I DIRECTORS: THE CAPTAINS – MASTERS AND COMMANDERS WITH AN IMPACT TO LAST THE AGES

5) ELLIS. R. DUNGAN

This week, we are looking at a particularly unique and rather fascinating figure in the world of Tamil cinema. Most people today, perhaps you included, would believe that someone came to Tamil Nadu from a different world, nearly 14,000 km away, and made a string of staggering and trendsetting films in 1930s to 1950s in — all without knowing the language! Allow us to introduce you to Ellis R. Dungan, an Ohio born Irish-American, who was active in the Tamil film industry in the 30s and 40s. 

While studying at South California University, Duncan became fast friends with people in his cohort who studied in the cinematography and production design department with him. One of them was Indian, M.L. Tandon, who played a vital role in Dungan’s career. Tandon, who himself went on to become a prominent filmmaker in South India during the 1930s and 40s, invited Dungan to India to work with him. His film BHAKTHA NANDANAR became the pathbreaking stepping stone for Dungan. 

He is believed to have filmed many portions on the absence of Tandon, although he wasn’t formally credited in the film for his work. Though he initially planned for his visit to India to last only six months, destiny had its say, and kept him active in the industry for over a decade — fifteen years, to be precise — and paved the way for him to establish a wide host of technical trends. He created a legacy of his own, and shaped the careers of many talented personalities of the industry.

Movies he directed in 1930-1940 included:

• 1936: SATHI LEELAVATHI 
• 1936: SEEMANTHINI
• 1936: IRU SAHODARARGAL
• 1937: AMBIKAPATHY
• 1940: SAKUNTHALAI
• 1940: KALAMEGAM

SATHI LEELAVATHI was Dungan’s first official directorial venture. He came to the film itself in a rather peculiar sort of fashion. The film was offered to Tandon by Maruthachalam Chettiar, who was adamant that only he could be the right person to direct this film after the rousing success of BHAMA VIJAYAM. Tandon, on the other hand, was busy with a Hindi film being shot at Calcutta, and recommended his American friend to Chettiar. Chettiar, however, was rather reluctant to accept: he saw Dungan as inexperienced and young, and thought his lack of knowledge of the language would create huge roadblocks. Tandon, however, was insistent, and persuaded Chettiar that he was trained in Hollywood — and this did the trick! Hollywood, in many ways, was the magical word that proved his mettle. Chettiar was thus convinced, and the film was made.

Dungan began his remarkable journey with a bit of a bang with this debut film, which became a vital landmark in the Tamil Industry. It certainly helped that the film was also an enormous success commercially. It also, incidentally, holds the distinction of being first of its kind to be directed by a foreigner. The film, in its theme, dealt with the evils of alcoholism. 

The film didn’t just mark Dungan’s debut; it was responsible for introducing many others who went on to become stalwarts of the industry. M.G. Ramachandran, known popularly as MGR, made his film debut in this film in a minor role as a police inspector. MGR, as many of us know, went on to become one of the most celebrated heroes of the industry, not to mention a revolutionary political leader. Along with him the lead actors M.K. Radha, T.S. Baliah, N.S. Krishnan and M.R. Santhanalakshmi also made their debut. For S.S. Vasan, this was the first step on the road to stardom as a story writer for films; it is his novel — with the same name — that formed the basis for the film’s plot. Vasan would go on to carve a niche for himself as one of the most innovative filmmakers that India produced in its initial years of establishing its film industries. (Watch this space! We’ll return to his fascinating story in another iteration of our series.)

A still from the Movie SATHI LEELAVATHI featuring M.K. Radha, M.K. Mani and M.R.GNANAMBAL 

PC: From the archives of TCRC

AMBIKAPATHI was yet another feather on Dungan’s cap. The film ran for 52 weeks — a whole year! — And did extremely well at the box office. It was a stellar return to success for M.K.Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, better known as MKT, as well, after his film CHINTHAMANI. T.S. Baliah, an actor who was also part of Dungan’s debut film SATHI LEEELAVATHI, was retained in this film to play the villain. His performance was greatly praised for pulling it off with aplomb and panache. The talented Balaiah later went on to become famous as a versatile actor who was capable of performing in all kinds of roles — a man who could don many hats indeed. His unique style of dialogue delivery was particularly distinct, and greatly contributed to his success in his career in acting.

