SIVAJI SEASON - SONG 3

DEVANA ENNAI PAARUNGAL

GNANA OLI

Acknowledgement

1. Mr. Vietnam Veedu Sundaram the Screen play writer and Director who wrote the story of this film and who was kind enough to throw light on the play and the movie.

2. Stage/ Serial/Cinema Artist Mr. LIC Narasimhan who had been associated with the troupe of Major Sundararajan for more than 30 years and who gave me some info about the play and the troupe.

3. Mr. Mohan Ram who not only gave me some vital info but also helped in getting the much needed details from VVS and Narasimhan

4. The book Oru Kuyilin Vaazhkai Sangeetham by Kavitha Albert.

5. The NT thread in our own forum with special thanks to Saradhaa, Raghavender and tacinema.

6. Various Magazines of yesteryears.

Dedicated To:

A Hard core NT Fan and my Dear Brother Joe

Start up of the Movie

A movie that came in the golden year of NT. Yes, it was the second movie of the calendar year 1972, when whatever he touched turned gold. A film that had the powerful portrayal of NT as Anthony alias Arun. The song that we have chosen for discussion was one of the top-notch songs that topped the charts in the radio and it had tough competition in its hands as it had to compete with songs of Silver Jubilee hits Pattikkaada Pattanamaa and Vasantha Maaligai, both of which got released in the same year. In spite of that, this song came up trumps. Let us delve into the background first.

There was this production company called JR movies. The men behind the company were PKV Sankaran and PKV Arumugam. These two brothers belonged to Tenkasi. When RM.Veerappan launched the first film under Sathya Movies-Deiva Thai, his debut movie as a producer, these two brothers functioned as co-producers for the same. Later they launched JR movies (on screen they would spell it as Jayaar Movies). It was 1968 and there was a by- election scheduled for Tenkasi. MGR wanted a movie to be made in quick time and the brothers were given the call sheet to produce Puthiya Bhoomi. (There used to be rumours that the name of the banner itself denotes Janaki Ramachandran). So when the announcement that their next movie is Enga Mama with NT in the lead came out, it was received with shock and surprise, because during those days the change of camp was a big happening. Enga Mama, a remake of Hindi Brahmachari, hit the screens on Jan 14th of 1970. JR movies had planned one more movie with NT. At this time NT saw the play Gnana Oli staged by Major Sundarrajan and it was decided to adapt the stage play into a movie. Now let us do a little peep in about Majors troupe and play.


Major and his Troupe

The stage or Drama troupe was an integral part of Tamil Nadu starting from the early 1930s and it gave so many stalwarts to Tamil cinema. The amazing part is stage continued to co exist with the cinema even as late as early 1980s. Almost all heroes of Tamil Cinema till 70s came from Stage Plays. Many cine artists continued to have their own troupes and even Super Stars like NT and MGR had their own. Sivaji Nataka Mandram and MGR Nataka Mandram as they were called were professionally managed. Then there was Seva Sadhan by Sahasranamam, TK Shanmugam and Bagavathy were having their own, Manohar was staging historical/ mythological plays through his National Theatres. Actors Senthamarai, Shanmugasundaram were all having professional troupes. By this time another trend slowly started taking root. People, who were not 24 * 7 artists, started their troupe and it was called amateur troupes. YG Parthasarathy started United Amateur Artists (UAA), KB had his Ragini creations and Cho was having Viveka Fine Arts. The early 70s saw Kathadi Ramamoorthy, Mouli and Visu coming up strongly followed by Crazy Mohan and S.V. Sekhar. In this scenario, let us talk about Major and his plays.

Sundarrajan, a native of Periakulam was employed with Telephones but his heart was after art (i.e.) Drama. He had an uncle by the name Veeraraghavan (a well known stage/cinema artist) who was actively into the stage. There was one Mr.N.S.Natarajan, more commonly known as Sambu Natarajan. He had staged the plays of writer Devans famous stories Thuppariyum Sambu and the name Sambu got attached to him. Many persons who later made a mark in cinema trained under him. Jai Shankar acted in his drama (Theerppu) and even actor Srikanth had acted here before moving on to Ragini Creations. And here it was that Veeraraghavan brought Major. Major made a mark on the stage and soon found himself at the centre stage of the troupe. With Natarajan becoming old and weak, Major took charge of the entire troupe. After the passing away of Natarajan, Major changed the trope name as Padmam theatres. As it is called the Golden period of Tamil Drama, there were many gifted writers who wrote many plays for NSN (written as EnEsEn) theatres. To name a few, Comal Swaminathan, Karaikudi Narayanan, Thooyavan and Vietnam Veedu Sundaram wrote many plays for this troupe. Whether it was by accident or by choice, Major named his drama titles as four letter Tamil words. For example

