Viduthalai (1954 film)

Viduthalai (transl. Liberation) is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed and produced by K. Ramnoth. It was adapted from the play The First and the Last by John Galsworthy. The film stars V. Nagayya and Manohar. It was released on 12 February 1954 and failed at the box office.

Viduthalai
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	K. Ramnoth
Screenplay by	Velavan (dialogues)
Based on	The First and the Last by John Galsworthy
Produced by	K. Ramnoth
Starring	V. Nagayya Manohar
Cinematography	Babulnath Walke
Edited by	Paul G. Yadav
Music by	Lakshman Raghunath
Production company	New Era Productions
Distributed by	Subbu & Co.
Release date	12 February 1954 (1954-02-12)
Running time	170 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Periaswamy, a crooked lawyer, tries to get his brother Chellaiah off a murder charge by framing Murugan, a horse carriage driver. Overcome with guilt, Chellaiah donates the money he wins in a lottery to Murugan and confesses to his crime in a letter before committing suicide. Periaswamy burns the letter, believing it will affect his chances of being promoted to judge, but the police arrest him, thinking he committed double murder.^[1][2]

Cast

• V. Nagayya as Periaswamy^[1][2]
• Manohar as Chellaiah^[1][2]
• T. V. Kumudhini as Chellaiah's wife^[2]
• Peer Mohammed as Murugan^[1][2]
• Nott Annaji Rao as the judge^[2]

Production

Viduthalai was adapted from the play The First and the Last by John Galsworthy,^[2] and was the inaugural production of New Era Productions.^[3] Cinematography was handled by Babulnath Walke, and the editing by Paul G. Yadav. K. Ramnoth directed the film, which was produced by G. Ramakrishnan.^[1][4]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Lakshman Raghunath.^[5]

Song	Singer	Lyrics	Length
Anbodu Inbamagaa	P. B. Srinivas	Subbu Arumugam	02:58
Inithaana Thendral	Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi		03:58
Iraivaa Iraiva	V. Nagayya
Abalai Naan Thayanithiye	N. Lalitha	Velavan
Paathai Veguthooram Bayanthidalamo	Aayaloor Krishnan, Sathiyavathi
Boologame Pugazhum	T. V. Rathnam	Angamangalam Kuppu

Release and reception

Viduthalai was released on 12 February 1954,^[4] and was distributed by Subbu & Co.^[3] The film failed commercially,^[6] jeopardising Ramnoth in the process.^[7]

References

1. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 339.
2. Guy, Randor (9 October 2010). "Viduthalai 1954". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
3. "Viduthalai". The Indian Express. 12 February 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2018 – via Google News Archive.
4. "1954 – விடுதலை – நியூஈரா புரொடக்சன்ஸ் இருளும் ஒளியும் (நாடகம்)" [1954 – Viduthalai – New Era Productions Irulum Oliyum (play)]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
5. Neelamegam, G. (December 2014). Thiraikalanjiyam – Part 1 (in Tamil) (1st ed.). Chennai: Manivasagar Publishers. p. 82.
6. Guy, Randor (31 May 2014). "Kathanayaki (1955)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
7. Baskaran 1996, p. 197.

Bibliography

• Baskaran, S. Theodore (1996). The Eye of the Serpent: An introduction to Tamil cinema. East West Books. OCLC 243920437.
• Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.

External links

• Viduthalai at IMDb