it revolves around two brothers Manikam and Kondamuthu and their mill owner.

The soundtrack was composed by S. V. Venkatraman and the lyrics were written by Kothamangalam Subbu, Papanasam Sivan and Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram. The editing was done by M. Umanath while the camera was handled by P. Elappa and N. C. Bala Krishna. The film was released on 15 January 1960 and ran more than 174 days in theatres.

Plot

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The story revolves around two brothers Manikam and Saravanan and their mill owner.

Cast

Production

In 1959, S. S. Vasan, the proprietor of Gemini Studios, began working on a film built around capital-labour relations.[1] The film, which was the Tamil remake of his own Hindi film Paigham,[2] was untitled, and the creative team of Gemini could not come up with a convincing title. Vasan invited his employees to suggest a title for the under-production film, and he received an abundance of entries; one office boy submitted as many as 2500 entries. After examining one by one, Vasan chose the title Irumbu Thirai (transl. Iron Curtain). He also hosted a reception to honour the boy who suggested the title and rewarded him with some prize money.[1] Besides producing, Vasan also directed the film.[3]

The female cast of Paigham – Vyjayanthimala, B. Saroja Devi and Pandari Bai – returned to star in Irumbu Thirai,[4][5] while Sivaji Ganesan reprised the role originally played by Dilip Kumar. It was a "coup of sorts" for Vasan to cast Ganesan since the latter had earlier been rejected by the former for a role in Chandralekha (1948), an incident which created a permanent rift between them.[2][6] Vyjayanthimala's mother Vasundhara Devi played her screen mother as well, having done the same in Paigham.[2][7] The final length of the film was 18396 feet.[5]

Themes

Irumbu Thirai focuses on capital-labour relations,[1] and the conditions of working-class people.[8]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by S. V. Venkatraman. The album had Kothamangalam Subbu, Papanasam Sivan and Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram as the lyricists.[9] The song "Nenjil Kudiyirukkum" is set in the carnatic raga known as Shanmukhapriya,[10] while the classical-themed "Enna Seidhaalum" is set in Kharaharapriya.[11][12]

Song Singers Lyrics Length
"Nenjil Kudiyirukkum" T. M. Soundararajan & P. Leela Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram 03:57
"Aasai Konda Nenju Rendu" P. Leela 04:27
"Manidharai Manidhar Sari Nigar Samamaai" Sirkazhi Govindarajan 02:40
"Kaiyile Vaanginen Paiyile Podalai" Thiruchi Loganathan 03:00
"Erai Piditthavanum English Padichavanum" Kothamangalam Subbu 03:19
"Nandri Ketta Manitharukku" Sirkazhi Govindarajan 03:22
"Dabba Dabba Dabba" S. C. Krishnan
"Padipirkum Oru Kumbidu" P. Leela & Jikki 02:47
"Nikkatuma Pogatuma" Thiruchi Loganathan & K. Jamuna Rani
"Enna Seidhaalum" (Radha) Jayalakshmi Papanasam Sivan 02:52

Release and reception

Irumbu Thirai was released on 14 January 1960.[3] Kanthan of Kalki wrote[clarification needed].[13] The film was a commercial success, running for over 175 days in theatres and thereby becoming silver jubilee film.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ a b c Guy, Randor (23 May 2003). "With a finger on people's pulse". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Sriram, V. (1 May 2018). "Paigham and Irumbu Thirai – #MayDay Special". Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b "இரும்புத்திரை - இது சிவாஜி படம்" [Irumbu Thirai – This is a Sivaji film]. Kamadenu (in Tamil). 9 May 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Gemini's Paigham". Thought. Vol. 11. Siddhartha Publications. 1959. p. 156.
  5. ^ a b "1960 – இரும்புத் திரை – ஜெமினி பிலிம்ஸ் – பைகாம்(இ)" [1960 – Irumbu Thirai – Gemini Films – Paigham(hi)]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  6. ^ Guy 1997, p. 282.
  7. ^ Pradeep, K. (2 November 2011). "Dance and Vyjayantimala". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  8. ^ Vijayakumar, B. (1 May 2017). "Punnapra Vayalar: 1968". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  9. ^ Neelamegam, G. (December 2014). Thiraikalanjiyam – Part 1 (in Tamil) (1st ed.). Chennai: Manivasagar Publishers. p. 191.
  10. ^ Mani, Charulatha (2 September 2011). "A Raga's Journey – Sacred Shanmukhapriya". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  11. ^ Srinivasan, Anil (24 July 2015). "How Carnatic music has enriched – and been enriched by – movie scores". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  12. ^ Mani, Charulatha (13 April 2012). "A Raga's Journey — Kingly Kharaharapriya". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  13. ^ காந்தன் (24 January 1960). "இரும்புத்திரை". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 14–15. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  14. ^ Ganesan & Narayana Swamy 2007, p. 241.
  15. ^ Selvaraj, N. (20 March 2017). "வெள்ளி விழா கண்ட தமிழ் திரைப்படங்கள்" [Tamil films that completed silver jubilees]. Thinnai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2018.

Bibliography

External links

Films directed by S. S. Vasan
Gemini Studios
Categories