Puthiya Vaarpugal
Puthiya Vaarpugal (transl. New Mouldings) is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film co-written, produced and directed by Bharathiraja. The film stars K. Bhagyaraj and Rati Agnihotri, with G. Srinivasan, Goundamani, K. K. Soundar and Usharani in supporting roles. It revolves around a school teacher who falls in love with a woman in his village, their relationship is threatened by the village head.
| Puthiya Vaarpugal | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Bharathiraja |
| Screenplay by | K. Bhagyaraj Bharathiraja |
| Story by | R. Selvaraj |
| Produced by | Bharathiraja |
| Starring | K. Bhagyaraj Rati Agnihotri |
| Cinematography | P. S. Nivas |
| Edited by | R. Bhaskaran |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Production company | Manoj Creations |
Release date |
|
Running time | 143 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Puthiya Vaarpugal is the acting debut of Agnihotri, and also marked the first film for Bhagyaraj as a lead actor. The film was released on 14 April 1979, and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards: Second Best Film and Best Dialogue Writer (Bhagyaraj). It was remade in Telugu as Kotha Jeevithalu (1981) by the same director.[2][3]
Plot
Shanmugamani comes to a village as a school teacher. Around the same time, another woman comes there as a social activist. Both work hard to establish themselves. They meet occasionally and exchange pleasantries and books as they are educated, and share common interests. Shanmugamani meets Jothi, daughter of the village temple musician and they fall in love with each other. The village chief is a lecherous man. His stooge Amavasai is keen to marry Jothi, but Jothi's father is not interested in the proposal. When the chief sees Jothi, he lusts for her. Knowing about her love for Shanmugamani, he orders her to yield to his lust and threatens to fire Shanmugamani if she refuses. Jothi slaps him and the chief awaits an opportunity to take revenge. Meanwhile, Shanmugamani approaches Jothi's father with his marriage proposal, and he accepts. Enraged with this development, the chief plots revenge.
When the social activist visits the chief, he rapes and murders her, framing Shanmugamani. The chief alleges that the two had an illicit relationship; when she became pregnant, Shanmugamani killed her. The other villagers believe this and insult Shanmugamani. Though Jothi does not believe this, Shanmugamani leaves the village, leaving a note to Jothi that he would return to take her with him. When Jothi's father and brother are away, he makes Amavasai enter her house without her knowledge. When she is asleep, he knocks on her door along with other villagers. An unaware Jothi opens and says there is no one in her house until Amavasai emerges; the chief alleges an illicit relationship between Amavasai and Jothi, and orders their wedding as a solution. Though aware of the chief's plan, Jothi helplessly marries Amavasai, and her father dies shortly thereafter. Shanmugamani returns to take Jothi and learns about the wedding.
When Amavasai is eager to celebrate his wedding night, the chief orders him to leave as he himself wants Jothi. Amavasai pleads to spare his wife, to no avail. When the chief approaches Jothi, she willingly comes to him and they hug, only for Jothi to stab the chief to death, just as Shanmugamani and Amavasai arrive. Amavasai feels guilty for cheating and marrying her, so he removes the mangala sutra he tied and asks her to live happily with Shanmugamani. Amavasai hides the chief's corpse in a hay meant for torching during a festival and villagers burn it, oblivious to the corpse. Shamugamani and Jothi leave the village.