அப்பாவி

சந்ததி

சொந்தம்

கல்தூண்

ஞான ஒளி

அச்சாணி

தீர்ப்பு

ஜஸ்டிஸ்

(Of course he also staged plays without four letter words like Tiger Thathachary and Delhi Mamiyaar).

Interesting information is actor Siva Kumar after coming into the cine field voluntarily approached Major and expressed his desire to act in his plays. Major impressed by the young mans involvement admitted him and Siva Kumar played important roles in most of the plays which were staged in the early 70s.

Film

The play that formed the basis of our film in discussion is Gnana Oli and as most of the readers should be aware, Vietnam Veedu Sundaram wrote it. VVS at that point of time (we are talking about late 60s and early 70s) had written 3 plays. Vietnam Veedu for Sivaji Nataka Mandram, Kannan Vandhaan for YGP (later made as Gowravam) and Gnana Oli for Major and all the three were getting staged almost at the same time.

VVS basically belonged to Tanjore District and had his education at Poondi. In his formative years he came across a Church Father, who helped him to study and he was a man of extreme kindness and this quality had left a deep impression in the mind of VVS. The Father had great visions about the Church he was managing and wanted to rebuild the Church in a big manner. He also wanted a Hospital, Library etc for his hometown, which is reflected in the film.

VVS, an avid reader (during those days a storywriter must read a lot) was introduced to various types of Books and this helped him to think about new stories and improvise the characterisation. The fact that all the three -Vietnam Veedu, Gnana Oli and Kannan Vandhaan, were different from each other showcased his writing skills. During this period French novelist Play writer Victor Hugo impressed VVS and the novels Hunchback of Norte Dame and Les Miserable both written by Hugo particularly fascinated him. The ugly Church bell operator of Hunchback of Norte Dame character who falls in love with a beautiful woman had him thinking about a knot but for a stage play, it was not enough. Then he read Les Miserable and it suited his look out for a suitable story. It dealt about a young man who commits a murder at the spur of the moment and an Inspector who is after him. But the problem was the novel had already been filmed in Tamil as Ezhai Padum Paadu which had V. Nagiah in the lead and Javer Seetharaman as the Inspector. (V.Gopalakrishnan, Lalitha and Padmini were there too) In fact the character name of Inspector was Javert and Seetharaman by his wonderful portrayal of the Inspector came to be known as Javer Seetharaman. But all said and done, this movie was a Box Office failure. (Yet the movie continues to be spoken as a quality movie).

Keeping this in mind, VVS decided to use both the backgrounds so that Antony the main protagonist was introduced as an Orphan who is brought up by the Church father and he was shown as the Bell operator at the Church. In addition Antony was also shown as the man who designs and fabricates coffins. VVS, Indianised the plot nicely and there was a lot of scope for people to perform.

Major, a close confidant of NT had invited him to see the play. As a matter of fact, NT used to see all dramas of not only Major but also the plays of other troupes, as stage occupied a special place in his heart. VVS also by this time had become close to NT having written Vietnam Veedu. So when NT saw the play he was pretty much impressed. He wanted to do the movie version of the play. He saw the play more than 2, 3 times. He asked the Tenkasi brothers Sankaran and Arumugam to acquire the rights of the play and Major was more than willing.


STORY & SCREENPLAY

By now VVS had come into the cine field and having successfully written Vietnam Veedu, there were no second thoughts about putting him in charge of the screenplay. P.Madhavan was assigned to wield the mega phone. They have already come together in Vietnam Veedu. VVS and Madhavan sat down to rework the story to suit the cinematic needs. In the play, there was no physical appearance of Antonys wife and the character was established through dialogue. But for cinema, this character was physically presented and Vijaya Nirmala played the role of Rani who would marry Antony and would die during delivery. A duet song was also included (Amma Kannu summa sollu). The drama had a parallel comedy track enacted by stage artists Rajagopal and Kasinath. But when the screenplay was getting shaped up, they felt that comedy track might hinder the serious flow of the story and decided to cut it short. MRR Vasu and ISR played these two characters. VKR appeared as a Doctor who gives shelter to Mary, the character played by Saradha, Manorama came as VKRs wife. But by and large, the soul of the play was preserved.