A still from the Movie AMBIKAPATHI featuring T.S. Baliah with his co-stars 

PC: From the archives of TCRC

With the huge success of CHINTHAMANI and AMBIKAPATHI — all in the same year, 1937, MKT earned the distinction of being the very first Superstar of Tamil cinema. This was nothing short of being crowned king of the industry! Besides acting, his other passion — singing — also took his career to great heights. Records containing his songs sold like hot cakes! Y.V.Rao and Dungan played a major part in the terrific start MKT got in what went on to be a truly prolific career.

The film also had people talking for other reasons: its dialogue, and some bold rather intimate scenes of the time had many heads turning. Dungan had hired a Tamil scholar, Elangovan, to script dialogue for the film, which turned out to be profoundly poetic — very new for Tamil cinema at the time! The move flung open a new trend in the world of writing for films. The line “Thookkam Un Kangalai Thazhuvattum Amaithi Un Nenjil Nilavattum”, spoken by the film’s hero, became very famous, and in fact, was used by many later. The lyricist Kannadasan, for instance, used the line in a song for his critically acclaimed film ALAYAMANI in 1961. 

Dungan conceptualised a scene where the hero winks at the heroine: which was, believe it or not, nothing short of revolutionary at the time. After this particular scene shot to popularity, MKT’s winks became a trademark mainstay of his acting style.

With SAKUNTHALAI, Dungan’s association with the famed classical vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi, affectionately and popularly known simply as MS began. The film was produced under the banner Royal Talkie Distributors. MS and her husband, Sadasivam, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, were the producers.

A still from the Movie SAKUNTHALAI

PC: From the archives of TCRC

While MS played the titular role, G. N. Balasubramaniam, the famous Carnatic singer was roped in for the lead role opposite to her. Though the film was first offered to K. Subramaniyam to direct, Dungan was brought on board in his stead, as Subramaniyam was busy with prior commitments. The comedy duo of N.S. Krishnan and T.A. Maduram were included in the cast too. The film was received well and was immensely successful at the box office as well.

KALAMEGHAM was a biopic on a Tamil poet whose words were always believed to come true. Dungan reached out to a nadaswaram expert, T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai, to play the titular role. This ended up being the only film that this nadaswaram legend acted in throughout his career as an esteemed musician. Though the film didn’t require him to play the nadaswaram itself, he was asked to pretend to do so in a scene where he plays the instrument and walks around on the streets. This particular scene was, in fact, filmed only to satisfy his ardent fans — and to have better prospects at the box office!

An advertisement for the Film KALAMEGHAM

From the magazine ANANDHA VIKATAN DEEPAVALI MALAR 1939

PC: From the archives of TCRC

Although the film itself didn’t do particularly well it is nonetheless remembered for being Rajarathanam’s sole movie appearance, and for some specific technical mastery that was inventively executed by Dungan. One scene in particular, where a village is shown being submerged by a sandstorm, was fascinatingly filmed using miniatures in a vacant beach area in Chennai — Besant Nagar. And all this personally by Dungan himself. It is said that people stood and clapped for this scene in theatres.

[To be continued] We’ll be back next week with more hidden treasure from the history of Tamil cinema. Stay tuned!

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I DIRECTORS: THE CAPTAINS – MASTERS AND COMMANDERS WITH AN IMPACT TO LAST THE AGES

THE RAOs-II

4c) B.N.RAO

There lurks an interesting story behind how B.N. Rao, who’s actual name is Balakrishnan Nair, of Talasserry, Kerala, got his name. Although he had been born in Kerala, his family had to shift to Bombay once his father got a job there. While enrolling in school, his neighbor put down his name as B.N. Rao — according to whom all south Indians ought to carry the surname Rao — and thus, the name stuck.

B. N. Rao’s first Tamil Film was TUKKARAM which was unique in many ways. The titular role was played by the famous carnatic Singer Musiri Subramiyam Iyer.

