Shylock (1940 film)

Shylock is a 1940 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Kinema Ramu and Serukalathur Sama (under the name Sama-Ramu) and produced by Bharat Pictures. It is based on William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, and features Sama as the title character. The film was released on 23 November 1940 and failed commercially. No print of it is known to survive, making it a lost film.[1]

Shylock
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySama-Ramu
Screenplay byKinema Ramu
Based onThe Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
StarringSerukalathur Sama
CinematographyK. Prabhakar
Edited byT. R. S. Raghavan
Music byS. G. Kasi Iyer
Production
company
Bharat Pictures
Release date
  • 23 November 1940 (1940-11-23)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Cast

Production

Kinema Ramu, a lawyer based in Kumbakonam and scholar on William Shakespeare, wrote the screenplay for Shylock, a Tamil adaptation of Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. He and his friend Serukalathur Sama directed the film under the name Sama-Ramu.[1] The film was produced by Bharat Pictures.[3] Sama also played the title character. The lyricists were Yaanai Vaidyanatha Iyer, P. S. Sivaramalingam (who acted onscreen as the Duke) and Papanasam Rajagopala Iyer, brother of Papanasam Sivan. S. G. Kasi Iyer, the brother of Tamil theatre actor S. G. Kittappa, was the music director, besides playing Antonio onscreen.[1] Cinematography was handled by K. Prabhakar, and editing by T. R. S. Raghavan.[4] Shooting took place at Bharat Movietone in Kilpauk.[1] The makers went to great lengths to recreate an authentic Venetian look for the narrative through the costumes and setting.[5]

Release and reception

Shylock was released on 23 November 1940.[6] Kay Yess Enn of The Indian Express wrote on the same day, "To attempt to bring Shakespeare on the screen and to succeed at that keeping faithfully to the original, is a creditable achievement standing in the name of Serukulathur Sama and Rama".[2] The film did not succeed commercially; according to historian Randor Guy, this was because audiences could not relate to the characters, costumes and sets.[1] No print of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film.[1][7]

References
  1. Guy, Randor (29 March 2014). "Blast from the Past: Shylock (1941)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  2. Kay Yess Enn (23 November 1940). "Shakespeare on Tamil Screen". The Indian Express. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  3. Doraiswamy, V. (1952). Asian Film Directory and Who's who. Bombay: Fozalbhoy House. p. 176. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  4. Film News Anandan (2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [Tamil film history and its achievements] (in Tamil). Sivagami Publishers. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  5. Jain, Manju, ed. (2009). Narratives of Indian Cinema. Primus Books. p. 233. ISBN 9788190891844. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  6. "Shylock". The Indian Express. 23 November 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. Baskaran, S. Theodore (23 April 2016). "Of monologues and melodrama". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
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