In the play, Major played the role of Antony @ Arun and his uncle Veeraraghavan played the role of Inspector Lawrence. For the movie version Major took the role of Lawrence as NT donned the role of Antony. [Major used to stage the play even after the movie was released and people who had seen the movie and saw the play later found it somewhat bemusing]. The other major role was Antonys daughter and Oorvasi Saradha made a comeback to Tamil cinema after a long gap through this role. Srikanth now a regular in NT movies did the guest role of Saradhas lover who gets killed. Gokulnath played the role of Church father.

A slight briefing about the story. As told earlier, Antony, the orphan is brought up by the Church Father. Antony is short tempered and picks up quarrels easily. Father advises him restraint but of no avail. Antony marries Rani and she becomes pregnant. Antony the coffin maker gets an order to fabricate a coffin and when he finishes the job receives the information that the person who was on the death bed had recovered and so coffin would not be required. Then comes the news that his wife had died after delivering the girl child. (A poignant scene where NT would have simply excelled). Antony brings up the girl child on his own and sends her to Chennai for studying. At this time Lawrence a childhood friend of Antony arrives there to take up the post of Police inspector and needless to say that he also has great respect for the Rev. Father. Mary, the daughter of Antony falls in love with Srikanth who studied with her and the inevitable happens. Antony seeing this and in a fit of rage tries to harm Srikanth but Lawrence interferes and conducts the marriage then and there. He asks Srikanth to bring his parents to formalise the marriage. But Antony to his dismay finds out that Srikanth is a womaniser and he refuses to marry Mary. Antony in a fit of rage hits him and he dies. His friend and Inspector Lawrence arrests Antony. Mary runs away from home and tries to commit suicide and is believed to be dead. Antony gets shattered further. Rev Father is sick and wants to meet Antony. Lawrence brings Antony on parole to meet the Church father and Father passes away. Antony using this opportunity escapes from the police cordon. Interval.

After many years Antony returns to his hometown but now he is Arun, a multi millionaire. He buys a house, stays there and tries to meet his daughter. She because of the relationship with her lover had conceived and given birth to a girl and she is finding it difficult to make both ends meet. Lawrence posted in the same town is suspicious about Arun but he is unable to find proof. Antony tries to help his daughter but Lawrence is always after him thus by making the reunion difficult.

NTs Make up and Body Language

The make up also played a part in the success of the movie. Normally when the hero is shown as an aged person, they normally grey the hair at the side burns and in the front above the forehead. But here NT while discussing on the make up insisted on a wig with complete white hair and a thick white mush. He told the crew that when Arun comes back to his hometown, his grand daughter (daughters daughter) would be grown up and ready for a marriage. So for such a character, the make up should be like this, he clarified. The wig with a receding hairline and thick mush sported along with a cooling glass (there would be again a story behind that) would have played a prominent role in the character build up. The get up would add majesty to the character during the song sequence.

It seems that NT did a lot of homework for this character. He gave importance to gestures in this movie. VVS recalls that during the shooting of the movie, even while seated at the studio floor in between the shots, NT was liberally using his left hand rather than his natural right. He had told VVS that he wanted to practise the left handed nature of Antony so that it gets reflected correctly on screen. Remember the gesture of his left hand patting his right chest shoulder. The second half is exactly opposite with Arun using his right hand. Inspector Lawrence tries many a trick to trap him and of course this is the twist that surfaces in the climax

VVS the writer

VVS got more applause for this film for his dialogues. Especially the second half was racy and the cat and mouse game between the leading characters gave lot of scope for him to indulge in word play. In order to make the Inspector believe that Arun is not her father, Saradha comments that she doesnt want to discuss her daughters marriage in front of third person, for which Lawrence retorts ஏம்மா, அவர் என்ன அன்னியரா? சொந்த அப்பா leaves a gap and then says மாதிரி.

Same way when he sees Arun crushing the fruit for making the juice ஏதேது, இந்த பழம் உங்க கையிலே படற பாட்டை பார்த்தா, இதுவே ஒரு ஆளா இருந்தா ஒரே அடியிலே உயிரே போயிடும் போல இருக்கு?".

