Karpagam

For other uses, see Karpagam (disambiguation).

Karpagam
Poster
Directed by	K. S. Gopalakrishnan
Written by	K. S. Gopalakrishnan
Produced by	K. S. Sabarinathan
Starring	See Cast
Cinematography	M. Karnan
Edited by	R. Devarajan
Music by	Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Production company	Amar Jothi Movies
Release date	15 November 1963 (1963-11-15)
Running time	162 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Karpagam is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. The film features an ensemble cast including Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, S. V. Ranga Rao, M. R. Radha, R. Muthuraman, V. K. Ramasamy, V. Nagayya, Karikol Raju, Sheeladevi, K. R. Vijaya and Baby Shakila. In Karpagam, a rich farmer (Ranga Rao) makes his newly married daughter (Vijaya) and her husband (Ganesan) live in his house to take care of his business. Problems arise when his estranged son (Muthuraman) starts to squander his money.

Karpagam is the debut film for Vijaya who plays the title character. It was released on 15 November 1963, Diwali day, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil – Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Feature Film, while Ganesan won the Chennai Film Fans' Association for Best Actor. The film was also a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres; from the profits earned, Gopalakrishnan built a studio named after the film. It was remade in Hindi as Rishte Naate (1965), in Telugu as Thodu Needa (1965), in Malayalam as Vishukkani (1977) and in Kannada as Muddina Aliya (1996).

Plot

Nallasivam is a rich farmer and lives in the village of Pillaiyarpatti with his son Rajangam and daughter Karpagam. Rajangam is married to Pankajam, daughter of the greedy Thandavam; Karpagam is married to Sundaram, a hardworking farmer from the same village. Karpagam and Sundaram continue to live with Nallasivam at his request to take care of the households and the farm.

Pankajam gives birth to a girl named Meenakshi, but she and Rajangam neglect her. Karpagam, who is childless, takes care of Meenakshi, who starts considering Karpagam and Sundaram as her parents. Unhappy to see how Rajangam is squandering money, Nallasivam hands over the administration of his properties to Sundaram. Pankajam, who has ignored her child in her formative years, is annoyed with this development and, at the instigation of Thandavam, forces Rajangam to send a legal notice to his father, asking for property settlement. Thandavam creates problems in Rajangam's family by brainwashing and misleading Pankajam and Rajangam, who blindly follow his advice.

When Meenakshi is taken away by Rajangam, Karpagam goes into depression. Finally, Rajangam sends her back and Karpagam becomes happy. A bull attacks Meenakshi, and Karpagam is killed saving her. Meenakshi refuses to return to her parents and opts to stay with Nallasivam and Sundaram. Nallasivam forcibly gets his son-in-law married to his friend Subramanian's daughter Amudha, who was a friend of Karpagam, so that the child will have a mother. Sundaram and Meenakshi do not accept Amudha. Sundaram lives in the memory of his deceased wife Karpagam, roaming around like a sage. Amudha longs for the love and attention of both Sundaram and Meenakshi. Sadness prevails at home.

Meanwhile, Rajangam and Thandavam conspire to swindle Nallasivam. Thandavam, frustrated with his failure to swindle the wealth of Nallasivam's family, decides to kill Sundaram and sends goons to attack him. Both Nallasivam and Amudha come and save him, while Thandavam is arrested. In the process, Amudha gets stabbed when a goon tries to attack Sundaram. When she is almost dying, Meenakshi sings her favourite song "Athai Madi Methaiyadi" and Amudha is saved. Sundaram realises Amudha's love for Meenakshi. The family unites, while Rajangam and Pankajam repent for their actions.

Cast

Male cast[2] Gemini Ganesan as Sundaram S. V. Ranga Rao as Nallasivam M. R. Radha as Thandavam R. Muthuraman as Rajangam V. K. Ramasamy as the accountant V. Nagayya as Subramanian Karikol Raju as a village farmer S. V. Sahasranamam (guest appearance)

Female cast[2] Savitri as Amudha Sheeladevi as Pankajam K. R. Vijaya as Karpagam Baby Shakila as Meenakshi

Production

Karpagam is the feature film debut of K. R. Vijaya.^[3] It was written and directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan, and produced by K. S. Sabarinathan under Amar Jothi Movies.^[4] The lead role was originally offered to M. G. Ramachandran, who agreed to act in the film if T. S. Balaiah was cast as the character's father-in-law; as S. V. Ranga Rao was already cast and Gopalakrishnan refused to recast the role, Ramachandran declined, and Gemini Ganesan was cast instead.^[5][6] The role of the title character was originally offered to C. R. Vijayakumari, who declined.^[7] Vijaya, then known by her birth name Deivanayaki, had given a dance performance at an event in Island Grounds which Ganesan attended. They took a photograph together, which Ganesan later showed to Gopalakrishnan, who wanted a newcomer for the role.^[8] Sabarinathan took a loan of ₹4 million (equivalent to ₹330 million or US$4.0 million in 2023) from AVM Productions to produce the film.^[9] Cinematography was handled by M. Karnan, and editing by R. Devarajan.^[2] The final length of the film was 4,567 metres (14,984 ft).^[4]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy and lyrics were written by Vaali. P. Susheela is the only playback singer featured on the soundtrack.^[2][10] The songs "Athai Madi Methaiyadi" and "Mannavane Azhalama Kanneerai" attained popularity.^[11][12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Singer	Length
1.	"Aayiram Iravugal Varuvathundu"	P. Susheela	4:14
2.	"Athai Madi Methaiyadi"	P. Susheela	5:40
3.	"Pakkathu Veettu Paruva Machaan"	P. Susheela	6:01
4.	"Mannavane Azhalama Kanneerai"	P. Susheela	3:48
Total length:			19:43