A still of Musiri Subramaniya Aiyer , from the film THUKKARAM

From the magazine Anandha Vikatan Deepavali Malar, 1938

PC: From the archives of TCRC

TUKKARAM was Musiri’s first and only film to date. The news of his acting in a movie raised eyebrows of many traditionalists as well as common moviegoers, especially as he had to sport a moustache for the role. This was quite a departure from the tradition of clean shaven classical singers of the time. Although he was initially offered a fake moustache to stick on, he found himself rather uncomfortable, and asked that the filmmakers wait while he grew one of his own. Of course, once the film was released, he went right back to his old ways of being clean shaven.

After the success of Tukaram, Rao’s association with the famous CENTRAL STUDIOS grew; most of his films that followed were under their banner including:

• 1939: PRAHALADHA  
• 1939: RAMBAYIN KADAL
• 1940: BHOOLOKA RAMBAI  

While PRAHALADHA didn’t have a particularly memorable impact on ringing the cash register, so to speak, it found other reasons to make its mark in the history of Tamil cinema. One of the reasons was the appearance of the superstar turned later Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. M.G. Ramachandran, known fondly as MGR. This was one of his very early films of his career, his 6^th— to be precise. The sword fight scene between him and the lead actress M.R. Santhanalakshmi became quite a talking point. T.R. Mahalingham, who played the titular role, went on to become a famous singer in his own right.

An advertisement for the Film PRAHALADHA

From the magazine DINAMANI VARUSHA MALAR 1939

PC: From the archives of TCRC

SUNDAR RAO NADKARNI

Sundar Rao Nadkarni, born in Mangalore, started his film career as an actor in silent films and later switched over to editing and direction. His first Tamil film as a director was SAKKUBHAI, which was released in 1934.

A few other films he made included:

• 1937: RAJA BHAKTHI 
• 1938: BHUKAILAS 
• 1939: SHANTHA SAKKUBAI  

His film BHU KAILAS or MANDOTHARI PARINAYAM, released in 1938, was produced by Sundaram Sound Studios Ltd, Chennai. It has, unfortunately, now been lost. However, it is often mistaken for the remake (made by Rao himself) in Telugu with same name, BHU KAILAS. It was produced by A.V. Meyyappa Chettiar known as AVM. The film became a huge hit and helped in reviving AVM’s business, which had previously been hit by losses incurred from 2 Tamil productions namely Alli Arjuna and Nandakumar. We will return to discuss AVM later in this series.

An advertisement for the Film BHUKAILAS

From the magazine CINE ART REVIEW 1937

PC: From the archives of TCRC

SHANTHA SAKKUBAI, produced by Royal Talkie Distributors, had K.Aswathamaplaying the titular role, and K. Sarangapanithe other lead role.Incidentally, the film was also the debut — as a dialogue writer, no less — for the famous and multifaceted Kothamangalam Subbu, who went on to become very popular later in the industry. 

His association with S.S. Vasan and his famous novel,Thillana Moganambal— which was made in to a blockbuster film with same name — are still proudly, and with awe, discussed in Tamil film history. Subbualso acted in a small role, besides writing dialogues for the film. The film became a big hit, and established, once again, a Rao as one of the successful filmmakers of 1930s

An advertisement for the Film SHANTHA SAKKUBAI

From the magazine ANANDHA VIKATAN DEEPAVALI MALAR 1939

PC: From the archives of TCRC[To be continued] We’ll be back next week with more hidden treasure from the history of Tamil cinema. Stay tuned!

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I DIRECTORS: THE CAPTAINS – MASTERS AND COMMANDERS WITH AN IMPACT TO LAST THE AGES

4a) THE RAOS – I

This week, we are going to talk about the Raos, a set of people who can truly be said to have ruled the Tamil film industry in the 1930s. These were Y. V. Rao, P. V. Rao, B. N. Rao and Sundar Rao Nadkarni – in some ways, the first royals of the Tamil industry.

4b) Y. V. RAO

Y. V. Rao alias Yaragudipati Varada Rao, born 30 May 1903, was rather prominent during his time as an extremely talented filmmaker; he does, however, seem to have been tragically largely forgotten today. A multifaceted mover in the industry, he donned many hats: as an editor, a director, an actor, a producer and even a screenwriter. His wife Kumari Rukmani, daughter Lakshmi, his granddaughter Aishwarya and even his mother-in-law, Nungambakkam Janaki, were all heavyweights in the industry as actors in their own right. His daughter, Lakshmi, and granddaughter, Aishwarya, are active in the industry to this day; Lakshmi, in fact, is well-known across languages and is National Award winning actress.