The scene where Major tries to pocket the silver glass tumbler used by NT is another gem. NT would ask இதையே மற்றவங்க செஞ்சா குற்றம் அதையே நீங்க செஞ்சா ஞாபக மறதி இல்லையா?"

Major would angrily ask, What you mean?

NT: I mean the silver tumbler.

After telling that he would remove his gloves with a sarcastic grin indicating that even if he had taken the tumbler it would have been of no use. The theatre would roar during the scene.

We can quote many scenes like that but let us come back to our point of discussion.

Song Composition

Three to four songs were thought of for the movie. While NT Vijaya Nirmala duet was one, the second song, duet like one (though it was sung only by Susheela Manamedai Malargaludan Deepam) was filmed on Saradha and Srikanth. Both comes before Interval and after interval, the screenplay would be fast building up the confrontation between the two characters. The main protagonist would be on tenterhooks. On the one hand, he is unable to openly help his daughter. If he does it, then the Inspector who is looking out for a small slip would pounce on him. Caught in no mans land, the internal turmoil piles up and the song comes at the breaking point.

A HIGHLY CHALLENGING SONG

Having conceived the situation, Madhavan arranged for song composition. VVS also took part in the composition. Madhavan explained the situation and he along with VVS expressed their desire to Kannadasan that it would add lustre to the song if Biblical sentences could be inter spread between the pallavi and the charanam. The lyrics as usual flowed from Kannadasan and Madhavan and MSV had the unenviable task of choosing the two charanams from the lot Kannadasan had given. It was decided that the biblical lines coming out as outburst would be in the form of vasana nadai and MSV set it accordingly.

Recording & Dilemma

The recording session was fixed. At the time of recording, Madhavan and MSV had one dilemma. Having decided to keep the intermittent lines in vasana nadai, now they were contemplating to have this lines spoken by some body else while TMS would sing the song. NT happened to walk in and it seems that MSV hesitantly asked him if he is willing to dub the same. NT was not willing stating that speaking such a dialogue in high pitch when the song is going full throttle would be difficult. MSV then got hold of Joseph Krishna, his Violinist and an Anglo Indian to try out the dialogue. It was not up to the mark and they had to reject it. Then MSV got the mimicry expert Sadhan to try out the dialogue. As soon as he tried it out, NT burst into laughter. When all these things were happening, TMS was simply observing them. The seed of doubt in MSV and Madhavans mind was about the ability of TMS to speak the English dialogue. Then came a suggestion to use TMS himself and TMS also stepped in to assure that he can utter the dialogues. NT asked Madhavan and MSV to proceed with TMS himself and he was proved right. TMS approached NT and asked him to speak out the dialogue again. NT spoke the dialogue OH My Lord Pardon me TMS observed the feelings, emotions and the pitch of NT and reproduced the same. The song and intermittent lines were well sung by TMS and for the listeners it was as if NT had himself spoken it.

NT TMS Bonding

Not without reason had NT said like that. The TMS NT association dates back to 1954 and 18 long years have gone by when this incident took place. As everybody is aware, it was C.S.Jayaraman, who was singing for NT during his early days and NT was recommending CSJ for singing in all his films. At that point of time music director of Thookku Thooki G.Ramanathan brought TMS to NT and requested him to listen to TMS singing and if satisfied could give him a chance in the movie. NT was hesitant but he agreed to listen. He spoke to TMS and told him that if he sings well then he would give three or four songs to him. While NT was speaking to TMS, TMS was closely watching NT or rather his voice. TMS had this rare ability of adapting his voice suitably to the voice of the person for whom he is doing play back singing. TMS absorbed the nuances of NTs voice and started singing Sundari, Soundari, Nirandhariye. For NT it was revelation. Till that time he had thought that CSJs voice best suited him but now he found out that here is a man who can effortlessly match his voice. If TMS absorbed NTs voice, NT keenly observed the body language of TMS and you could see NT modulating his lip sync based on TMS way of rendering. If it was high decibel Paattum Naane, he would also do it with a high decibel body language and for songs like Yaar andha Nilavu, which was low key, NT would adjust his body language in such a way that the audience at the theatre felt it. From that day (Thookku Tookki) onwards it was TMS for him. But in between other singers had come and gone as well.

