Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar

Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar (transl. Look, the path is visible) is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Nemai Ghosh. The film stars K. Vijayan and S. V. Subbaiah. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil along with Kalathur Kannamma.^[3]

Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar
Poster
Directed by	Nemai Ghosh
Written by	R. K. Kannan[1]
Starring	K. Vijayan S. V. Subbaiah
Cinematography	Nemai Ghosh
Edited by	R. Devarajan
Music by	M. B. Sreenivasan
Production company	Kumari Films
Release date	18 November 1960 (1960-11-18)
Running time	168 minutes[2]
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Cast

Male cast S. V. Sahasranamam S. V. Subbaiah T. S. Muthaiah T. K. Balachandran V. Gopalakrishnan R. Muthuraman A. Veerappan N. Paranthaman S. Prabhakar S. Kulmagadhu D. V. Ramasami Rajavelan Dhanapal Seshu

Female cast Sundari Bai S. R. Janaki Chandini Baby Kaplana Newcomers K. Vijayan as Murugesan[2] L. Vijayalakshmi

Production

Nemai Ghosh and M. B. Sreenivasan formed a production company called Kumari Films, with contributions from more than 50 shareholders.^[2] Each of them contributed an amount ranging from ₹500 to ₹ 5,000 to start the banner. None of the members contributed more than ₹ 5,000. Kumari Films' inaugural production Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar was launched by the communist leader P. Jeevanandham.^[4] The film was the second directorial venture of Ghosh, who also worked as cinematographer.^[5]

Themes

Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar addresses the trade union movement of India, and was scripted keeping the Communist Party of India (CPI) ideology in mind.^[2]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. B. Sreenivasan,^[6] while the lyrics were written by Jayakanthan,^[7] Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram and K. C. S. Arunachalam.^[8][9] Vaali wrote the song "Koduthadellam Koduthan" for this film but it was rejected by Ghosh, and instead used in Padagotti (1964).^[10][11] The song "Thennankeetru" is based on Valaji raga,^[12] and was set to tune with a xylophone.^[13][14]

Title	Singers	Lyrics	Length
"Azhutha Kanneerum Paalaagumaa"	P. Susheela	Jeyakanthan
"Chinna Chinna Mookuthiyaam"	T. M. Soundararajan	K. C. S. Arunachalam	06:11
"Maasil Veenaiyum"	S. Janaki, A. S. Mahadevan	Tevaram	03:35
"Raasaa Maga Polirundhe"	A. L. Raghavan	K. C. S. Arunachalam	03:24
"Thennankeetru Oonjalile"	P. B. Sreenivas, S. Janaki	Jayakanthan	04:14
"Unmai Orunaal Veliyaagum"	Thiruchi Loganathan	Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram

Release and reception

Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar was released on 18 November 1960.^[1] In July, select reels of the film were made available for previewing as the final film was not yet complete. The Indian Express then wrote, "The plot unfolds itself with easy tempo and unflagging interest. The songs are natural and exceptionally homely. Photography and sound recording are superb".^[15] Reviewing the complete version on 19 November, they praised the film for minimal dramatisation and more naturalism.^[16] Despite critical acclaim, the film did not succeed commercially; the distributors complained that L. Vijayalakshmi did not dance, to which the director replied, "[Vijayalakshmi] knows how to dance, but the character she plays in the film does not!"^[17] According to historian Randor Guy, "internal dissensions spoiled the film's release and caused it to flop."^[13]

References

1. "1960– பாதை தெரியுது பார்- குமாரி பிலிம்ஸ்" [1960– Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar- Kumari Films]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
2. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 365.
3. "State Awards for Films". International Film Festival of India. 31 March 1961. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
4. Vasudevan (10 April 2016). ""கம்யூனிஸ்டுகளை சினிமாவுக்குள் வளரவிடக்கூடாது": சொன்னவர் ஒரு மூத்த 'திராவிட' நடிகர்!". The Times Tamil (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
5. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, pp. 101, 365.
6. Vamanan (9 June 2014). "Music from the sidelines, but no less melodious". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
7. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, pp. 365–366.
8. பாதை தெரியுது பார் (PDF) (song book) (in Tamil). Kumari Films. 1960. Retrieved 4 July 2022 – via Internet Archive.
9. Neelamegam, G. (December 2014). Thiraikalanjiyam – Part 1 (in Tamil) (1st ed.). Chennai: Manivasagar Publishers. p. 205.
10. "சினிமாவுக்கு வாலியின் முதல் பாட்டு: சுசீலா பாடினார்". Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 2 April 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
11. Sri Kantha, Sachi (28 March 2019). "MGR Remembered – Part 50 | Teaching with Songs". Ilankai Tamil Sangam. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
12. Mani, Charulatha (16 August 2013). "Wake up to Valaji". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
13. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 366.
14. Guy, Randor (16–31 May 2005). "The stormy petrel of Tamil Literature" (PDF). Madras Musings. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
15. "Paathai Theriyuthu Paar expected soon". The Indian Express. 22 July 1960. p. 3. Retrieved 6 February 2020 – via Google News Archive.
16. "Paathai Theriyuthu Paar". The Indian Express. 20 November 1960. p. 3. Retrieved 1 April 2021 – via Google News Archive.
17. Krishnamachari, Suganthy (5 February 2015). "From Natya to numbers". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.

Bibliography

• Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.

External links

• Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar at IMDb