Release and reception

Karpagam was released on 15 November 1963, Diwali day.^[9][13] Ananda Vikatan, in its review dated 8 December 1963, positively the film, describing Ranga Rao's performance as the highlight of the film. The reviewer also appreciated Vijaya's performance and lauded that of Shakila. According to the reviewer, the film's only weakness was the fact that it was stretched like rubber in the second half.^[14] T. M. Ramachandran, writing for Sport and Pastime, appreciated the film for various aspects, particularly the cast performances, but was disappointed over Savitri's limited role.^[15] Kanthan of Kalki called the story ordinary, but lauded Gopalakrishnan's direction.^[16] The film was a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres.^[17] It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil – Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Feature Film,^[18][19] and Ganesan won the Chennai Film Fans' Association for Best Actor.^[20]

Remakes

Karpagam was remade in Hindi as Rishte Naate (1965), and in Telugu as Thodu Needa (1965), where S. V. Ranga Rao and V. Nagayya reprised their roles.^[21][22][23] It was remade in Malayalam as Vishukkani (1977)^[24][25] and in Kannada as Muddina Aliya.^[26]

Legacy

From the profits the film made, Gopalakrishnan built Karpagam Studio.^[4][27] Though Vijaya feared she would not get further acting offers due to her character's early death in Karpagam which she considered a "bad omen", she went on to act in more than 500 films.^[28] The film is available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video.^[29]

References

1. Dhananjayan 2011, p. 214.
2. கற்பகம் (PDF) (song book) (in Tamil). Amar Jothi Movies. 1963. Retrieved 15 December 2021 – via Internet Archive.
3. Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (19 November 2011). "Screen goddess". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
4. "1963 – கற்பகம் – அமர்ஜோதி மூவிஸ்" [1963 – Karpagam – Amar Jothi Movies]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
5. "கற்பகம் படத்தில் நடிக்க மறுத்த எம்.ஜி.ஆர்" [MGR refused to act in the film Karpagam]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 11 September 2016. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
6. "நடிக்க மறுத்து விலகிய எம்.ஜி.ஆர்: ஜெமினி கணேசன் நடித்து சூப்பர் ஹிட்டான படம்; வாலிக்கு கிடைத்த வாழ்க்கை!". The Indian Express (in Tamil). 15 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
7. "கே.பாலசந்தரின் "தாமரை நெஞ்சம்″ விஜயகுமாரிக்கு பதில் சரோஜாதேவி நடித்தார்". Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
8. Majordasan. "Potpourri of titbits about Tamil cinema". Kalyanamalai. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
9. "AVM Film Studios absolute owner of copyright of 1963-Gemini starrer 'Karpagam': HC". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 30 March 2018. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
10. Dhananjayan 2011, p. 215.
11. Guy, Randor (3 August 2013). "Idhaya Kamalam (1965)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
12. Kolappan, B. (15 November 2015). "Director K.S. Gopalakrishnan dead". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
13. தீனதயாளன், பா. (31 July 2015). "சாவித்ரி-13. நூறு நூறு பெருமைகள்!". Dinamani (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
14. "கற்பகம்". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 8 December 1963. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
15. Ramachandran, T. M. (7 December 1963). "'Karpagam' Heralds New Trend". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 17. p. 50. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.
16. காந்தன் (1 December 1963). "கற்பகம்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 31. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
17. Ramachandran, T. M. (11 April 1964). "Trends in Tamil films". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 18. pp. 50–51. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.
18. "State Awards for Films" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 25 April 1964. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
19. "'Best Picture' award for Hindi film". The Indian Express. 26 March 1964. p. 5. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2023 – via Google News Archive.
20. "நூற்றாண்டு நாயகன் - ஜெமினி கணேசன் (9)". Dinamalar (in Tamil). 26 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
21. Narasimham, M. L. (15 December 2017). "Thodu Needa (1965)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
22. "Hindi Version Songs". superstarrajnikanth.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
23. Sriram, V. (15 May 2019). "Doris Day sang 'Que Sera Sera' – and so did Telugu star Bhanumathi". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
24. "Salil Chowdhury's 'Poovili'" (PDF). The Times of India. Kerala. 26 August 2017. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
25. Vijayakumar, B. (14 April 2014). "Vishukkani (1977)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
26. "Rishte Naate". MySwar. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
27. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, pp. 102–103.
28. Vandhana (24 September 2017). "'Back Then, There Was No Pressure To Maintain Our Waistlines': Interview With KR Vijaya". Silverscreen.in. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
29. "Here is a list of old Tamil films you can catch up on Amazon Prime". The News Minute. 26 July 2019. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.

Bibliography

• Dhananjayan, G. (2011). The Best of Tamil Cinema, 1931 to 2010: 1931–1976. Galatta Media. OCLC 733724281.
• Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.

External links

• Karpagam at IMDb 
• Karpagam at Rotten Tomatoes