Cast
- K. Bhagyaraj as Shanmugamani
- Rati Agnihotri as Jothi
- G. Srinivasan as the village chief
- Goundamani as Amavasai[4]
- K. K. Soundar as Jothi's father
- Usharani as the social activist[4]
- Manobala as a Panchayat member
- Janagaraj as the landlord's son
- Chandrasekhar as the prospective groom
- Master Haja Sheriff as Doraisamy
Production
The title Puthiya Vaarpugal was derived from the short story of the same name by Jayakanthan.[5][6] It is the film debut of the then 16-year-old Rati Agnihotri; Bharathiraja decided on her as the lead actress after watching her performance in a school play. Agnihotri's father agreed to let her join the film after Bharathiraja promised to complete filming within a month.[7] Bharathiraja said he chose Agnihotri because he wanted a woman who looked like a "sunflower in their midst".[8] It is also the first film for K. Bhagyaraj as lead actor.[9][10] Gangai Amaran was originally considered, but Bharathiraja later decided on Bhagyaraj.[11] According to Bharathiraja, he was not cast until the day before filming.[12] K. K. Soundar and G. Srinivasan were initially cast as the village chief and the female lead's father respectively, but switched their roles.[13] The song "Vaan Megangale" was filmed at Kumbakkarai Falls.[14] Filming was completed in 22 working days. Amaran dubbed Bhagyaraj's voice as he was unavailable for dubbing sessions due to having to attend his mother's funeral.[13]
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics by Kannadasan, Gangai Amaran and Muthulingam.[15][16] The song "Vaan Megangale" is set to the Carnatic raga Sankarabharanam,[17] "Idhayam Poguthe" is set to Keeravani,[18] and "Thamthananam Thana" is set to Shanmukhapriya.[19][20]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Vaan Megangale" | Kannadasan | Malaysia Vasudevan, S. Janaki | 4:34 |
| 2. | "Idhayam Poguthe" | Muthulingam | Jency | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Thamthananam Thana" | Gangai Amaran | Jency, B. Vasantha | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Thiruvizha Koothu" | Gangai Amaran | Ilaiyaraaja, Gangai Amaran, Bharathiraja | 5:37 |
| Total length: | 18:47 | |||
Release and reception
Puthiya Vaarpugal was released on 14 April 1979, during Puthandu.[21] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 59 out of 100, saying the director presented the film without deviating from the path chosen and with intelligence and fineness.[22] The film was a success, and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards: Second Best Film, and Best Dialogue Writer (Bhagyaraj).[23]
References
- ^ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 442.
- ^ Sri (12 June 2010). . Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ Nagabhiru, Subbarao (17 July 2022). "Bharathiraja: విలక్షణంగా సాగిన భారతీరాజా". NTV (in Telugu). from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ a b Dhananjayan 2011, p. 26.
- ^ குப்புசாமி, பி.ச. (28 February 2015). "ஜெயகாந்தனோடு பல்லாண்டு 21- ஜே.கே.வும், தமிழ் சினிமாவும்!". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Venkatachalapathy, A. R. (30 July 2021). "Vetrimaaran and Suriya's 'Vaadivaasal' sets a new benchmark". The Hindu. from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ Vijayakar, Rajiv (10 March 2000). "The return of Rati". Rediff.com. from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ Suganth, M (30 July 2018). "There aren't many Tamil-speaking heroines in the industry today: Bharathirajaa". The Times of India. from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 59.
- ^ Suganth, M. (26 February 2017). "From ADs to actors in their guru's films". The Times of India. from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Writer Sura | பாக்யராஜ் நடிக்க, கங்கை அமரன் குரல் தந்தார் | Vasanth TV (in Tamil). Vasanth TV. 7 September 2022. from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (15 February 1984). "K. Bhagyaraj; the reigning king in the world of Madras film Hollywood". India Today. from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ a b "நான் உங்கள் ரசிகன்" [I am your fan]. Kungumam (in Tamil). 12 October 2015. from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "சில்லென்று கொட்டும் கும்பக்கரை அருவி... தேனியின் முக்கிய ஷூட்டிங் ஸ்பாட்டில் எடுக்கப்பட்ட படங்கள் தெரியுமா?". News18 (in Tamil). 3 September 2022. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Puthiya Vaarppukal Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ . Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
- ^ "15 மொழிகளில் பாடிய பாட்டரசி!". Kungumam (in Tamil). 13 July 2015. from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 132.
- ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 160.
- ^ Mani, Charulatha (2 September 2011). "A Raga's Journey – Sacred Shanmukhapriya". The Hindu. from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "ஹீரோ, வில்லன், செகண்ட் ஹீரோ... ஒரே வருடத்தில் 3 பாக்யராஜ் படங்கள்". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 17 September 2019. from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "புதிய வார்ப்புகள்". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 29 April 1979. from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ Dhananjayan 2011, p. 27.
Bibliography
- Dhananjayan, G. (2011). The Best of Tamil Cinema, 1931 to 2010: 1977–2010. 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.
- Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani. OCLC 295034757.
External links
- Puthiya Vaarpugal at IMDb