Thirudathe

Thirudathe (/θɪrudɑːðeɪ/ transl. Do not steal) is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed by P. Neelakantan. A remake of the Hindi film Pocket Maar (1956), it stars M. G. Ramachandran, B. Saroja Devi and M. N. Nambiar. The film was released on 23 March 1961, and ran for 100 days in theatres.

Thirudathe
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	P. Neelakantan
Screenplay by	Kannadasan Ma. Lakshmanan
Story by	Chinna Annamalai
Produced by	V. Arunachalam
Starring	M. G. Ramachandran B. Saroja Devi M. N. Nambiar
Cinematography	V. Ramamoorthy
Edited by	R. Devarajan
Music by	S. M. Subbaiah Naidu
Production company	A. L. S. Productions
Distributed by	Emgeeyar Pictures[1]
Release date	23 March 1961 (1961-03-23)
Running time	173 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Balu is a small-time thief. Once he happens to steal money from a woman. After his death the family becomes Balu's responsibility, and his attitude toward stealing changes when his mother discovers her son was a thief and sacrifices her life. How the family is saved forms the rest of the story.

Cast

• M. G. Ramachandran as Balu
• B. Saroja Devi as Savithri
• M. N. Nambiar as Ponnambalam / Duraisingam
• K. A. Thangavelu as Jambu
• V. Nagayya as the orphanage owner
• M. N. Rajam as Tharaa
• A. Karunanidhi as Marikozhundhu
• Kula Deivam V. R. Rajagopal
• M. Saroja as Padma
• K. Kannan as Singaram
• G. Sakunthala as Kaveri
• S. Rama Rao as Money lender
• M. K. Mustafa as Raju
• Lakshmiprabha

Production

The film, a remake of the Hindi film Pocket Maar (1956), was directed by P. Neelakandan and V. Arunachalam under A. L. S. Productions, with story written by Chinna Annamalai and dialogues written by Kannadasan and Ma. Lakshmanan.^[2][3] Lakshmanan came up with two titles for the film: Thirudathe (transl. Do not steal) and Nalladhukku Kaalamillai (transl. Goodness stands no chance), recommending the latter. M. G. Ramachandran objected, believing that audiences would think the title would represent his own opinion, and that the film actually exhorts people not to do wrong. Hence, the former title was finalised.^[4] B. Saroja Devi was cast as the lead actress at Ramachandran's insistence.^[5]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu.^[6] The song "Ennaruge Nee Irundhal" was composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy. It was recorded for an earlier film produced by A. L. S. Productions, but was not used due to that film's length. With the permission of S. M. Subbaiah Naidu, producer A. L. Srinivasan used that song in this film. However, credit was not given to Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy in the title.^[7]

Song	Singers	Lyrics	Length
"Acha Baguthacha"	S. C. Krishnan & A. G. Rathnamala	Ra. Pazhanisami	02:10
"Aasey Machchan.... Azhagaan Chinna Ponnu"	Seerkazhi Govindarajan & Jikki	Ku. Sa. Krishnamurthy	02:49
"Anthisayum Nerathiley"	A. L. Raghavan & A. G. Rathnamala
"En Aruge Nee Irundhaal" Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy	P. B. Sreenivas & P. Susheela	Kannadasan	02:55
"Kannum Kannum Sernthathu"	P. B. Sreenivas & K. Jamuna Rani		04:01
"Mama Mama Makku Mama"	P. Susheela &	Ku. Ma. Balasubramaniam	02:24
"O Mister Baalu"	Jikki		02:47
"Thirudaadhe Paapa Thirudaadhe"	T. M. Soundararajan	Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram	03:21
"Anbale Thannuyirai"	Seerkazhi Govindarajan	M. K. Athmanathan	01:11

Release and reception

Thirudathe was released on 23 March 1961.^[8] Kanthan of Kalki gave the film a favourable review for many aspects, including Neelakanta's direction, the cast performances and the music.^[9] The film was a commercial success, running for 100 days in theatre. ^[10] According to Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen in the book Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, for Ramachandran this marked a beginning of transition to roles that had "a contemporary setting", as opposed to period settings.^[11] Historian M. S. S. Pandian considers the film "inaugurated the MGR persona of a subaltern in the service of society", a trend that continued through the 1970s.^[12]

In popular culture

In Andha 7 Naatkal (1981), Gopi (Master Haja Sheriff) sells stolen goods on the street; when police seize the goods, the poster on which the items were kept is revealed to be that of Thirudathe.^[13]

References

1. "Thirudathe". The Indian Express. 22 March 1961. p. 3. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Google News Archive.
2. "1961 – திருடாதே – ஏ.எல்.எஸ். புரொடக்" [1961 – Thirudathe – A. L. S. Produc.]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
3. Kannan 2017, p. 115.
4. Kannan 2017, p. 90.
5. ஜெயந்தன், ஆர்.சி. (6 August 2021). "திருடாதே 60 ஆண்டுகள்: வாளை வீசிவிட்டு வாருங்கள் எம்.ஜி.ஆர்.!" [60 years of Thirudathe: Throw the sword away and come MGR!]. Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
6. "Thirudathe (1961)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
7. மணியன், பி.ஜி.எஸ். ""சங்கீத அய்யா" எஸ்.எம். சுப்பையா நாயுடு – 10" ["Master of music" S. M. Subbaiah Naidu – 10]. Thamizhstudio.com (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
8. "Thirudathe". The Indian Express. 23 March 1961. p. 10. Retrieved 7 March 2021 – via Google News Archive.
9. காந்தன் (16 April 1961). "திருடாதே". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 60–61. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Internet Archive.
10. Kannan 2017, p. 116.
11. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 188.
12. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 165.
13. ராம்ஜி, வி. (28 October 2020). "மறக்க முடியாத 'பாலக்காட்டு மாதவன், வசந்தி, டாக்டர், கோபி'... 39 ஆண்டுகளாக நினைவில் நிற்கும் 'அந்த 7 நாட்கள்'!" [Unforgettable 'Palakkad Madhavan, Vasanthi, Doctor, Gopi' ... 'Andha 7 Naatkal' that has been remembered for 39 years!]. Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.

Bibliography

• Kannan, R. (2017). MGR: A Life. India: Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-93-86495-88-4.
• Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.

External links

• Thirudathe at IMDb