Kaakum Karangal

Kaakum Karangal (transl. Helping Hands) is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. Inspired by British writer W. Somerset Maugham's 1925 novel The Painted Veil, it was produced by Murugan Brothers, a subsidiary of AVM Productions. The film stars S. S. Rajendran and C. R. Vijayakumari, with Nagesh, L. Vijayalakshmi, S. V. Subbaiah, Sivakumar (in his acting debut) and Revathi playing supporting roles. It was released on 19 June 1965, and failed at the box office.

Kaakum Karangal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byA. C. Tirulokchandar
Story byA. C. Tirulokchandar
Produced byM. Murugan
M. Kumaran
M. Saravanan
M. Balasubramanian
StarringS. S. Rajendran
C. R. Vijayakumari
CinematographyT. Muthusamy
Edited byR. G. Gop
Music byK. V. Mahadevan
Production
company
Murugan Brothers
Distributed byAVM Productions
Release date
  • 19 June 1965 (1965-06-19)
Running time
140 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

Shankar's father dies due to lack of medical assistance. His mother, with great difficulty, educates him to be a surgeon. One day, his visit to treat Mahalakshmi develops love for each other. Subbaiah, a rich man and father of Mahalakshmi, objects to this, but finally agrees, saying that she must leave his house. After some time, Mahalakshmi begets a child, but the child dies in a fire accident. This causes a misunderstanding between Shankar and Mahalakshmi. Shankar feels that his hands cannot perform surgery any more. He opts for a service with tribals at Senjipuram. There, he gets affected by viral fever. What happens from there is the rest of the film.

Cast

Production

The film marked the acting debut of Sivakumar, then known by his name at birth Palaniswamy. He had already signed a film titled Chithrapournami, but that was shelved. Its directors Krishnan–Panju recommended him to AVM Productions for their film Kaakum Karangal.[1] Tirulokchandar, who was searching for the second lead actor to pair with Vijayakumari, selected Palaniswamy, who was rechristened Sivakumar by AVM founder A. V. Meiyappan.[2][3] The film was produced by Murugan Brothers, a subsidiary of AVM.[4] Saravanan revealed he had to reduce Sivakumar's portions because the actress who played his love interest him could not do justice to the acting.[5]

Due to the success of Naanum Oru Penn (1963), Meiyappan wanted its lead actors S. S. Rajendran and C. R. Vijayakumari to star. Saravanan felt Rajendran looked ill-suited for a sophisticated character, but Meiyappan remained adamant about casting him for the role.[6] S. P. Muthuraman, who worked as one of the assistant directors in the film revealed that the crew had a tough time to make a small baby walk.[7] Cinematography was handled by T. Muthusamy, and the editing by R. G. Gop.[8] According to Randor Guy, the film's plot was inspired by the novel The Painted Veil by British writer W. Somerset Maugham.[9]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by K. V. Mahadevan.[8][10] This was his first collaboration with AVM.[11]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Thirunaal Vandhathu"VaaliP. Susheela4:01
2."Akka Akka Aasai"KannadasanP. Susheela4:40
3."Azhagiya Rathiyae"VaaliA. L. Raghavan, L. R. Eswari5:48
4."Gnayiru Enbathu"VaaliT. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela3:57
5."Alli Thandhu"VaaliT. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela4:10
Total length:22:36

Release and reception

Kaakum Karangal was released on 19 June 1965.[12][13] T. M. Ramachandran of Sport and Pastime wrote, "The central theme is familiar to some extent, some of the sequences follow the beaten track and there is an overdose of melodrama. The picture, however manages to win the sympathy and appreciation of the audience on account of the poignancy and dignity with which the whole story has been told on screen".[4] Kalki appreciated the performances of Rajendran and Vijayakumari in the first half, but felt the latter slipped in the film's second half.[14] According to Saravanan, the film failed at the box office due to miscasting.[6]

References
  1. Raman, Mohan V. (25 October 2016). "Art of the matter". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  2. Saravanan 2013, p. 154.
  3. "சிவகுமாரின் முதல் படம் காக்கும் கரங்கள்" [Kaakum Karangal, Sivakumar's first film]. Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  4. Ramachandran, T. M. (17 July 1965). "Murugan Brothers' Latest". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 19. p. 51. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  5. சரவணன், ஏவி.எம். (6 March 2005). "அழாதீங்க தம்பி!". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 52–55. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  6. Saravanan 2013, pp. 155–156.
  7. முத்துராமன், எஸ்.பி. (29 July 2015). "சினிமா எடுத்துப் பார் 19- சிவகுமாரின் மேன்மை!" [Try making a film, part 19 – Sivakumar's greatness!]. Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  8. காக்கும் கரங்கள் (PDF) (song book) (in Tamil). AVM Productions. 1965. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  9. Guy, Randor (6–12 August 2011). "Tamil cinema 75 – A Look Back | The AVM story – 75" (PDF). Mambalam Times. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  10. "Kaakkum Karangal". Gaana. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  11. Saravanan 2013, p. 155.
  12. "1965 – காக்கும் கரங்கள் – ஏ.வி.எம்" [1965 – Kaakum Karangal – A.V.M.]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  13. Saravanan 2013, p. 152.
  14. "காக்கும் கரங்கள்". Kalki (in Tamil). 4 July 1965. p. 29. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

Bibliography
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