Kaliyuga Kannan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKrishnan–Panju
Written byVaali
Based onSri Krishna Vijayam
by Vaali
Produced byN. Elango
StarringSowcar Janaki
Jaishankar
Jayachitra
Thengai Srinivasan
CinematographyS. Maruti Rao
Edited by
  • Panjabi
  • Narasimhan
Music byV. Kumar
Production
company
Ajantha Enterprises
Release date
  • 13 November 1974 (1974-11-13)
Running time
146 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kaliyuga Kannan (transl. Kannan, from the Age of Vice) is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju. It is based on the play Sri Krishna Vijayam written by Vaali. The film stars Sowcar Janaki, Jaishankar, Jayachitra and Thengai Srinivasan. It was released on 13 November 1974 and emerged a commercial success. The film was later remade in Telugu as Devudu Digivaste (1975),[2] in Kannada as Devara Duddu (1976),[3] and in Hindi as Yehi Hai Zindagi (1977).[4]

Plot

Kaliyuga Kannan is a drama of faith and disbelief in God of a middle-aged couple. While Sambu Iyer's wife's character played by Janaki is a devotee of Krishna, Sambu Iyer questions God's partiality and judgement. He happens to spend the money his wife had kept aside for God as a offering and on a competition which he wins and uses to become rich.

When the lord himself appears and asks for that money, he keeps putting off the return of the money taking credit for his success while blaming the lord for his failures. In the end, he concedes and acknowledges that God is fair, money is root of all evil and reconciles with God at the time of his death.

Cast

Production

Kaliyuga Kannan is the inaugural production of Ajantha Enterprises,[7] and is an adaptation of Sri Krishna Vijayam, a play written by Vaali that featured Thengai Srinivasan as the protagonist.[8] The play, which was written for actor V. Gopalakrishnan's Gopi Theatres,[9] intended to convey the message that "money could not buy peace of mind".[10] When adapting the play as a film, the makers wanted Sivaji Ganesan to star. But Ganesan suggested Srinivasan, after being impressed with his performance in the play.[8] Vaali wrote the dialogue for the film adaptation,[11] which was produced by N. Elango.[1] Cinematography was handled by S. Maruti Rao.[7] Besides directing, Panju co-edited the film (alongside Narasimhan) under the pseudonym "Panjabi".[7][12] The final cut of the film measured 3,993 metres (13,100 ft).[1]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by V. Kumar, while the lyrics were written by Vaali. The playback singers were T. M. Soundararajan, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela and Renuka.[7] The songs featured were "Kannaiah", "Kadhal Ponnedu", "Jaichutte" and "Seven O'Clock".[1]

Release and reception

Kaliyuga Kannan was released on 13 November 1974.[13] Kanthan of Kalki appreciated the film for Janaki's performance and Vaali's writing, calling it a good entertainer.[14] The film emerged a commercial success.[8]

Legacy

Kaliyuga Kannan propelled Srinivasan to stardom.[12] CV Aravind of The News Minute praised it for the "riveting script by Vaali".[15] Playwright and comedian Crazy Mohan developed a desire to write a play with "God as the fulcrum" after watching the play Krishnaya Thubhyam Namaha, and Kaliyuga Kannan encouraged him to solidify his plans,[16] resulting in the play Chocolate Krishna.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Dharap, B. V. (1974). Indian Films. Motion Picture Enterprises. p. 369. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Yehi Hai Zindagi (1977)". MySwar. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  3. ^ குணா, எம். (29 March 2018). "ஜெயந்தி மேடம் நல்லாயிருக்காங்க; வதந்தியை நம்பாதீங்க..! - ஹேமா செளத்ரி". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  4. ^ Ramachandran, T. M., ed. (1977). "Yehi Hai Zindagi". Film World. Vol. 13. p. 390.
  5. ^ a b "ஜெயலலிதாவும் கமலும் இணைந்து நடித்த ஒரே படம்" [The only film where Jayalalithaa and Kamal acted together]. Dinakaran (in Tamil). 1 February 2012. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  6. ^ Krishnamachari, Suganthy (12 June 2009). "Livewire of the stage". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d Kaliyuga Kannan (motion picture) (in Tamil). Ajantha Enterprises. 1974. Opening credits, from 0:00 to 2:30.
  8. ^ a b c Raman, Mohan V. (20 October 2012). "He walked tall in tinsel town". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  9. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (6 October 2011). "Creator Invincible!". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  10. ^ "The Stage of Madras". Cultural News from India. Vol. 15. Indian Council for Cultural Relations. 1974. p. 64.
  11. ^ Kolappan, B. (18 July 2013). "Lyricist Vaali leaves a void". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 September 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  12. ^ a b Guy, Randor (1 March 2015). "Remembering Panju". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  13. ^ "கலியுக கண்ணன் / Kaliyuga Kannan (1974)". Screen 4 Screen. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  14. ^ காந்தன் (22 December 1974). "கலியுகக் கண்ணன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 64. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  15. ^ Aravind, CV (1 April 2016). "From the sublime to the ridiculous: A journey through decades of Tamil film comedy". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  16. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (11 July 2008). "How humour meets magic". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Siri on top fo [sic] the cake!". The Times of India. 24 July 2011. Archived from the original on 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.

External links

Films directed by Krishnan–Panju
Categories