OTHER VOICES TOO

Other playback singers too had given voice for NT and it was a matter of time before it became a foregone conclusion that it was the voice of TMS that became the undisputed and natural voice for NT in playback singing. In Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachair JP Chandrababu sang for NT (Jolly Life), in Raja Rani, SC Krishnan sang for him (Poonai Kannai Moodikkondaal) IN Ethirparathathu it was AM Raja who gave him voice- Sirpi Sethukkatha and Kathal Vaazshvil Naane. Also in Bommai Kalyanam it was AM Raja- Anbe nee Angey, and Inbame Pongume. In Naan Sollum Ragasiyam it was PB Sreenivas who gave playback voice for NT- (Kandene Unnai Kannale) SG also had given voice to NT- in Vanangamudi (Malaiye Un Nialai neeyum paarai, in Kappalottiya Thamizhan- Odi Vilaiyadu Paappa. In Sabash Meena, it was TA Moti who gave him playback voice- Kaana Inbam. Gandasala has sung for NT in Thenali Raman (Ullasam Thedum) and Kalvanin Kathali (Veyiluketra Nizhalundu) Trichy Loganthan too had sung for NT in Kalvanin Kathali. NV Sundram had sung a small piece in Veerappandiya KattaBomman (Sakthi Vadivelane, just before Varalakshmi sings Manam Kanintharul Vel Muruga)

Except on rare occasions when he had to submit to the wishes of the Director or producer like Sridhar (who made AM Raja sing in Vidi Velli and Punar Jenmam) and MuKa (CSJ being the relative of MuKa, got him the chance in Pudhayal) and Paavai Vilakku also had CSJ singing Kaaviyamaa illai Oviyamaa. In Kuravanji (again Mekala Pictures MuKa) too SCJ Sings for NT. But wherever he could put his foot down, NT insisted on TMS. KVM, the MD of Kungumam (Rajamani Pictures) had wanted Sirkazhi to sing Chinnan Siriya Vanna Paravai because of its high pitch and classical background. Directors Krishnan Panju were on agreeing terms but NT asked KVM to proceed with TMS, it was said. KVM went ahead and we know how well the final product shaped out. There might have been instances when NT had agreed to make use of other singers but the bonding between them never got strained. It remained intact in spite of later day happenings, which were not the making of NT. After a long gap IR used TMS for Thaikku Oru Thalaattu and during the picturisation of the song when NT heard the song on Naagra, he commented to Padmini TMS TMS thaan. (The song Pazhaiya Paadal Pole Pudhiya Paadal Illai was based on the tune of Unnai Ondru Ketpen from Puthiya Paravai but unfortunately the song was never used in the movie except for a few lines. Till date this remains the only song, which had the combination of NT- IR Vairamuthu TMS PS)

MUSIC

Kannadasan used to always say that MSV is the authority of all forms of music that exist in different parts of the world. MSV had composed music for all religions in India. And among the songs composed for Christian theme (or shall we say using biblical words), this may perhaps be the best or one of the best. He had used appropriate musical instruments like church bells. Again the chorus by the church going Anglo Christians has come out very well. While listening to the song, one would get a feeling that he is attending a Sunday Mass.

TMS SAW THE MOVIE

TMS himself has disclosed that when the movie was released, he went to the theatre and sat with the audience and saw the film. He admitted openly that he thanked God for blessing him with such a voice and he also added that the same applies for Nadigar Thilagam for his acting ability. He thought the NT- TMS combination was one of the gifts of God.

APPRECIATION FROM THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

As soon as the song became popular, many Christian friends came to TMS and congratulated and praised him for singing the song with so much excellence. They said that it was like a Christian offering prayers to Jesus Christ and not like a cinema song. TMS then had said that perhaps it could be that he was born as a Christian in his previous birth. As for as Gods gift to him is concerned (i.e.) his voice, it is very much true. Because without that he could not have sung immortal songs on Lord Muruga (still a rage), and songs like Ellorum Kondaduvom for Muslims and Devane ennai Parungal for Christians.

The song sequence

Now came the picturisation part. The other two songs had been shot indoors. Though both the songs were supposed to be outdoors, they were shot at AVM studios. So outdoor shooting was planned for this song and Kodaikanal was chosen as the spot. The song rather the pallavi would be subtle in sound with TMS singing it in what they call half open voice that would gather momentum when charanam starts and the decibel level would hit the roof when the charanam ends. Moreover in between the two fast charanams, there were two slow charanams and MSV had beautifully arranged it and TMS had done full justice to the song.