Y. V. Rao probably has the honour of bagging the most firsts in the South Indian film industries, collectively.  He made a number of multilingual films in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Konkani, and even Hindi, not to mention the plethora of silent movies in his filmography. He was the first to make motion pictures in so many languages; in fact, he holds an international record for this honour according to the film historian Randor Guy. His directorial venture SATI SULOCHANA was the first talkie ever made in the Kannada language. The battle scene in this film, shot using four cameras simultaneously, stayed with many viewers and was all the rage at the time of the film’s release. 

He was also the first filmmaker to ever make a film on the glittering world of cinema in his Telugu film VISWAMOHINI. At a time when most films were either mythological or based on social issues, VISHWAMOHINI was a pathbreaking film.  

Other notable works in the Tamil language by Y. V. Rao include: 

• 1936: BHAMA PARINAYAM  
• 1937: CHINTAMANI 
• 1938: BHAKTA MEERA  
• 1938: SWARNALATHA
• 1941: SAVITHIRI

His film CHINTHAMANI, in particular, broke many box office records and catapulted its hero, M. K. Thyagarja Bhagavathar, to Superstar status. He, of course, went on to create a stunning legacy of his own. Ashwatama, the Kannada actress in the eponymous role, made her Tamil debut with this film. She, too, rose to dizzying heights with her acting and singing skills. However, she tragically succumbed to early death due to tuberculosis in 1939. The film itself ran for a year in single screen theatres – the first film to pull this feat off. It was not only a raging success in South Indian films, but went on to become one of the highest grossing films in India after its release. 

Working Still from the Film CHINTHAMANI Featuring Y.V.RAO himself with L.NARAYANA RAO

PC: From the archives of TCRC

CHINTHAMANI, in later years, acquired a kind of cult status, and continues to be considered a historical event in South Indian cinema. Later, when Rao began producing films, he named his production company Chinthamani Pictures. The profit of this film as of such a magnitude that the distributors of the film, Royal Talkies, constructed a new cinema theatre in Madurai and named it after the film: Chinthamani Talkies.

With SWARNALATHA, Y. V. Rao bagged yet another first. This was the first film to be shot in one of the most famed studios of Chennai, Newtone Studios. 

An advertisement for the Film SWARNALATHA

From the magazine CINE ART REVIEW 1937

PC: From the archives of TCRC

Although the movie itself wasn’t a raging success, commercially speaking, it did make a significant mark in the history of Tamil cinema – largely due to Y. V. Rao’s acting skills and careful direction, not to mention the distinction of being the first film to ever be shot at one of the busiest studios in the country during the period spanning 1940-1970. The studio was also was leased to the noted filmmaker A. Bhimsingh, who shot many of his films there. Later it was sold to Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan. This film grappled with many complex social issues such as alcoholism and unemployment. 

P.V.RAO

P. V. Rao was one of the foremost filmmakers in the South Indian film industry. His name is, perhaps a little oddly, often confused with the initials V. V. or T. V. However, according to compelling evidence available in publication, his name is stylised as P. V. See: the advertisement below, published in the year 1937. He directed many films in Tamil: VALLI, VALLI THIRUMANAM, SAKUNTHALA, SRI KRISHNALEELA, BHAKTHA DRUVAN, NALLA THANGAL, LEELAVATHI SULOCHANA, BALAMANI and DEVADAS

Interestingly during the shooting of BALAMANI (1937), it is said that the TKS brothers were unhappy with P. V. Rao’s discipline when it came to filmmaking. Unfortunately, as was anticipated, the film didn’t do well at the box office and was declared a flop rather swiftly. In startling move of creative revenge, the TKS brothers made a spoof of him, a character named V.P. Var – which cleverly reversed Rao’s name – in their next film, GUMASTHAVIN PENN. This film, curiously, was also directed by yet another Rao, B.N. Rao. This character, played by K.R. Ramasamy, was hilarious, and became quite popular and well loved! 

He also made the first of many DEVADAS films made in India – the first ever to me made in South India. It was released in 1937, where he himself played the lead role, opposite G. B. Rajayee.

