Pookkari
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKrishnan–Panju
Written byT. N. Balu
StarringM. K. Muthu
Manjula
Vennira Aadai Nirmala
Jayakumari
Jayachitra
Amarnath
CinematographyAmritham
Edited byPanju
Music byM. S. Viswanathan
Production
company
Anjugam Pictures
Release date
  • 25 October 1973 (1973-10-25)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Pookkari (transl. Flower Selling Girl) is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Krishnan–Panju and produced by Anjugam Pictures. It stars M. K. Muthu, Manjula, Vennira Aadai Nirmala, Jayachitra, Jayakumari and Ambareesh (credited as Amarnath). The film was released on 25 October 1973, and failed commercially. The film was remade in Kannada as Halli Haida directed by Amirtham, cinematographer of the original with Ambareesh reprising his role.[1]

Plot

Valli is a flower seller and her brother Srinivasan is a real estate broker. One day, Valli meets a young man (Muthu) and they fall in love. Meanwhile, there is a wealthy man with a daughter, Shyamala. He has a nephew Ravi who is a womaniser. Although Ravi has a mistress, he is also after Muthu's sister, who he eventually rapes. Traumatised by the incident, she loses her voice.

Ravi and Muthu fight frequently, but during one such incident, Jayachitra pleads with Muthu to spare Ravi. During that incident, she also regains her voice and Ravi agrees to marry her. Upon realising this, a shocked Jayamala plans to go to the wedding hall in disguise, with a hidden gun, and shoot Ravi dead. Shyamala learns of Jayamala's plans and rushes to save Ravi, but Valli takes the bullet instead. Before dying, she manages to unite Shyamala and Muthu. Ravi and Jayachitra marry.

Cast

Production

Pookkari was directed by the duo Krishnan–Panju, and produced under the banner Anjugam Pictures. Panju edited the film under the pseudonym "Panjabi". It was photographed by Amritham, a relative of politician and screenwriter M. Karunanidhi. The story and dialogue were written by T. N. Balu.[2]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by M. S. Viswanathan.[3][4] The song "Kaadhalin Pon Veedhiyil", written by Panchu Arunachalam and sung by T. M. Soundararajan and S. Janaki, attained popularity.[2]

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Kaadhalin Pon Veedhiyil"Panchu ArunachalamS. Janaki, T. M. Soundararajan 
2."Muppathu Paisa"VaaliL. R. Eswari 
3."Muththuppal Sirippennavo" P. Susheela, T. M. Soundararajan 

Release

Pookkari was released on 25 October 1973,[5] and failed commercially.[6] Kalki criticised the film for being anti-progressive towards Tamil cinema.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Halli Haida – ಹಳ್ಳೀ ಹೈದ (1978/೧೯೭೮)". Kannada Movies Info. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b Guy, Randor (16 July 2016). "Pookari (1973)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Pookkari (1973)". Music India Online. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Pookkari Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by MS viswanathan". Mossymart. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  5. ^ "திரையுலகில் கலைஞர்". Dinamalar (in Tamil). 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Karunanidhi's grandson's ambitious debut bombs". Daily News and Analysis. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  7. ^ "பூக்காரி". Kalki (in Tamil). 11 November 1973. p. 20. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.

External links

Films directed by Krishnan–Panju
Categories