The song would start in the bungalow and when the pallavi comes to an end with the word மன்னிதருள்வீர், the camera till then focussing on NTs face from a close up angle would move away and it would be Kodaikanal. Here comes the first vasana nadai

Oh Lord! Pardon Me;

உங்கள் மந்தையிலிருந்து இரண்டு ஆடுகள்

வேறு வேறு பாதையில் போய் விட்டன

இரண்டும் சந்தித்த போது பேச முடியவில்லையே

When this line is sung, the screen changes to the earlier scene when Antony tries to reveal his identity to his daughter and she seeing the Inspector just entering her home hides her joy and acts as if Arun is a stranger. With this the charanam starts and so is the majestic walk by NT. The camera captures him sideways when he sings

தாய் மடியிலே மழலைகள் ஊமையோ

சேய் உறவில் நினைவுகள் மௌனமோ

நோய் உடலிலா மனதிலா தேவனே

the camera from a close up would start moving away from him and the mid close up followed by the mid long shot would come and finally it would culminate in a long shot when he finishes

நான் அழுவதா சிரிப்பதா கர்த்தரே

The walk without straying even an inch would match what they call thala layam of the song. You can feel the increase in decibel level in his walk and finally when he raises both his hands in his own unique style, the applause that would start with the first line of charanam would also be increasing and would reach crescendo when he throws his hands up skywards.

Another beauty of this scene is when the long shot shows NT raising his hands at the end of the last line of the charanam, you can see the movement of shadows of clouds on the ground, which would be passing above the head of NT. Cameraman P.N.Sundaram affectionately known as PNS, would have beautifully captured that shot. It seems that it was a coincidental shot. They had not waited for such a happening but when it happened on its own, it enhanced the beauty of the song.

The second vasana nadai would then start with

Oh Lord! Please answer my prayer

and then the slow charanam

மான்களும் சொந்தம் தேடுமே

இம்மானிடன் செய்த பாவம் என்னவோ

காவலே கர்த்தர் வேலியே; உன்

பார்வையில் பிள்ளை பாசம் இல்லையோ

after this again the vasana nadai comes

செல்வங்கள் குவிந்தன

மாளிகை வந்தது

சேவை செய்திட சேவகர் ஆயிரம்

தேடி கொண்டாட நண்பர்கள் வந்தனர்

ஆயிரம் இருந்தும் வசதிகள் இருந்தும்

No Peace of Mind!

Kannadasan the genius could bring out the turmoil of the character so effortlessly. Whether it is biblical wordings or his own out pour, he comes out trumps.

Arun while singing this reaches a Church situated on a hillock with steps leading to it and Arun climbs up the stairs but without going inside the church sings

கேள் தருகிறேன் என்றதும் நீரன்றோ

when he reaches the final line, again the majestic pose with his right hand held up is shown on the screen when he sings

என் கர்த்தரே கிடைக்குமா நிம்மதி

And the final charanam soaked in tears comes out of his voice

கண்களில் கண்ணீர் இல்லையே;

and ends with his confession

உன் கோவிலில் வந்து சேவை செய்கிறேன்.

And the last biblical vasanam comes up

முள்ளை வளைத்து ஒரு மகுடம் அணிந்தும்

ஆணி அடித்து ஒரு சிலுவை அறைந்தும்

அன்று நடந்தது ஆவி துடித்தது

இன்று நடப்பது நெஞ்சு துடிக்குது

When he finishes with the rendering of Pallavi again in a slow manner, it is again his home. The entire 4- 4.5 minutes, Kannadasan, MSV, TMS and NT simply transport the audience to the emotional world of the character Antony and for a moment it looks as if you are wearing his shoes. A great song and great acting by NT, no doubt about it.

