Sorgam

Sorgam (transl. Heaven) is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film directed by T. R. Ramanna, starring Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Rajasree, R. Muthuraman and K. Balaji. The film was released on 29 October 1970 and became a major success, running for over 100 days at the box office.

Sorgam
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	T. R. Ramanna
Screenplay by	Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy
Story by	Nannu
Produced by	T. R. Chakravarthi
Starring	Sivaji Ganesan K. R. Vijaya Rajasree R. Muthuraman K. Balaji
Cinematography	Amirtham
Edited by	T. R. Srinivasalu
Music by	M. S. Viswanathan
Production company	Sri Vinayaga Pictures
Release date	29 October 1970 (1970-10-29)
Running time	160 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Three graduates, Kannan, Sampath and Shankar have different values and experience completely different things in life. Shankar wants to get rich with that being his only moral while Kannan stays honest. Sampath however is a crook and has no qualms about ruining anyone to get what he wants. Shankar still has goodness in him which attracts Vimala as they get married.

However, once Shankar starts to work and grow rich, she sees the goodness in him slowly erode. The other two also work with him but situations put them at loggerheads. In the end, Shankar relents to see that he has lost himself in his quest to become rich, changes his mind and helps the cops catch the culprits with help from Kannan and reformed Sampath.

Cast

• Sivaji Ganesan as Shankar
• K. R. Vijaya as Vimala
• Rajasree as Anjana
• K. Balaji as Sampath
• R. Muthuraman as Kannan
• R. S. Manohar as Dharmalingam/Arun
• M. R. R. Vasu as Mathrubootham/Bond/Ippi/Thevaram
• Nagesh as Gajendran/Gajini
• Sachu as Savithri/Jothi/Puppy
• Kanakadurga as Lakshmi
• V. Nagayya as Judge
• O. A. K. Thevar as Advocate
• Senthamarai as Police Inspector
• Ennatha Kannaiya as Harikrishnan
• M. Bhanumathi as Manju
• Veeraraghavan as Headmaster
• Kallapetti Singaram as Snake Charmer
• Karikol Raju as Bayilvan
• Karuppu Subbiah as Taxi Owner
• I.S.R as Adiyapatham (office Stafe)
• Gemini Mali as Gopi (office Stafe)
• Samikannu as Ayyakannu (Office Stafe)
• Sadan as Shankar Car Driver
• S. A. Kannan as Drama Stage Actor
• Periyar Rajavel as Drama stage Actor
• Comedy Shanmugam as (Office clerk)
• Master Ramu as Muthu (Shankar Son)

Special Appearance

• Vijayalalitha as (Dancer)
• Shabnam as (Dancer)

Themes

The film features a play based on William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar where Marcus Junius Brutus murders the title character, which Ganesh Krishnamoorthy, writing for The Times of India, feels is symbolic of Balaji's character betraying Ganesan's character.^[1]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by M. S. Viswanathan.^[2][3] The song "Ponmagal Vandhaal" was parodied in Pithamagan (2003),^[4] and remixed by A. R. Rahman in Azhagiya Tamil Magan (2007).^[5] The song's title was also used for a 2020 film.

Song	Singers	Lyrics	Length
"Ponmagal Vandhal"	T. M. Soundararajan	Alangudi Somu	03:22
"Azhagu Mugam"	Jikki, S. Janaki	Kannadasan	03:29
"Sollathe Yarum Ketal"	T. M. Soundararajan		03:10
"Oru Muttharathil"	P. Susheela		03:29
"Naalu Kaalu Sir"	A. L. Raghavan, L. R. Eswari, S. V. Ponnusamy		03:36

Release and reception

Sorgam was released on 29 October 1970, Diwali day.^[6] It was the first film to be released at Devi theatre, which was inaugurated on 23 May 1970.^[7] The Indian Express said "There are some films which try to go off the beaten track, and just when the viewer begins to say hurrah, they return to familiarity. [...] You are at a loss to discover whether the director is brave or just cunning."^[8] Despite being released alongside another Ganesan film Engirundho Vandhaal, the film was a commercial success,^[9] running for over 100 days in theatres.^[10]

References

1. Krishnamoorthy, Ganesh (9 May 2016). "All the world's a stage, Tamil Nadu too". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
2. "Sorgam (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. 1 December 1970. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
3. "Sorgam Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by MS Viswanathan". Macsendisk. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
4. Pillai, Swarnavel Eswaran (2015). Madras Studios: Narrative, Genre, and Ideology in Tamil Cinema. India: Sage Publications. p. 275. ISBN 9789351502128.
5. Srinivas, Saraswathy (23 October 2007). "Rahman rocks in ATM". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
6. Ramji, V. (29 October 2018). "ஒரேநாளில் ரெண்டு சிவாஜி படங்கள் – எங்கிருந்தோ வந்தாள், சொர்க்கம்; 48 வருடங்கள்" [Two Sivaji films on the same day – Engirundho Vandhaal, Sorgam; 48 years]. Kamadenu (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
7. Ashok Kumar, S. R. (25 June 2020). "Lasting icons of showbiz: A look at Tamil Nadu's most iconic cinema halls". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
8. "Cinema". The Indian Express. 7 November 1970. p. 10. Retrieved 7 February 2019 – via Google News Archive.
9. Jeshi, K. (1 November 2013). "Released on Deepavali". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
10. Ganesan, Sivaji; Narayana Swamy, T.S. (2007) [2002]. Autobiography of an Actor: Sivaji Ganesan, October 1928 – July 2001. Chennai: Sivaji Prabhu Charities Trust. p. 242. OCLC 297212002.

External links

• Sorgam at IMDb