Andaman Kaithi (1952)

 ●  Tamil ● 3 hrs 8 mins

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A story about Independence and Partition (shown via newsreel footage) adapted from Krishnamurthy’s reformist play as staged by the popular 40s company, TKS Brothers. The young trade union activist Nataraj (an early MGR role) tells, in flashback, his cellmate how his villainous uncle, Ponnambalam (Sarangapani), a collaborator with the British, swindled Nataraj’s mother, killed his father and married his sister, Leela (Saraswathi). The family having escaped by train from Karachi to Madras, the villain has Nataraj imprisoned but the hero manages to kill him, earning a further prison term. Set at the time when the labour movement was gaining ground (scenes of food shortage, unemployment, strike calls), the play’s reformism was skewed towards a nationalist politics and sexual conservativism, in the name of naturalism: the hero marries a rape victim (Draupadi) but the child conveniently dies; his sister Leela is a widow but also a virgin, a difficult condition achieved by feigning madness during marriage. The song Anju ruba notai (A Five Rupee Note) was a hit and the poet Subramanya Bharati’s Kani nilam vendum (I Want a Piece of Land) featured as part of a love duet. A long dance sequence interrupts the narrative momentum. Some accounts suggest K. Subramanyam supervised the making of the film.
See Storyline (May Contain Spoilers)

Cast: MG Ramachandran, PK Saraswathi

Crew: V Krishnan (Director), V Krishnan (Director of Photography), G Govindarajulu Naidu (Music Director)

Rating: U (India)

Genres: Drama

Release Dates: 14 Mar 1952 (India)

Tamil Name: அந்தமான் கைதி

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as Nataraj
as Leela
as Ponnambalam Pillai
Supporting Actress
as Vallikannu
as Jambu

Direction

Director

Production

Production Company

Distribution

Distributor

Writers

Screenplay Writer
Story Writer

Camera and Electrical

Director of Photography
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
Tamil
Colour Info:
Black & White
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.39:1 (Scope)
Stereoscopy:
No