Success Story

Like at any point during his illustrious career, even while this film was on floors, NT had 4, 5 projects at various stages. Babu, Raja, Pattikkaada Pattanama, Dharmam Engey, Thava Pudhalvan were on floors and Vasantha Maaligai had started. Starting from Kulama Gunama in 1971, which ran for 100 days, NT was having a dream run. Savale Samali also celebrated 100 days and intermittent films like Sumathy En Sundari and Moondru Deivangal had 12 and 10 weeks run. Babu released on Deepavali day of 1971 (18th Oct 1971) also ran for 100 days. If 1971 was like that, 72 was still better and it turned out to be the year of NT. His first film for 1972, Raja became a smash hit and Gnana Oli was ready by that time. Normally producers avoid the month of March because of examinations and they release it in April to encash on the summer vacation, when families prefer going to movies. But the producers-director duo was confident of the films success and March 11th was announced as release date. (It must be noted here that Director P.Madhavan had this sentiment of releasing his movies only on Saturdays). The other reason that prompted their decision was Pattikkaada Pattanama (P.Madhavans own production under his Arun Prasad movies) was slated for release on May 6th. For the first time for a NT movie and first time for a Black and white movie, 5 theatres were charted in Chennai and all were regular shows. Raja was yet to complete 50 days when this movie hit the screen it was proclaimed a big hit right on Day 1, all over Tamil Nadu. Chennai at that time had a culture of Sabhas arranging for special shows and booking the entire tickets for the show. It is said that Gnana Oli created a record of sorts when 55 special screenings were arranged for the Sabhas and all were Houseful. This was in addition to the normal shows. The producer- directors confidence about their product was vindicated with the success of the movie. It ran for more than 100 days. The success tasted more sweeter because Gnana Oli was sandwiched between two entertainers Raja and Pattikkaada Pattanamaa The subject was ever green can be judged from the fact that it was remade in Malayalam 14 years after its release.

To sign off, my personal note. As I said earlier, it was released on March 11th of 1972, Saturday, in Madurai New Cinema. I had watched the opening show of NTs previous film Raja on Jan 26th (that happened to be my first experience on Opening shows) and so naturally was very excited about this movie. But alas! My school annual examinations started bang on March 11th and so I couldnt go. My cousin had gone and when he came back, he had 100 incidents to boast of. The fact that I was grudging made him to elaborate more, just to tease me. The exams got over by March 24th Friday and I could watch the movie only on the 16th day, being Sunday the 26th. But when I saw the movie, I felt it was worth the wait. Needless to say that the theatre response was infectious. Not only on that day, whenever I had seen it in theatres, it was the same irrespective of the years that rolled by.

Here goes the lyric.

தேவனே என்னை பாருங்கள்; என்

பாபங்கள் தம்மை வாங்கி கொள்ளுங்கள்

ஆயிரம் நன்மை தீமைகள்

நாங்கள் செய்கின்றோம்

நீங்கள் அறிவீர்

மன்னிதருள்வீர்

Oh Lord! Pardon Me

உங்கள் மந்தையிலிருந்து இரண்டு ஆடுகள்

வேறு வேறு பாதையில் போய் விட்டன

இரண்டும் சந்தித்த போது பேச முடியவில்லையே

தாய் மடியிலே மழலைகள் ஊமையோ

சேய் உறவில் நினைவுகள் மௌனமோ

நோய் உடலிலா மனதிலா தேவனே

நான் அழுவதா சிரிப்பதா கர்த்தரே

Oh Lord! Please answer my prayer

மான்களும் சொந்தம் தேடுமே

இம்மானிடன் செய்த பாவம் என்னவோ

காவலே கர்த்தர் வேலியே; உன்

பார்வையில் பிள்ளை பாசம் இல்லையோ

செல்வங்கள் குவிந்தன

மாளிகை வந்தது

சேவை செய்திட சேவகர் ஆயிரம்

தேடி கொண்டாட நண்பர்கள் வந்தனர்

ஆயிரம் இருந்தும் வசதிகள் இருந்தும்

No peace of Mind

கேள் தருகிறேன் என்றதும் நீரன்றோ

நான் பலமுறை கேட்கிறேன் தரவில்லை

என் கருணையே திறக்குமா சன்னதி

என் கர்த்தரே கிடைக்குமா நிம்மதி

கண்களில் கண்ணீர் இல்லையே; இந்த

உள்ளமும் இதை தாங்கவில்லையே

கொண்டு வா இல்லை கொண்டு போ; உன்

கோவிலில் வந்து சேவை செய்கிறேன்.

முள்ளை வளைத்து ஒரு மகுடம் அணிந்தும்

ஆணி அடித்து ஒரு சிலுவை அறைந்தும்

அன்று நடந்தது ஆவி துடித்தது

இன்று நடப்பது நெஞ்சு துடிக்குது

தேவனே என்னை பாருங்கள்; என்

பாபங்கள் தம்மை வாங்கி கொள்ளுங்கள்

என்

பாபங்கள் தம்மை வாங்கி கொள்ளுங்கள்

அன்புடன்