An advertisement for the Film DEVADAS

From the magazine ANANDHA VIKATAN DEEPAVALI MALAR 1937

PC: From the archives of TCRC

[To be continued] Next week we will talk about two more Raos – who were each immensely influential in establishing the trends in Tamil cinema.

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I DIRECTORS: THE CAPTAINS – MASTERS AND COMMANDERS WITH AN IMPACT TO LAST THE AGES

This week, we bring you yet another mover and shaker from the world of Tamil Cinema: Raja Sandow, a prominent filmmaker as well as a trendsetter — in every sense of the word!

3) RAJA SANDOW

P.K. Nagalingam, better known as Raja Sandow to the world, was born in Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu in 1895. There’s an interesting story behind the origin of this new name: the story goes he acquired this unique moniker due to his impressively toned physique, built through his pastime of choice, bodybuilding and wrestling. Once he was satisfied with his bodybuilding, he opened a gym for the world — and a very successful one, at that. He went on to earn many accolades through his wrestling career, and was even featured in the Bombay Chronicle.

This popularity eventually paved his way into the glittering world of show business, and he began acting in silent films in the City of Dreams, Bombay. Right from his very first film, BHAKTHA BHODANA, he performed his own stunts. This attracted the attention of many filmmakers of the time, as a result of which he went on to act in more than seventy silent films.

Once he climbed to the very top of his acting career, Raja Sandow turned his attention behind the scenes, to the art of filmmaking. A keen observer, he had been watching and learning from the films he starred in from the very first one. When opportunity knocked on his door in the form the filmmaker R. Padmanabhan, who offered him a chance to make his own film in Madras, he jumped at it. And thus was made the film ANADHAI PENN in 1929. 

The films Raja Sandow made aimed to portray deep social messages, particular the terrible ways the poor, and women, were treated in society. His films NANDANAR and RAJESWARI, released  in the 1920s, were some such films that were truly remarkable for the times in which they were made.

He was responsible for many firsts and beginnings in the Tamil film industry. In his MENAKA, for instance, the lead and actor and actress were pictured interacting very closely and even touching each other. This was revolutionary at a time when the norm was to place the hero and heroine at a two feet distance from each other at all times. He was, clearly, one of the first and foremost trendsetters of the Indian film industry as a whole.

An advertisement for the Film MENAKA

From the magazine ANANDHA VIKATAN DEEPAVALI MALAR 1935

PC: From the archives of TCRC

MENAKA also marked the debut of the famous N.S. Krishnan, who went on to become one of the pioneers of comedy in Tamil films. It was also the first film appearance of the TKS Brothers, who were the foremost stars of the theatrical world at the time.

THIRUNEELAKANTAR, made in 1939, went on to become one of the biggest hits in the history of Tamil cinema. During its release period, shows were running in cinema halls even a year — 52 weeks — after the films initial release. This film, too, featured an extremely popular soundtrack by M.K. Thyagraja Bhagavathar. The songs were composed by Papanasam Sivan and became sensational runaway hits elevating the stardom of Thyagraja, known fondly as M.K.T. Songs from the movie such as Deena Karuna Karane Nataraja were all the rage. Songs from this film were catapulted to cult status, and remain both well-known and beloved by music lovers even today.

Working Still from the Film TIRUNEELAKANDER Featuring M.K.T and TIRUNELVELI PAPA

PC: From the archives of TCRC

The comedy duo N.S. Krishnan and T.A. Madhuram— who were, incidentally, husband and wife in reality too — were quite the comedic sensation; many flocked to the cinema to see their exceptional comedy.

Working Still from the Film TIRUNEELAKANDER Featuring N.K.S and T.A. Madhuram

PC: From the archives of TCRC

In 1943, Raja Sandow tragically suffered a heart attack and died in Coimbatore on the 25th of November. His last film was SIVAKAVI, which he had, in fact, quit due to creative differences with the producer, S.M. Sriramulu Naidu. Naidu went on see the film to its conclusion himself.

Working Still from the Film SIVAKAVI Featuring M.K.T

PC: From the archives of TCRC

 [To be continued] We’ll be back next week with more hidden treasure from the history of Tamil cinema. Stay tuned! 

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